What This Bill Does
This bill creates a new Office of Gun Violence Prevention inside the Department of Justice. The Attorney General will appoint a Director to lead the office and coordinate efforts to reduce gun violence and help victims. The Director will work with an advisory council and other federal agencies to develop strategies, evaluate programs and recommend policies to Congress.
Who It Affects
The Attorney General and the Director of the new office will directly manage this work. Federal agencies including the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and departments of Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Commerce, Homeland Security, and Defense will coordinate with the office. The public will be affected through education campaigns about gun violence prevention.
Key Provisions
- The Attorney General shall establish the Office of Gun Violence Prevention within the Office of Legal Policy of the Department of Justice and appoint a Director (Sec. 3(a)).
- The Director shall coordinate gun violence prevention programs administered by the Attorney General and evaluate laws, regulations, federal programs and grant programs to assess how they can reduce gun violence (Sec. 3(b)(1) and (b)(2)).
- The Director shall recommend legislative and executive policy options to Congress and the President to promote evidence-based gun violence prevention strategies (Sec. 3(b)(3)).
- The Director shall identify data gaps needed for gun violence prevention research and develop a plan to collect and analyze that data (Sec. 3(b)(4)).
- The Director shall educate the public about federal gun violence prevention laws, regulations and grant programs through education and awareness campaigns directed at firearm owners, parents and professionals (Sec. 3(b)(6)).
- The Attorney General shall convene an advisory council within 180 days after enactment, chaired by the Director, with at least 12 additional members including survivors of gun violence, public health officials, medical professionals, mental health clinicians, state officials, teachers, students and veterans (Sec. 3(c)).
- The Director shall submit an annual report to Congress describing the state of gun violence, policy recommendations and the office's efforts (Sec. 3(b)(8)).
What Changes
A new federal office dedicated to gun violence prevention will be created. The federal government will have a centralized coordinator working across multiple agencies to align gun violence prevention efforts. The government will conduct public education campaigns about secure firearm storage and suicide prevention. Congress will receive annual reports on gun violence and policy recommendations.
Important Definitions
- Gun violence includes homicide, violent crime, domestic violence, attempted suicide, suicide and unintentional death or injury involving a firearm.
- Director means the Director of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
- Advisory Council means the advisory council established under this section.
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1699
To establish the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 22, 2023
Mr. FROST introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary
A BILL
To establish the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
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 ‘‘Office of Gun Violence
4
Prevention Act of 2023’’.
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SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
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In this Act:
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(1) ADVISORY COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Advisory
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Council’’ means the advisory council established
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under section 3(c)(1).
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(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means
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the Director of the Office.
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(3) GUN VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘gun violence’’
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includes homicide, violent crime, domestic violence,
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attempted suicide, suicide, and unintentional death
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or injury involving a firearm.
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(4) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of-
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fice of Gun Violence Prevention established under
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section 3(a).
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SEC. 3. OFFICE OF GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION.
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(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall
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establish within the Office of Legal Policy of the De-
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partment of Justice the Office of Gun Violence Pre-
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vention.
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(2) DIRECTOR.—The Attorney General shall
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appoint a Director to be the head of the Office.
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(b) DUTIES.—
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director, in consulta-
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tion with the Advisory Council, shall coordinate, in-
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tegrate, and maximize the efficacy of each responsi-
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bility, program, and service relating to gun violence
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prevention administered by the Attorney General to
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maximize an integrated approach to reducing gun vi-
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•HR 1699 IH
olence and serving victims of gun violence, includ-
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ing—
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(A) the responsibilities of the heads of the
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Criminal and Civil Divisions of the Department
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of Justice, the Director of the Office of Com-
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munity Oriented Policing Services, each United
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States Attorney, Director of the Bureau of Al-
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cohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the
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Director of the Office on Violence Against
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Women, the Director of the Office of Victims of
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Crime, and the Director of the Office of Justice
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Programs; and
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(B) the administration of the national in-
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stant criminal background check system estab-
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lished under section 103 of the Brady Handgun
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Violence Prevention Act (34 U.S.C. 40901).
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(2) EVALUATION.—The Director, in consulta-
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tion with the Advisory Council, shall evaluate laws,
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regulations, Federal programs, offices, data sources,
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and grant programs relating to gun violence preven-
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tion administered by the Attorney General to assess
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how each such law, regulation, Federal program, of-
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fice, data source, and grant program can be maxi-
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mized, modernized, and coordinated to reduce gun
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violence.
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(3) POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Director
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shall recommend to Congress and the President leg-
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islative and executive policy options to promote evi-
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dence-based gun violence prevention strategies, in-
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cluding the implementation of existing laws, regula-
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tions, and grant programs.
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(4) DATA.—The Director, in consultation with
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the Advisory Council, shall—
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(A) identify gaps in available data needed
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for gun violence prevention research, policy de-
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velopment, and the implementation of evidence-
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based gun violence prevention strategies; and
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(B) develop a plan to collect and analyze
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the data described in subparagraph (A).
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(5) ASSESSMENT.—The Director, in consulta-
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tion with the Advisory Council, shall assess ongoing
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research efforts of the Department of Justice relat-
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ing to gun violence to establish a comprehensive re-
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search agenda on the causes and solutions of gun vi-
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olence.
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(6) EDUCATION.—The Director, in consultation
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with the Advisory Council, shall educate the general
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public about Federal laws, regulations, and grant
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programs relating to gun violence prevention, includ-
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•HR 1699 IH
ing by conducting education and awareness cam-
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paigns—
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(A) directed at—
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(i) owners of firearms;
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(ii) parents and legal guardians of mi-
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nors; and
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(iii) professionals who provide services
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to individuals and communities dispropor-
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tionately impacted by gun violence; and
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(B) that include education relating to the
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secure storage or firearms and suicide preven-
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tion.
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(7) COORDINATION.—In carrying out the duties
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under this subsection, the Director shall coordinate
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with Federal agencies and commissions that have ju-
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risdiction over gun violence prevention, including—
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(A) the Department of Health and Human
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Services;
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(B) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
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(C) the Department of Education;
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(D) the Department of Housing and
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Urban Development;
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(E) the Department of Commerce;
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(F) the Department of Homeland Security;
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(G) the Department of Defense;
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•HR 1699 IH
(H) the Department of the Interior;
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(I) the Consumer Product Safety Commis-
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sion;
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(J) the Federal Trade Commission; and
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(K) the United States Sentencing Commis-
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sion.
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(8) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year
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after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually
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thereafter, the Director shall submit to Congress a
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report that includes—
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(A) information on the state of gun vio-
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lence in the United States;
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(B) recommendations for policy initiatives
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and legislation to reduce gun violence in the
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United States; and
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(C) a description of the efforts of the Di-
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rector to carry out the duties under this sub-
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section.
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(c) ADVISORY COUNCIL.—
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days
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after the date of enactment of this Act, and not less
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frequently than quarterly thereafter, the Attorney
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General shall convene an advisory council—
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(A) chaired by the Director; and
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•HR 1699 IH
(B) the membership of which includes the
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following individuals or a designee of the indi-
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vidual:
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(i) The Deputy Attorney General.
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(ii) The Associate Attorney General.
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(iii) The Assistant Attorney General
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for the Office of Legal Policy.
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(iv) The Assistant Attorney General
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for the Office of Justice Programs.
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(v) The Assistant Attorney General
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for the Criminal Division.
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(vi) The Director of the Bureau of Al-
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cohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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(vii) The Director of the Federal Bu-
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reau of Investigation.
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(viii) The Director of the Bureau of
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Justice Assistance.
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(ix) The Director of the Office on Vio-
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lence Against Women.
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(x) The Director of the Office of Vic-
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tims of Crime.
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(xi) The Director of the Bureau of
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Justice Statistics.
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(xii) The Director of the National In-
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stitute of Justice.
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•HR 1699 IH
(2) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—
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(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Director shall
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make every reasonable effort to include as
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members of the Advisory Council not fewer
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than 12 additional individuals.
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(B) REPRESENTATIVES.—The additional
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members described in subparagraph (A) shall
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include not fewer than 1—
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(i) survivor of gun violence;
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(ii) community violence intervention
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service provider;
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(iii) public health official;
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(iv) medical professional who provides
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trauma care;
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(v) mental health clinician;
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(vi) official from a department of jus-
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tice of a State;
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(vii) State or local public health de-
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partment official;
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(viii) teacher;
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(ix) member of a student group; and
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(x) veteran.
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•HR 1699 IH
(d) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
1
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec-
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essary to carry out this section.
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Æ
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