Vehicles are parked outside the U.S. Capitol building the morning the Senate returned to session in Washington, DC, U.S., July 31, 2021.
Vehicles are parked outside the U.S. Capitol building the morning the Senate returned to session in Washington, DC, U.S., July 31, 2021. Reuters / ELIZABETH FRANTZ

Executives from major gun manufacturers are set to testify on Wednesday before a U.S. House of Representatives panel investigating recent mass shootings in Texas and New York.

The hearing, held by the House Oversight committee, will "examine the responsibility that the firearm industry bears in contributing to the gun violence epidemic in the United States and the steps Congress can take to hold manufacturers accountable," Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat from New York, said in a statement.

Confirmed witnesses include Christopher Killoy, president and chief executive of Sturm, Ruger & Co Inc and Marty Daniel, CEO of Daniel Defense LLC. Mark P. Smith, president and CEO of Smith & Wesson Brands Inc, is listed as invited.

The committee sought responses from each of the executives following mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York.

The shootings, which took place just 10 days apart in May, killed 31 people and rattled a country notorious for its high rate of gun violence.