Expanding Research on Mass Violence Prevention Act

Expanding Research on Mass Violence Prevention Act

This bill directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to engage in specified research and activities to improve surveillance, risk assessment, and prevention strategies related to mass violence.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2554 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2554

 To require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct 
                       research on mass violence.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 26, 2019

  Mr. Isakson introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct 
                       research on mass violence.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Expanding Research on Mass Violence 
Prevention Act''.

SEC. 2. MASS VIOLENCE RESEARCH.

    Part J of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
280b et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 393D the following:

``SEC. 393E. MASS VIOLENCE RESEARCH.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall engage in 
activities to address mass violence. Such activities shall include--
            ``(1) pilot projects in States participating in the 
        National Violent Death Reporting System that focus on improving 
        the collection, completeness, and sharing of information;
            ``(2) research on the nature of mass violence and factors 
        that contribute to mass violence, including psychological and 
        sociological factors;
            ``(3) research on methods and instruments for identifying 
        and predicting perpetrators of mass violence;
            ``(4) research on methods of intervention with respect to, 
        and prevention of, mass violence;
            ``(5) the development and dissemination of standardized 
        assessment tools for mass violence risk; and
            ``(6) research into copycat and contagion phenomena with 
        respect to mass violence.
    ``(b) Mass Violence Defined.--For purposes of this section, the 
term `mass violence' means a physical assault carried out with 
implements (which may include knives, clubs, motor vehicles, firearms, 
or explosives) resulting in injury or death to three or more victims, 
not including the perpetrator. Such term does not include identifiably 
gang-related, drug-related, or organized crime-related incidents.
    ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there are authorized to be appropriated $75,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2020 through 2024.
    ``(d) Rule of Construction.--No activity conducted under this 
section shall be construed as advocating or promoting gun control 
within the meaning of section 210 of division B of Public Law 115-
245.''.
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