What This Bill Does
This bill expands and reauthorizes the National Threat Assessment Center, which is operated by the United States Secret Service under the Department of Homeland Security. The center works to prevent targeted violence by researching threatening behavior patterns and training communities on how to identify and help people who may be planning to harm others.
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Who It Affects
- Local law enforcement agencies
- Schools and school districts
- Mental health professionals
- Department of Homeland Security officials
- State and local government agencies
- Community organizations with public safety responsibilities
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Key Provisions
- The United States Secret Service must operate the National Threat Assessment Center and it shall provide training on how to identify and prevent targeted violence (Sec. 3(b)(1))
- The Center must establish a national school violence prevention program that includes research, training courses, and coordination with the Department of Justice, Department of Education, and Department of Health and Human Services (Sec. 3(c))
- The Secret Service director can hire additional staff, including at least one person with expertise in child development and at least one person with expertise in school threat assessment (Sec. 3(d))
- The Secret Service must report to Congress within two years on how many people were trained in each state, how many school districts received training, and whether the training was effective (Sec. 3(e))
- Money used for this program cannot be spent on teaching anyone how to use firearms (Sec. 3(g))
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What Changes
If this becomes law, the National Threat Assessment Center will be formally written into federal law as a permanent operation run by the United States Secret Service. The center will be required to expand its training programs to reach communities in every state and create a public website sharing information about preventing school violence. The Secret Service will have authority to hire additional staff dedicated to this work.
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Important Definitions
- **Evidence-based:** Means the program is supported by strong research from well-designed studies, moderate research from well-planned comparison studies, or promising research from studies that account for selection bias (Sec. 3(i)(1))
- **Local educational agency:** Defined under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Sec. 3(i)(2))
- **State:** Includes any U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands (Sec. 3(i)(3))
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 411
To amend title 18, United States Code, to reauthorize and expand the
National Threat Assessment Center of the Department of Homeland Security.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
FEBRUARY 14, 2023
Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. SCOTT of
Florida, Mr. MANCHIN, Ms. COLLINS, and Mr. KING) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary
A BILL
To amend title 18, United States Code, to reauthorize and
expand the National Threat Assessment Center of the
Department of Homeland Security.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘EAGLES Act of
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2023’’.
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
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(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
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(1) On February 14, 2018, 17 individuals were
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murdered in a senseless and violent attack on Mar-
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jory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland
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Florida, a school whose mascot is the eagle.
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(2) These individuals, Alaina Petty, Alex
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Schachter, Alyssa Alhadeff, Cara Loughran, Carmen
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Schentrup, Gina Montalto, Helena Ramsay, Jaime
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Guttenberg, Joaquin Oliver, Luke Hoyer, Martin
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Duque, Meadow Pollack, Nicholas Dworet, Peter
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Wang, Aaron Feis, Chris Hixon, and Scott Beigel,
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lived lives of warmth, joy, determination, service,
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and love, and their loss is mourned by the Nation.
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(3) Like many attackers, the shooter in that at-
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tack exhibited patterns of threatening and con-
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cerning behavior prior to the massacre that were
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alarming and that should have alerted law enforce-
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ment and other Federal, State, and local officials
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about the potential for violence.
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(4) Acts of targeted violence, including the at-
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tack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are
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preventable.
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(5) Lives were saved because of the brave and
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exemplary conduct of many students, teachers, and
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staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in-
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cluding several of the victims of the attack.
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(6) The National Threat Assessment Center of
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the United States Secret Service (referred to in this
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Act as the ‘‘Center’’) was established in 1998 to
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conduct research on all forms of targeted violence,
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including attacks targeting government officials, gov-
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ernment facilities, workplaces, houses of worship, el-
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ementary and secondary schools, and colleges and
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universities and mass attacks in public spaces.
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(7) Research published by the Center on tar-
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geted violence has shown that—
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(A) most incidents were planned in ad-
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vance;
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(B) the attackers’ behavior gave some indi-
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cation that the individual was planning, or at
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least contemplating, an attack;
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(C) most attackers had already exhibited a
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pattern of behavior that elicited concern by
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other people in their lives; and
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(D) prior to the attack, someone associated
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with the attacker, such as a family member or
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peer, often knew the attack was to likely to
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occur.
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(8) Through their research, the Center devel-
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oped the behavioral threat assessment model of the
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United States Secret Service for preventing targeted
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violence, which includes a 3-step process—
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(A) identifying individuals who are exhib-
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iting threatening or concerning behaviors that
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indicate they may pose a risk of violence;
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(B) assessing whether the individual poses
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a risk, based on articulable facts; and
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(C) managing the risk posed through indi-
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vidualized proactive and preventive measures.
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(9) The behavioral threat assessment model of
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the United States Secret Service works most effec-
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tively when all the relevant parties, including local
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law enforcement, mental health professionals, work-
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place managers, school personnel, and members of
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the community, are part of a comprehensive protocol
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to identify, assess, and manage a potential threat.
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(10) The primary goal of behavioral threat as-
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sessment programs is to prevent targeted violence,
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with an emphasis on providing early intervention,
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and connecting individuals exhibiting threatening or
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concerning behavior to existing community resources
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for support.
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(11) Early intervention is a proven and effective
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way to prevent violent conduct that would otherwise
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harm others and necessitate more punitive action,
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including criminal penalties.
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(12) The parties involved need the appropriate
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research, guidance, training, and tools to establish
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the appropriate mechanisms for implementing this
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type of preventive of approach.
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(13) In elementary and secondary schools, a be-
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havioral threat assessment is a proactive approach
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to identify, assess, and provide age-appropriate
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interventions, resources, and supports for students
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who display behavior that elicits concerns for the
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safety of themselves or others.
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(14) There has been a 79-percent decline in
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bullying infractions in elementary and secondary
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school communities that have received training by
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the Center.
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(15) The demand from local communities
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throughout the United States for behavioral threat
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assessment trainings has significantly increased.
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Since its inception, the Center has provided over
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2,575 training sessions to over 273,000 attendees.
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(16) From fiscal year 2018 to fiscal year 2022,
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the Center has experienced a 117-percent increase in
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demand for training sessions, with 5 times as many
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participants.
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(17) The Center additionally provides consulta-
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tion and follow-up engagements with government
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agencies, law enforcement, schools, and other organi-
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zations with public safety responsibilities. From fis-
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cal year 2018 to fiscal year 2022 the Center experi-
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enced a 553-percent increase in consultation activi-
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ties.
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(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
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gress that a fact-based behavioral threat assessment ap-
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proach, involving local law enforcement, mental health
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professionals, workplace managers, school personnel, other
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public safety officials, and members of the community, is
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one of the most effective ways to prevent targeted violence
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impacting communities across the country, and is a fitting
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memorial to those whose lives were taken in the February
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14, 2018, attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High
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School and those who heroically acted to preserve the lives
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of their friends, students, and colleagues.
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SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION AND EXPANSION OF THE NA-
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TIONAL THREAT ASSESSMENT CENTER OF
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THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 203 of title 18, United
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States Code, is amended by inserting after section 3056A
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the following:
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‘‘§ 3056B. Functions of the National Threat Assess-
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ment Center of the United States Secret
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Service
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‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a National
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Threat Assessment Center (in this section referred to as
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the ‘Center’), to be operated by the United States Secret
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Service, at the direction of the Secretary of Homeland Se-
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curity.
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‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Center shall
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include the following:
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‘‘(1) Training and education in the areas of
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best practices on threat assessment and the preven-
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tion of targeted violence.
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‘‘(2) Consultation on complex threat assessment
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cases and programs.
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‘‘(3) Research on threat assessment and the
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prevention of targeted violence, consistent with evi-
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dence-based standards and existing laws and regula-
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tions.
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‘‘(4) Facilitation of information sharing on
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threat assessment and the prevention of targeted vi-
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olence among agencies and organizations with pro-
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tective or public safety responsibilities, as well as
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other public or private entities.
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‘‘(5) Development of evidence-based programs
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to promote the standardization of Federal, State,
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and local threat assessments and best practices for
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the prevention of targeted violence.
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‘‘(c) SAFE SCHOOL INITIATIVE.—In carrying out the
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functions described in subsection (b), the Center shall es-
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tablish a national program on targeted school violence pre-
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vention, focusing on the following activities:
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‘‘(1) RESEARCH.—The Center shall—
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‘‘(A) conduct research into targeted school
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violence and evidence-based practices in tar-
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geted school violence prevention, including
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school threat assessment; and
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‘‘(B) publish the findings of the Center on
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the public website of the United States Secret
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Service and on the School Safety Clearinghouse
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website, known as www.SchoolSafety.gov, or
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any successor thereto.
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‘‘(2) TRAINING.—
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Center shall de-
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velop and offer training courses on targeted
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school violence prevention to agencies with pro-
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tective or public safety responsibilities and
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other public or private entities, including local
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educational agencies.
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‘‘(B) PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after
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the date of enactment of this section, the Cen-
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ter shall establish a plan to offer its training
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and other educational resources to public or pri-
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vate entities within each State.
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‘‘(3) COORDINATION
WITH
OTHER
FEDERAL
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AGENCIES.—The Center shall develop research and
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training programs under this section in coordination
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with the Department of Justice, the Department of
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Education, and the Department of Health and
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Human Services.
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‘‘(4) CONSULTATION WITH ENTITIES OUTSIDE
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THE
FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT.—The Center is au-
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thorized to consult with State and local educational,
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law enforcement, and mental health officials and pri-
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vate entities in the development of research and
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training programs under this section.
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‘‘(5) INTERACTIVE WEBSITE.—The Center may
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create an interactive website to disseminate informa-
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tion and data on evidence-based practices in tar-
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geted school violence prevention.
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‘‘(d) HIRING OF ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Di-
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rector of the United States Secret Service may hire addi-
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tional personnel to comply with the requirements of this
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section, which, if the Director exercises that authority,
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shall include—
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‘‘(1) at least 1 employee with expertise in child
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psychological development; and
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‘‘(2) at least 1 employee with expertise in school
3
threat assessment.
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‘‘(e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years
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after the date of enactment of this section, the Director
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of the United States Secret Service shall submit to the
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Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on Health,
8
Education, Labor, and Pensions, and the Committee on
9
Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on the
10
Judiciary, Committee on Education and the Workforce,
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and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
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Representatives a report on actions taken by the United
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States Secret Service to implement provisions of this sec-
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tion, which shall include information relating to the fol-
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lowing:
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‘‘(1) The number of employees hired (on a full-
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time equivalent basis).
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‘‘(2) The number of individuals in each State
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trained in threat assessment.
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‘‘(3) The number of school districts in each
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State trained in school threat assessment or targeted
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school violence prevention.
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‘‘(4) Information on Federal, State, and local
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agencies trained or otherwise assisted by the Center.
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‘‘(5) A formal evaluation indicating whether the
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training and other assistance provided by the Center
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is effective.
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‘‘(6) A formal evaluation indicating whether the
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training and other assistance provided by the Center
5
was implemented by the school.
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‘‘(7) A summary of the Center’s research activi-
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ties and findings.
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‘‘(8) A strategic plan for disseminating the
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Center’s educational and training resources to each
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State.
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‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
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is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
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such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years
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2024 through 2028. Amounts appropriated pursuant to
15
such authorization shall be derived wholly from the unobli-
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gated balances of amounts made available to the Depart-
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ment of Homeland Security, on or before the date of the
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enactment of this section, to prevent, prepare for, or re-
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spond to the coronavirus.
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‘‘(g) NO FUNDS TO PROVIDE FIREARMS TRAIN-
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ING.—Amounts made available to carry out this section
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may not be used to train any person in the use of a fire-
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arm.
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‘‘(h) NO EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this
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section may be construed to preclude or contradict any
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other provision of law authorizing training in the use of
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firearms.
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‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
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‘‘(1) EVIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘evidence-
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based’ means—
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‘‘(A) strong evidence from at least 1 well-
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designed and well-implemented experimental
9
study;
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‘‘(B) moderate evidence from at least 1
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well-designed and well-implemented quasi-exper-
12
imental study;
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]