What This Bill Does
This bill creates and funds a new government program called the National Threat Assessment Center to teach people how to identify and prevent violence before it happens. The program will train school staff, law enforcement officers, mental health professionals, and community members to recognize warning signs in people who might commit violent acts and connect them with help instead of letting violence occur.
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Who It Affects
- School districts and school employees across the country
- Local law enforcement agencies
- Mental health professionals
- Workplace managers
- State and local government agencies
- The United States Secret Service (which will run the program)
- Department of Homeland Security
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Key Provisions
- The United States Secret Service will establish and operate a National Threat Assessment Center under the direction of the Secretary of Homeland Security, with responsibilities including training, research, consultation on threat cases, and sharing information about preventing violence (Sec. 3(b)).
- The Center will create a national program focused on preventing school violence by conducting research, developing training courses, and publishing findings on the Secret Service website and school safety websites (Sec. 3(c)).
- The Center must develop a plan within one year to offer training and educational resources to public and private organizations in each state (Sec. 3(c)(2)(B)).
- The Director of the Secret Service may hire additional staff, including at least one employee with expertise in child psychological development and at least one with expertise in school threat assessment (Sec. 3(d)).
- The Director must submit a report to Congress within two years detailing how many people were trained in each state, how many school districts received training, and whether the training was effective (Sec. 3(e)).
- No funds provided to this program can be used to train anyone to use firearms (Sec. 3(g)).
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What Changes
If this becomes law, the United States Secret Service will begin operating a dedicated National Threat Assessment Center focused on preventing targeted violence. Schools, law enforcement agencies, and mental health professionals will have access to specialized training on how to spot warning signs of potential violence and how to respond with early intervention rather than letting violence occur. The government will collect data on whether this training actually works to prevent violence.
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Important Definitions
- **Behavioral threat assessment**: A proactive approach to identify, assess, and provide age-appropriate interventions, resources, and supports for students who display behavior that raises concerns for the safety of themselves or others (Sec. 2(a)(13))
- **Evidence-based**: Means either strong evidence from at least one well-designed experimental study, moderate evidence from at least one well-designed quasi-experimental study, or promising evidence from at least one well-designed correlational study with statistical controls for selection bias (Sec. 3(j)(1))
- **Local educational agency**: Has the meaning given under section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Sec. 3(j)(2))
- **State**: Any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Sec. 3(j)(3))
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Effective Date
The program will expire on September 30, 2028 (Sec. 3(i)). Specific implementation deadlines include one year after enactment for the state training plan (Sec. 3(c)(2)(B)) and two years after enactment for the congressional report (Sec. 3(e)).
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1005
To amend title 18, United States Code, to reauthorize and expand the
National Threat Assessment Center of the Department of Homeland Security.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 14, 2023
Mr. DIAZ-BALART (for himself and Mr. MOSKOWITZ) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addi-
tion to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
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-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘EAGLES Act of
4
2023’’.
5
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
6
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
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(1) On February 14, 2018, 17 individuals were
1
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.
4
(2) These individuals—Alaina Petty, Alex
5
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-
14
cerning behavior prior to the massacre that were
15
alarming and that should have alerted law enforce-
16
ment and other Federal, State, and local officials
17
about the potential for violence.
18
(4) Acts of targeted violence, including the at-
19
tack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School,
20
are preventable.
21
(5) Lives were saved because of the brave and
22
exemplary conduct of many students, teachers, and
23
staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in-
24
cluding several of the victims of the attack.
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(6) The Secret Service National Threat Assess-
1
ment Center (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Cen-
2
ter’’) was established in 1998 to conduct research on
3
all forms of targeted violence, including attacks tar-
4
geting government officials, government facilities,
5
workplaces, houses of worship, K–12 schools, univer-
6
sities, and mass attacks in public spaces.
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(7) Research published by the Center on tar-
8
geted violence has shown that—
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(A) most incidents were planned in ad-
10
vance;
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(B) the attackers’ behavior gave some indi-
12
cation that the individual was planning, or at
13
least contemplating, an attack;
14
(C) most attackers had already exhibited a
15
pattern of behavior that elicited concern to
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other people in their lives; and
17
(D) prior to the attack, someone associated
18
with the attacker, such as a family member or
19
peer, often knew the attack was to likely to
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occur.
21
(8) Through their research, the Center devel-
22
oped the Secret Service’s behavioral threat assess-
23
ment model for preventing targeted violence, which
24
includes a 3-step process—
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(A) identifying individuals who are exhib-
1
iting threatening or concerning behaviors that
2
indicate they may pose a risk of violence;
3
(B) assessing whether the individual poses
4
a risk, based on articulable facts; and
5
(C) risk posed by the individualized
6
proactive and preventive measures.
7
(9) The Secret Service’s behavioral threat as-
8
sessment model works most effectively when all the
9
relevant parties, including local law enforcement,
10
mental health professionals, workplace managers,
11
school personnel, and members of the community,
12
are part of a comprehensive protocol to identify, as-
13
sess, and manage a potential threat.
14
(10) The primary goal of behavioral threat as-
15
sessment programs is to prevent targeted violence,
16
with an emphasis on providing early intervention
17
and connecting individuals exhibiting threatening or
18
concerning behavior to existing community resources
19
for support.
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(11) Early intervention is a proven and effective
21
way to prevent violent conduct that would otherwise
22
harm others and necessitate more punitive action,
23
including criminal penalties.
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(12) The parties involved need the appropriate
1
research, guidance, training, and tools to establish
2
the appropriate mechanisms for implementing this
3
type of preventative approach.
4
(13) In K–12 schools, a behavioral threat as-
5
sessment is a proactive approach to identify, assess,
6
and provide age-appropriate interventions, resources,
7
and supports for students who display behavior that
8
elicits concerns for the safety of themselves or oth-
9
ers.
10
(14) There has been a 79 percent decline in ju-
11
venile arrests in K–12 school communities who have
12
received Center training, thus successfully diverting
13
youth away from the criminal justice system.
14
(15) The demand from local communities
15
throughout the United States for behavioral threat
16
assessment trainings has significantly increased.
17
Since its inception, the Center has provided over
18
2,575 training sessions to over 273,000 attendees.
19
(16) From fiscal year 2018 to fiscal year 2022,
20
the Center has experienced a 117 percent increase in
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demand for training sessions, with five times as
22
many participants.
23
(17) The Center additionally provides consulta-
24
tion and follow-up engagements with government
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agencies, law enforcement, schools, and other organi-
1
zations with public safety responsibilities. From fis-
2
cal year 2018 to fiscal year 2022 the Center has
3
seen a 553 percent increase in consultation activi-
4
ties.
5
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
6
gress that a fact-based behavioral threat assessment ap-
7
proach, involving local law enforcement, mental health
8
professionals, workplace managers, school personnel, other
9
public safety officials, and members of the community, is
10
one of the most effective ways to prevent targeted violence
11
impacting communities across the country, and is a fitting
12
memorial to those whose lives were taken in the February
13
14, 2018, attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High
14
School and those who heroically acted to preserve the lives
15
of their friends, students, and colleagues.
16
SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION AND EXPANSION OF THE NA-
17
TIONAL THREAT ASSESSMENT CENTER OF
18
THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.
19
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 203 of title 18, United
20
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 3056A
21
the following:
22
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‘‘§ 3056B. Functions of the National Threat Assess-
1
ment Center of the United States Secret
2
Service
3
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a National
4
Threat Assessment Center (in this section referred to as
5
the ‘Center’), to be operated by the United States Secret
6
Service, at the direction of the Secretary of Homeland Se-
7
curity.
8
‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Center shall
9
include the following:
10
‘‘(1) Training and education in the area of best
11
practices on threat assessment and the prevention of
12
targeted violence.
13
‘‘(2) Consultation on complex threat assessment
14
cases and programs.
15
‘‘(3) Research on threat assessment and the
16
prevention of targeted violence, consistent with evi-
17
dence-based standards and existing laws and regula-
18
tions.
19
‘‘(4) Facilitation of information sharing on
20
threat assessment and the prevention of targeted vi-
21
olence among agencies and organizations with pro-
22
tective or public safety responsibilities, as well as
23
other public or private entities.
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‘‘(5) Development of evidence-based programs
25
to promote the standardization of Federal, State,
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•HR 1005 IH
and local threat assessments and best practices for
1
the prevention of targeted violence.
2
‘‘(c) SAFE SCHOOL INITIATIVE.—In carrying out the
3
functions described in subsection (b), the Center shall es-
4
tablish a national program on targeted school violence pre-
5
vention, focusing on the following activities:
6
‘‘(1) RESEARCH.—The Center shall—
7
‘‘(A) conduct research into targeted school
8
violence and evidence-based practices in tar-
9
geted school violence prevention, including
10
school threat assessment; and
11
‘‘(B) publish the findings of the Center on
12
the public website of the United States Secret
13
Service and on the School Safety Clearinghouse
14
website, known as www.SchoolSafety.gov.
15
‘‘(2) TRAINING.—
16
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Center shall de-
17
velop and offer training courses on targeted
18
school violence prevention to agencies with pro-
19
tective or public safety responsibilities and
20
other public or private entities, including local
21
educational agencies.
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‘‘(B) PLAN.—Not later than one year after
23
the date of enactment of this section, the Cen-
24
ter shall establish a plan to offer its training
25
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•HR 1005 IH
and other educational resources to public or pri-
1
vate entities within each State.
2
‘‘(3) COORDINATION
WITH
OTHER
FEDERAL
3
AGENCIES.—The Center shall develop research and
4
training programs under this section in coordination
5
with the Department of Justice, the Department of
6
Education, and the Department of Health and
7
Human Services.
8
‘‘(4) CONSULTATION WITH ENTITIES OUTSIDE
9
THE
FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT.—The Center is au-
10
thorized to consult with State and local educational,
11
law enforcement, and mental health officials and pri-
12
vate entities in the development of research and
13
training programs under this section.
14
‘‘(5) INTERACTIVE WEBSITE.—The Center may
15
create an interactive website to disseminate informa-
16
tion and data on evidence-based practices in tar-
17
geted school violence prevention.
18
‘‘(d) HIRING OF ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Di-
19
rector of the United States Secret Service may hire addi-
20
tional personnel to comply with the requirements of this
21
section, which, if the Director exercises that authority,
22
shall include—
23
‘‘(1) at least one employee with expertise in
24
child psychological development; and
25
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•HR 1005 IH
‘‘(2) at least one employee with expertise in
1
school threat assessment.
2
‘‘(e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than two
3
years after the date of enactment of this section, the Di-
4
rector of the Secret Service shall submit to the Committee
5
on the Judiciary, the Committee on Health, Education,
6
Labor, and Pensions, and the Committee on Appropria-
7
tions of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary,
8
the Committee on Education and Labor, and the Com-
9
mittee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives
10
a report on actions taken by the United States Secret
11
Service to implement provisions of this section, which shall
12
include information relating to the following:
13
‘‘(1) The number of employees hired (on a full-
14
time equivalent basis).
15
‘‘(2) The number of individuals in each State
16
trained in threat assessment.
17
‘‘(3) The number of school districts in each
18
State trained in school threat assessment or targeted
19
school violence prevention.
20
‘‘(4) Information on Federal, State, and local
21
agencies trained or otherwise assisted by the Center.
22
‘‘(5) A formal evaluation indicating whether the
23
training and other assistance provided by the Center
24
is effective.
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‘‘(6) A formal evaluation indicating whether the
1
training and other assistance provided by the Center
2
was implemented by the school.
3
‘‘(7) A summary of the Center’s research activi-
4
ties and findings.
5
‘‘(8) A strategic plan for disseminating the
6
Center’s educational and training resources to each
7
State.
8
‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
9
is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
10
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.
11
Amounts appropriated pursuant to such authorization
12
shall be derived wholly from the unobligated balances of
13
amounts made available to the Department, on or before
14
the date of the enactment of this section, to prevent, pre-
15
pare for, or respond to the coronavirus.
16
‘‘(g) NO FUNDS TO PROVIDE FIREARMS TRAIN-
17
ING.—Amounts made available to carry out this section
18
may not be used to train any person in the use of a fire-
19
arm.
20
‘‘(h) NO EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this
21
section may be construed to preclude or contradict any
22
other provision of law authorizing training in the use of
23
firearms.
24
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‘‘(i) TERMINATION.—This section shall terminate on
1
September 30, 2028.
2
‘‘(j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
3
‘‘(1) EVIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘evidence-
4
based’ means—
5
‘‘(A) strong evidence from at least one
6
well-designed
and
well-implemented
experi-
7
mental study;
8
‘‘(B) mo
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]