II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 391 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 23, 2021 Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mr. MANCHIN, Ms. COLLINS, and Ms. HASSAN) introduced the following 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- 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 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 7 (1) On February 14, 2018, 17 individuals lost 8 their lives in a senseless and violent attack on Mar- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Mar 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S391.IS S391 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 391 IS jory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland 1 Florida, a school whose mascot is the eagle. 2 (2) These individuals lived lives of warmth, joy, 3 determination, service, and love, and their loss is 4 mourned by the Nation. 5 (3) The shooter in that attack exhibited pat- 6 terns of behavior that were alarming and that should 7 have alerted law enforcement and other Federal, 8 State, and local officials. 9 (4) The attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas 10 High School was preventable. 11 (5) Lives were saved because of the brave and 12 exemplary conduct of many students, teachers, and 13 staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in- 14 cluding several of the victims of the attack. 15 (6) The National Threat Assessment Center 16 (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Center’’) was estab- 17 lished in 1998 to conduct research on various types 18 of targeted violence. 19 (7) Studies conducted by the Center on tar- 20 geted school violence, in particular, have shown 21 that— 22 (A) most incidents were planned in ad- 23 vance; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Mar 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S391.IS S391 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 391 IS (B) the attackers’ behavior gave some indi- 1 cation that the individual was planning, or at 2 least contemplating, an attack; 3 (C) most attackers had already exhibited a 4 pattern of behavior that was of concern to other 5 people in their lives; and 6 (D) prior to the attack, someone associated 7 with the attacker, such as a family member or 8 peer, knew the attack was to likely to occur. 9 (8) Through their research, the Center devel- 10 oped the threat assessment model for responding to 11 indicators of targeted violence, which includes a 3- 12 step process— 13 (A) identifying individuals who are exhib- 14 iting behaviors that indicate they are planning 15 an attack on a school; 16 (B) assessing whether the individual poses 17 a threat to the school, based on articulable 18 facts; and 19 (C) managing the threat the individual 20 may pose to the school. 21 (9) The threat assessment model works most 22 effectively when all the relevant parties, including 23 school officials, local law enforcement, and members 24 of the community, are part of a comprehensive pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Mar 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S391.IS S391 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 391 IS tocol to identify, assess, and manage a potential 1 threat to the school. 2 (10) The primary goal of threat assessment 3 programs in schools should be to prevent violent con- 4 duct, with an emphasis on early intervention, treat- 5 ment, and care of individuals exhibiting behaviors 6 associated with targeted violence. 7 (11) Early intervention, treatment, and preven- 8 tion of violent behavior is an effective way to prevent 9 violent conduct that would harm others and neces- 10 sitate disciplinary action, including criminal pen- 11 alties. 12 (12) The parties involved need the appropriate 13 training and tools to establish the appropriate mech- 14 anisms for implementing this type of approach. 15 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 16 gress that a fact-based threat assessment approach, in- 17 volving school officials, local law enforcement, and mem- 18 bers of the community, is one of the most effective ways 19 to prevent targeted violence in schools, and is a fitting me- 20 morial to those who lost their lives in the February 14, 21 2018, attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School 22 and those who heroically acted to preserve the lives of their 23 friends, students, and colleagues. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Mar 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S391.IS S391 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 391 IS SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION AND EXPANSION OF THE NA- 1 TIONAL THREAT ASSESSMENT CENTER OF 2 THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 203 of title 18, United 4 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 3056A 5 the following: 6 ‘‘§ 3056B. Functions of the National Threat Assess- 7 ment Center of the United States Secret 8 Service 9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a National 10 Threat Assessment Center (in this section referred to as 11 the ‘Center’), to be operated by the United States Secret 12 Service, at the direction of the Secretary of Homeland Se- 13 curity. 14 ‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Center shall 15 include the following: 16 ‘‘(1) Training in the area of best practices on 17 threat assessment. 18 ‘‘(2) Consultation on complex threat assessment 19 cases or programs. 20 ‘‘(3) Research on threat assessment and the 21 prevention of targeted violence, consistent with evi- 22 dence-based standards and existing laws and regula- 23 tions. 24 ‘‘(4) Facilitation of information sharing on 25 threat assessment and the prevention of targeted vi- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Mar 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S391.IS S391 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 391 IS olence among agencies with protective or public safe- 1 ty responsibilities, as well as other public or private 2 entities. 3 ‘‘(5) Development of evidence-based programs 4 to promote the standardization of Federal, State, 5 and local threat assessments, best practices in inves- 6 tigations involving threats, and the prevention of 7 targeted violence. 8 ‘‘(c) SAFE SCHOOL INITIATIVE.—In carrying out the 9 functions described in subsection (b), the Center shall es- 10 tablish a national program on targeted school violence pre- 11 vention, focusing on the following activities: 12 ‘‘(1) RESEARCH.—The Center shall— 13 ‘‘(A) conduct research into targeted school 14 violence and evidence-based practices in tar- 15 geted school violence prevention, including 16 school threat assessment; and 17 ‘‘(B) publish the findings of the Center on 18 the public website of the United States Secret 19 Service. 20 ‘‘(2) TRAINING.— 21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Center shall de- 22 velop and offer training courses on targeted 23 school violence prevention to agencies with pro- 24 tective or public safety responsibilities and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Mar 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S391.IS S391 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 391 IS other public or private entities, including local 1 educational agencies. 2 ‘‘(B) PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after 3 the date of enactment of this section, the Cen- 4 ter shall establish a plan to offer its training 5 and other educational resources to public or pri- 6 vate entities within each State. 7 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION WITH OTHER FEDERAL 8 AGENCIES.—The Center shall develop research and 9 training programs under this section in coordination 10 with the Department of Justice, the Department of 11 Education, and the Department of Health and 12 Human Services. 13 ‘‘(4) CONSULTATION WITH ENTITIES OUTSIDE 14 THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—The Center is au- 15 thorized to consult with State and local educational, 16 law enforcement, and mental health officials and pri- 17 vate entities in the development of research and 18 training programs under this section. 19 ‘‘(5) INTERACTIVE WEBSITE.—The Center may 20 create an interactive website to disseminate informa- 21 tion and data on evidence-based practices in tar- 22 geted school violence prevention. 23 ‘‘(d) HIRING OF ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Di- 24 rector of the United States Secret Service may hire addi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 Mar 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S391.IS S391 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 391 IS tional personnel to comply with the requirements of this 1 section, which, if the Director exercises that authority, 2 shall include— 3 ‘‘(1) at least 1 employee with expertise in child 4 psychological development; and 5 ‘‘(2) at least 1 employee with expertise in school 6 threat assessment. 7 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 8 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the func- 9 tions of the Center $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 10 2022 through 2025. 11 ‘‘(f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years 12 after the date of enactment of this section, the Director 13 of the Secret Service shall submit to the Committee on 14 the Judiciary and the Committee on Health, Education, 15 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on 16 the Judiciary and the Committee on Education and Labor 17 of the House of Representatives a report on actions taken 18 by the United States Secret Service to implement provi- 19 sions of this section, which shall include— 20 ‘‘(1) the number of employees hired (on a full- 21 time equivalent basis); 22 ‘‘(2) the number of individuals in each State 23 trained in threat assessment; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Mar 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S391.IS S391 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 391 IS ‘‘(3) the number of school districts in each 1 State trained in school threat assessment or targeted 2 school violence prevention; 3 ‘‘(4) information on Federal, State, and local 4 agencies trained or otherwise assisted by the Center; 5 ‘‘(5) a formal evaluation indicating whether the 6 training and other assistance provided by the Center 7 is effective; 8 ‘‘(6) a formal evaluation indicating whether the 9 training and other assistance provided by the Center 10 was implemented by the school; 11 ‘‘(7) a summary of the Center’s research activi- 12 ties and findings; and 13 ‘‘(8) a strategic plan for disseminating the Cen- 14 ter’s educational and training resources to each 15 State. 16 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 17 ‘‘(1) the term ‘evidence-based’ means— 18 ‘‘(A) strong evidence from at least 1 well- 19 designed and well-implemented experimental 20 study; 21 ‘‘(B) moderate evidence from at least 1 22 well-designed and well-implemented quasi-exper- 23 imental study; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Mar 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S391.IS S391 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 391 IS ‘‘(C) promising evidence from at least 1 1 well-designed and well-implemented correla- 2 tional study with statistical controls for selec- 3 tion bias; 4 ‘‘(2) the term ‘local educational agency’ has the 5 meaning given that term under section 8101 of the 6 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 7 (20 U.S.C. 7801); and 8 ‘‘(3) the term ‘State’ means any State of the 9 United States, the District of Columbia, the Com- 10 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, 11 Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of 12 the Northern Mariana Islands. 13 ‘‘(h) NO FUNDS TO PROVIDE FIREARMS TRAIN- 14 ING.—None of the funds authorized to be appropriated 15 under this section may be used to train any person in the 16 use of a firearm. 17 ‘‘(i) NO EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this 18 section may be construed to preclude or contradict any 19 other provision of law authorizing training in the use of 20 firearms.’’. 21 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 22 (1) Section 4 of the Presidential Threat Protec- 23 tion Act of 2000 (18 U.S.C. 3056 note) is repealed. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Mar 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S391.IS S391 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 391 IS (2) The table of sections for chapter 203 of title 1 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting 2 after the item relating to section 3056A the fol- 3 lowing: 4 ‘‘3056B. Functions of the National Threat Assessment Center of the United States Secret Service.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Mar 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S391.IS S391 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS