WASHINGTON – Sen.
Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and a bipartisan group of lawmakers in both chambers of Congress
today reintroduced the
EAGLES Act to prevent acts of mass violence. The bill, named after the
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mascot, would expand the U.S. Secret
Service’s National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) to include a greater focus
on preventing targeted violence, including school violence.
The NTAC provides
research and training for behavioral threat assessment and targeted violence,
including school shootings and other public threats. The legislation creates a
national program on targeted school violence prevention, and expands the NTAC's
research and training on school violence and its dissemination of information
on school violence prevention initiatives.
The Senate
legislation is cosponsored by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.),
Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Angus King (I-Maine)
and Susan Collins (R-Maine). Companion legislation was introduced in the U.S.
House of Representatives by Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Jared
Moskowitz (D-Fla.).
“Accurate
behavioral threat assessments and early interventions are essential to
maintaining a safe environment in our schools and communities and preventing
another tragedy from taking place,” Grassley
said. “The U.S. Secret Service is uniquely equipped to help evaluate these
threats, and our bill would enable them to share their tools and expertise with
school safety partners across the country. While we can never bring back the
lives tragically lost in horrific acts of violence, we must do all we can to
honor their memories by preventing future violence from occurring.”
“The EAGLES Act would leverage the National
Threat Assessment Center to provide a proactive and multi-pronged approach to
identify and stop threats of school violence,” Rubio said. “I thank Senator Grassley for his continued leadership
on this legislation, and urge the Senate to pass this bill.”
“In the five years
since the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland,
Florida, we’ve worked every day to honor the 17 lives taken and to protect our schools,
students and educators,” Scott said.
“Our bipartisan bill, the EAGLES Act,
is an important step to improve school safety and provide more resources to law
enforcement to prevent future tragedies from happening. I urge my colleagues to
finally pass this bill.”
“Every child
deserves to feel safe in the classroom, and school gun violence is a
heartbreaking issue that far too many American families have faced. I’m proud
to reintroduce this commonsense, bipartisan legislation to expand programs
offered by NTAC and help our law enforcement officials understand and mitigate
threats at our schools,” Manchin said.
“I will continue working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to
protect our children and prevent violence in schools across West Virginia and
the United States.”
“Our country has
seen far too many acts of violence. Americans deserve to live their lives
safely—at school, at grocery stores, at concerts, at places of worship, the list
goes on,” King said. “The EAGLES Act is a simple, commonsense,
important step to stop mass violence before it happens and keep communities
safe from these tragedies. This bill will build on the National Threat
Assessment Center track record of success and empower them to share their vast
information resources wider to prevent future threats. I’m proud to join the
bipartisan, bicameral coalition working on this bill and hope we can ensure its
swift passage to help stop mass violence across our nation.”
“No child should
feel unsafe in the classroom, and it is imperative that we take action to
ensure that schools are a safe learning environment for students, teachers, and
staff,” Collins said. “This
legislation would improve research and training to prevent targeted violence,
including threats to schools. This is
one of many commonsense steps that we can take to help protect our
communities.”
"On the fifth
anniversary of the tragic, senseless act of violence at Marjory Stoneman
Douglas High School, that took the lives of 17 innocent individuals, I continue
to pray for all those that experienced that horrific attack," Diaz-Balart said. "Sadly, after
Parkland, these targeted attacks have become more common. As we have learned,
threat assessments and early intervention are proven and effective ways to
prevent violent conduct, and Congress must ensure that all communities are
equipped with the tools to identify and respond to any and all threats. The
EAGLES Act is a crucial step toward protecting our communities, schools,
workplaces, and houses of worship by ensuring that they have the knowledge and
resources to identify and respond to potential acts of targeted violence. I am
proud to reintroduce this crucial bill and remain optimistic that it can soon
become law."
"Five years
ago, our community was rocked to its core by school violence. We must do
everything in our power to leverage our best resources to keeping our kids
safe," Moskowitz said. "By
building on the Secret Service's National Threat Assessment Center model,
schools and community leaders can receive trainings on how to prevent and
respond to violence. By naming the legislation the Eagles Act, we will always
remember the 17 lives lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and the
importance of preventing future school tragedies."
Background
The U.S. Secret
Service’s National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) was created in 1998 to
develop evidence-based indicators for various types of targeted violence,
including school violence. NTAC’s findings can then be used to develop best
practices and training to prevent future acts of violence. Since 2002, the Secret
Service has conducted hundreds of training operations for more than 198,000
school administrators, teachers, counselors, mental health professionals,
school resource officers and other public safety partners. The EAGLES Act reauthorizes and expands
NTAC, allowing it to scale its threat assessment operations, with a particular
focus on school safety.
In addition to
reauthorizing the center and expanding their research and education ability, the
bill establishes a national program on targeted school violence prevention and
provides additional resources to expand research and training. Through the
bill’s school safety initiative, the NTAC will coordinate trainings and plans
with the Department of Justice and Department of Education. The bill also
requires the Secret Service to provide periodic progress reports to Congress.
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