Securing American Families by Educating and Training You (SAFETY) Through Nonviolence Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4167 To authorize the Attorney General to award grants to eligible entities to prevent or alleviate community violence by providing education, men- toring, and counseling services to children, adolescents, teachers, families, and community leaders on the principles and practice of nonviolence. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 6, 2019 Mr. LEWIS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To authorize the Attorney General to award grants to eligible entities to prevent or alleviate community violence by providing education, mentoring, and counseling services to children, adolescents, teachers, families, and commu- nity leaders on the principles and practice of nonviolence. 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 ‘‘Securing American 4 Families by Educating and Training You (SAFETY) 5 Through Nonviolence Act of 2019’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4167.IH H4167 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4167 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) The concept and practice of nonviolent 3 thoughts, words, and actions have a history and a 4 legacy in the United States and the global commu- 5 nity. 6 (2) In the 19th century, American philosophers 7 and authors Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry 8 David Thoreau were leaders of the transcendentalist 9 philosophical movement which emphasized the poten- 10 tial good of humanity, the importance of truth, and 11 the courage and power of peace. 12 (3) In the early 20th century, Mohandas (Ma- 13 hatma) Gandhi advanced the concepts and practices 14 of ahimsa, or non-injury, and satya, or truth as inte- 15 gral to social and active concepts and practices. 16 (4) Gandhi continued Thoreau’s ideas of Civil 17 Disobedience in developing the doctrine of satyagra- 18 ha which connects truth and nonviolence to active ef- 19 forts in nonviolent, civil disobedience. 20 (5) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., built upon 21 these philosophies in developing six principles of 22 nonviolence. He explained these to be a way of life 23 which sought to build friendships and under- 24 standing, defeat injustice, accept suffering as a way 25 to educate and transform, and to choose love instead 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4167.IH H4167 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4167 IH of hate. Nonviolence’s strength is reinforced by the 1 universe siding with justice. 2 (6) Rev. James E. Lawson, Jr., a leading theo- 3 rist and strategist, helped spread the philosophy and 4 doctrine of nonviolence by organizing and teaching 5 workshops to young activists during the American 6 Civil Rights Movement. 7 (7) During his Presidency, Nelson Rolihlahla 8 Mandela expanded the spirit of ubuntu, the African 9 philosophy of the interconnectedness, caring, shar- 10 ing, and harmony of humanity, throughout the 11 world. 12 (8) According to the 2019 Global Peace Index, 13 violence cost $14,100,000,000 in constant pur- 14 chasing power parity terms or $1,853 per person in 15 2018. The fiscal loss resulting from conflict greatly 16 exceeds investments in peacebuilding and peace- 17 keeping. 18 (9) Given its proven success and evolution, the 19 philosophy and doctrine of nonviolence can and 20 should play an important role in breaking the cycle 21 and reducing the frequency of violence throughout 22 the United States and as a model to the global com- 23 munity. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4167.IH H4167 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4167 IH (10) These lessons, principles, and practices 1 should be made available to Americans of all ages 2 and backgrounds in all parts of the country. 3 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO EDUCATE AMERICANS ABOUT THE 4 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF NON- 5 VIOLENCE. 6 (a) GRANTS.—The Attorney General may make 7 grants to eligible entities to prevent or alleviate the effects 8 of community violence by providing education, mentoring, 9 and counseling regarding the principles and application of 10 nonviolence in conflict resolution. 11 (b) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec- 12 tion, the Attorney General shall give priority to applicants 13 that agree to use the grant in one or more eligible urban, 14 rural, tribal, and suburban communities that can certify— 15 (1) an increased or sustained level of violence or 16 tension in the community; or 17 (2) a lack of monetary or other resources to 18 adopt innovative, integrated, community-based vio- 19 lence prevention programs. 20 (c) LIMITATION.—The Attorney General may not 21 make a grant to an eligible entity under this section unless 22 the entity agrees to use not less than 70 percent of such 23 grant for nonviolence-prevention education and program 24 development. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4167.IH H4167 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 4167 IH (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term ‘‘eligible 1 entity’’ means a State or local government entity (includ- 2 ing law enforcement), educational institution, nonprofit 3 community, or faith-based organization. 4 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 5 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 6 $60,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2020 through 7 2025. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4167.IH H4167 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS