118 HR 3962 IH: Resources for Victims of Gun Violence Act of 2023
U.S. House of Representatives
2023-06-09
text/xml
EN
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I
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3962
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 9, 2023
Mr. Evans (for himself, Mr. Khanna, Ms. Crockett, Ms. Wild, Mr. Moskowitz, Mr. Beyer, Ms. Norton, Mr. Higgins of New York, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Barragán, Ms. Titus, Ms. Balint, Ms. Tokuda, Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Ms. Brown, Ms. McCollum, Ms. Lofgren, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. McGovern, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Ms. Brownley, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Casten, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Moulton, Mrs. Foushee, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Espaillat, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Gottheimer, and Mr. Schiff) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To establish a Federal Advisory Council to Support Victims of Gun Violence.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Resources for Victims of Gun Violence Act of 2023”.
2.

Definitions
In this Act:
(1)

Advisory council
The term Advisory Council means the Advisory Council to Support Victims of Gun Violence established under section 3.
(2)

Appropriate committees
The term appropriate committees means the following:
(A)
The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate.
(B)
The Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.
(C)
The Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives.
(D)
The Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives.
(E)
The Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.
(F)
Any other relevant committee of the Senate or of the House of Representatives with jurisdiction over matters affecting victims of gun violence.
(3)

Gun violence
The term gun violence means—
(A)
suicide involving firearms;
(B)
homicide involving firearms;
(C)
domestic violence involving firearms;
(D)
hate crimes involving firearms;
(E)
youth violence involving firearms;
(F)
mass shootings;
(G)
unintentional shootings;
(H)
non-fatal shootings; and
(I)
threats or exposure to violent acts involving firearms.
(4)

Victim assistance professional
The term victim assistance professional means a professional who assists victims of gun violence, including—
(A)
a medical professional, including an emergency medical professional;
(B)
a social worker;
(C)
a provider of long-term services or care; and
(D)
a victim advocate.
(5)

Victim of gun violence
The term victim of gun violence means—
(A)
an individual who has been wounded as a result of gun violence;
(B)
an individual who has been threatened with an act of gun violence;
(C)
an individual who has witnessed an act of gun violence; and
(D)
a relative, classmate, coworker, or other associate of—
(i)
an individual who has been killed as a result of gun violence; or
(ii)
an individual described in subparagraph (A) or (B).
3.

Advisory Council to Support Victims of Gun Violence
(a)

Establishment
There is established an Advisory Council to Support Victims of Gun Violence.
(b)

Membership
(1)

In general
The Advisory Council shall be composed of the following members or their designees:
(A)
The Secretary of Health and Human Services.
(B)
The Attorney General.
(C)
The Secretary of Education.
(D)
The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
(E)
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
(F)
The Commissioner of Social Security.
(G)
The Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use.
(H)
The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(I)
The Director of the National Institutes of Health.
(J)
The Administrator of the Administration for Community Living.
(K)
The Director of the Office on Violence Against Women.
(L)
The Director of the Office for Victims of Crime.
(M)
The chairman of the Board of the Legal Services Corporation.
(N)
As appropriate, the head of any other Federal department or agency identified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services as having responsibilities, or administering programs, relating to issues affecting victims of gun violence.
(2)

Additional members
In addition to the members described in paragraph (1), the Advisory Council shall be composed of the following:
(A)
Not fewer than 2 and not more than 5 victims of gun violence, who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
(B)
Not fewer than 2 and not more than 5 victim assistance professionals, who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
(3)

Lead agency
The Department of Health and Human Services shall be the lead agency for the Advisory Council.
(c)

Duties
(1)

Assessment
The Advisory Council shall—
(A)
survey victims of gun violence and victim assistance professionals about their needs in order to inform the content of information disseminated under paragraph (2) and the report published under paragraph (3);
(B)
conduct a literature review and assess past or ongoing programs designed to assist victims of gun violence or individuals with similar needs to determine—
(i)
the effectiveness of the programs; and
(ii)
best and promising practices for assisting victims of gun violence; and
(C)
assess the administration of compensation funds established after mass shootings to determine best and promising practices to direct victims of gun violence to sources of funding.
(2)

Information
(A)

In general
The Advisory Council shall identify, promote, coordinate, and disseminate to the public information, resources, and best and promising practices available to help victims of gun violence—
(i)
meet their medical, financial, educational, workplace, housing, transportation, assistive technology, and accessibility needs;
(ii)
maintain their mental health and emotional well-being;
(iii)
seek legal redress for their injuries and protection against any ongoing threats to their safety; and
(iv)
access government programs, services, and benefits for which they may be eligible or to which they may be entitled.
(B)

Contact information
The Advisory Council shall include in the information disseminated under subparagraph (A) the websites and telephone contact information for helplines of relevant Federal agencies, State agencies, and nonprofit organizations.
(C)

Availability
The Advisory Council shall make the information described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) available—
(i)
online through a public website; and
(ii)
by submitting a hard copy and making available additional hard copies to—
(I)
each Member of Congress;
(II)
each field office of the Social Security Administration;
(III)
each State agency that is responsible for administering health and human services, for dissemination to medical facilities;
(IV)
each State agency that is responsible for administering education programs, for dissemination to schools; and
(V)
the office of each State attorney general, for dissemination to local prosecutor's offices.
(3)

Report
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Advisory Council shall—
(A)
prepare a report that—
(i)
includes the best and promising practices, resources, and other useful information for victims of gun violence identified under paragraph (2);
(ii)
identifies any gaps in items described in clause (i); and
(iii)
if applicable, identifies any additional Federal or State legislative authority necessary to implement the activities described in clause (i) or address the gaps described in clause (ii);
(B)
submit the report prepared under subparagraph (A) to—
(i)
the appropriate committees;
(ii)
each State agency that is responsible for administering health and human services;
(iii)
each State agency that is responsible for administering education programs; and
(iv)
the office of each State attorney general; and
(C)
make the report prepared under subparagraph (A) available to the public online in an accessible format.
(4)

Follow-up report
Not later than 2 years after the date on which the Advisory Council prepares the report under paragraph (3), the Advisory Council shall—
(A)
submit to the entities described in subparagraph (B) of that paragraph a follow-up report that includes the information identified in subparagraph (A) of that paragraph; and
(B)
make the follow-up report described in subparagraph (A) available to the public online in an accessible format.
(5)

Public input
(A)

In general
The Advisory Council shall establish a process to collect public input to inform the development of, and provide updates to, the best and promising practices, resources, and other information described in paragraph (2), including by conducting outreach to entities and individuals described in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph that—
(i)
have a range of experience with the types of gun violence described in section 2(3); and
(ii)
include representation from communities disproportionately affected by gun violence.
(B)

Entities and individuals
The entities and individuals described in this subparagraph are—
(i)
States, local governments, and organizations that provide information to, or support for, victims of gun violence;
(ii)
victims of gun violence; and
(iii)
victim assistance professionals.
(C)

Nature of outreach
In conducting outreach under subparagraph (A), the Advisory Council shall ask for input on—
(i)
information, resources, and best and promising practices available, including identification of any gaps and unmet needs;
(ii)
recommendations that would help victims of gun violence—
(I)
better meet their medical, financial, educational, workplace, housing, transportation, assistive technology, and accessibility needs;
(II)
maintain their mental health and emotional well-being;
(III)
seek legal redress for their injuries and protection against any ongoing threats to their safety; and
(IV)
access government programs, services, and benefits for which the victims may be eligible or to which the victims may be entitled; and
(iii)
any other subject areas discovered during the process that would help victims of gun violence.
(d)

Federal Advisory Committee Act
Chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to the Advisory Council.
(e)

Funding
No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act.
(f)

Sunset
The Advisory Council shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date of establishment of the Advisory Council.