Attorney General Loretta Lynch fiercely defended the legality of President Barack Obama's recent executive actions on gun control, arguing that his proposal wasn't "chipping away at the Second Amendment."

On Wednesday, the U.S. attorney general stated that Obama's gun actions are "well within existing legal authorities" before the Senate Appropriations Committee, a subcommittee that oversees funding for the Justice Department (DOJ), reports CNN.

Under Obama's proposal, which he announced earlier this month, the federal government would expand background checks on gun sales, require firearm dealers to report stolen guns, and enforce existing gun safety laws, all in an effort to curb gun violence. Republican leaders and 2016 candidates, however, have denounced the move as an infringement to Second Amendment rights.

"I have complete confidence that the commonsense steps announced by the president are lawful," Lynch said, according to USA Today.

"The actions announced by the president, which focus on background checks and keeping guns out of the wrong hands, are fully consistent with the laws passed by Congress," she said before the panel's Republican chairman, Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, who has threatened to withhold funding for measures that threaten gun owners.

In addition, Lynch said Obama's gun actions would allow law enforcement agents to investigate cases involving lost or stolen guns found at crime scenes. She also reasoned that the Justice Department would need $121 million to hire more employees to keep track of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) database.

During the Senate Appropriations hearing, there was bipartisan support for giving the DOJ additional money to fund two pieces of Obama's plan: hiring more federal agents and examiners to enforce existing gun laws, and quick criminal background checks for gun buyers.

Still, Shelby did not say whether or not he will approve additional funding for the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

"I want to see some specifics," he said. "We ought to make sure the Justice Department has the requisite amount of funds to carry out and enforce the law."

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