119-s595

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 595 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 595

 To establish the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, and for other 
 purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 February 13, 2025

 Mr. Murphy (for himself, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Ms. 
 Klobuchar, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Schiff, and Mr. Van Hollen) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and 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 Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Office of Gun Violence Prevention 
Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Advisory council.--The term ``Advisory Council'' means 
 the advisory council established under 

section 3
            (c) (1) .

    (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
 the Office.

    (3) Gun violence.--The term ``gun violence'' includes 
 homicide, violent crime, domestic violence, attempted suicide, 
 suicide, and unintentional death or injury involving a firearm.

    (4) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the Office of Gun 
 Violence Prevention established under 

section 3

    (a) .

SEC. 3. OFFICE OF GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION.

    (a) Establishment.--

    (1) In general.--The Attorney General shall establish 
 within the Office of Legal Policy of the Department of Justice 
 the Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

    (2) Director.--The Attorney General shall appoint a 
 Director to be the head of the Office.

    (b) Duties.--

    (1) In general.--The Director, in consultation with the 
 Advisory Council, shall coordinate, integrate, and maximize the 
 efficacy of each responsibility, program, and service relating 
 to gun violence prevention administered by the Attorney General 
 to maximize an integrated approach to reducing gun violence and 
 serving victims of gun violence, including--
        (A) the responsibilities of the heads of the 
 Criminal and Civil Divisions of the Department of 
 Justice, the Director of the Office of Community 
 Oriented Policing Services, each United States 
 Attorney, the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, 
 Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Director of the 
 Office on Violence Against Women, the Director of the 
 Office of Victims of Crime, and the Director of the 
 Office of Justice Programs; and
        (B) the administration of the national instant 
 criminal background check system established under 
 

section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention 
 Act (34 U.S.C. 40901).

    (2) Evaluation.--The Director, in consultation with the 
 Advisory Council, shall evaluate laws, regulations, Federal 
 programs, offices, data sources, and grant programs relating to 
 gun violence prevention administered by the Attorney General to 
 assess how each such law, regulation, Federal program, office, 
 data source, and grant program can be maximized, modernized, 
 and coordinated to reduce gun violence.

    (3) Policy recommendations.--The Director shall recommend 
 to Congress and the President legislative and executive policy 
 options to promote evidence-based gun violence prevention 
 strategies, including the implementation of existing laws, 
 regulations, and grant programs.

    (4) Data.--The Director, in consultation with the Advisory 
 Council, shall--
        (A) identify gaps in available data needed for gun 
 violence prevention research, policy development, and 
 the implementation of evidence-based gun violence 
 prevention strategies; and
        (B) develop a plan to collect and analyze the data 
 described in subparagraph
        (A) .

    (5) Assessment.--The Director, in consultation with the 
 Advisory Council, shall assess ongoing research efforts of the 
 Department of Justice relating to gun violence to establish a 
 comprehensive research agenda on the causes and solutions of 
 gun violence.

    (6) Education.--The Director, in consultation with the 
 Advisory Council, shall educate the general public about 
 Federal laws, regulations, and grant programs relating to gun 
 violence prevention, including by conducting education and 
 awareness campaigns--
        (A) directed at--
            (i) owners of firearms;
            (ii) parents and legal guardians of minors; 
 and
            (iii) professionals who provide services to 
 individuals and communities disproportionately 
 impacted by gun violence; and
        (B) that include education relating to the secure 
 storage or firearms and suicide prevention.

    (7) Crisis response.--The Director, in consultation with 
 the Advisory Council, shall assist communities that have 
 experienced gun violence (such as a mass shooting, a school 
 shooting, a gang-related shooting, or a domestic violence 
 shooting) with crisis response activities, including providing 
 information about and increasing access to--
        (A) mental health services for members of the 
 community;
        (B) anti-gun trafficking activities;
            (C) crisis response training for first responders 
 and offices of gun violence prevention serving the 
 community; and
            (D) suicide prevention services for members of the 
 community.

    (8) Coordination.--In carrying out the duties under this 
 subsection, the Director shall coordinate with Federal agencies 
 and commissions that have jurisdiction over gun violence 
 prevention, including--
        (A) the Department of Health and Human Services;
        (B) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
            (C) the Department of Education;
            (D) the Department of Housing and Urban 
 Development;
        (E) the Department of Commerce;
        (F) the Department of Homeland Security;
        (G) the Department of Defense;
        (H) the Department of the Interior;
            (I) the Department of Labor;
        (J) the Department of Agriculture;
        (K) the Small Business Administration;
            (L) the Consumer Product Safety Commission;
            (M) the Federal Trade Commission; and
        (N) the United States Sentencing Commission.

    (9) Annual report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
 enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Director 
 shall submit to Congress a report that includes--
        (A) information on the state of gun violence in the 
 United States;
        (B) recommendations for policy initiatives and 
 legislation to reduce gun violence in the United 
 States; and
            (C) a description of the efforts of the Director to 
 carry out the duties under this subsection.
            (c) Advisory Council.--

    (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
 enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than quarterly 
 thereafter, the Attorney General shall convene an advisory 
 council--
        (A) chaired by the Director; and
        (B) the membership of which includes the following 
 individuals or a designee of the individual:
            (i) The Deputy Attorney General.
            (ii) The Associate Attorney General.
            (iii) The Assistant Attorney General for 
 the Office of Legal Policy.
            (iv) The Assistant Attorney General for the 
 Office of Justice Programs.
            (v) The Assistant Attorney General for the 
 Criminal Division.
            (vi) The Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, 
 Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
            (vii) The Director of the Federal Bureau of 
 Investigation.
            (viii) The Director of the Bureau of 
 Justice Assistance.
            (ix) The Director of the Office on Violence 
 Against Women.
            (x) The Director of the Office of Victims 
 of Crime.
            (xi) The Director of the Bureau of Justice 
 Statistics.
            (xii) The Director of the National 
 Institute of Justice.

    (2) Additional members.--
        (A) In general.--The Director shall make every 
 reasonable effort to include as members of the Advisory 
 Council not fewer than 12 additional individuals.
        (B) Representatives.--The additional members 
 described in subparagraph
        (A) shall include not fewer 
 than 1--
            (i) survivor of gun violence;
            (ii) community violence intervention 
 service provider;
            (iii) public health official;
            (iv) medical professional who provides 
 trauma care;
            (v) mental health clinician;
            (vi) official from a department of justice 
 of a State;
            (vii) State or local public health 
 department official;
            (viii) teacher;
            (ix) member of a student group; and
            (x) veteran.
            (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.
 <all>