[House Hearing, 116 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS: THE GUN VIOLENCE
EPIDEMIC IN AMERICA
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
OCTOBER 3, 2019
__________
Serial No. 116-68
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Printed for the use of the Committee on Energy and Commerce
govinfo.gov/committee/house-energy
energycommerce.house.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
43-411 PDF WASHINGTON : 2022
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE
FRANK PALLONE, Jr., New Jersey
Chairman
BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois GREG WALDEN, Oregon
ANNA G. ESHOO, California Ranking Member
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York FRED UPTON, Michigan
DIANA DeGETTE, Colorado JOHN SHIMKUS, Illinois
MIKE DOYLE, Pennsylvania MICHAEL C. BURGESS, Texas
JAN SCHAKOWSKY, Illinois STEVE SCALISE, Louisiana
G. K. BUTTERFIELD, North Carolina ROBERT E. LATTA, Ohio
DORIS O. MATSUI, California CATHY McMORRIS RODGERS, Washington
KATHY CASTOR, Florida BRETT GUTHRIE, Kentucky
JOHN P. SARBANES, Maryland PETE OLSON, Texas
JERRY McNERNEY, California DAVID B. McKINLEY, West Virginia
PETER WELCH, Vermont ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois
BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico H. MORGAN GRIFFITH, Virginia
PAUL TONKO, New York GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida
YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York, Vice BILL JOHNSON, Ohio
Chair BILLY LONG, Missouri
DAVID LOEBSACK, Iowa LARRY BUCSHON, Indiana
KURT SCHRADER, Oregon BILL FLORES, Texas
JOSEPH P. KENNEDY III, SUSAN W. BROOKS, Indiana
Massachusetts MARKWAYNE MULLIN, Oklahoma
TONY CARDENAS, California RICHARD HUDSON, North Carolina
RAUL RUIZ, California TIM WALBERG, Michigan
SCOTT H. PETERS, California EARL L. ``BUDDY'' CARTER, Georgia
DEBBIE DINGELL, Michigan JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina
MARC A. VEASEY, Texas GREG GIANFORTE, Montana
ANN M. KUSTER, New Hampshire
ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois
NANETTE DIAZ BARRAGAN, California
A. DONALD McEACHIN, Virginia
LISA BLUNT ROCHESTER, Delaware
DARREN SOTO, Florida
TOM O'HALLERAN, Arizona
------
Professional Staff
JEFFREY C. CARROLL, Staff Director
TIFFANY GUARASCIO, Deputy Staff Director
MIKE BLOOMQUIST, Minority Staff Director
Subcommittee on Health
ANNA G. ESHOO, California
Chairwoman
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York MICHAEL C. BURGESS, Texas
G. K. BUTTERFIELD, North Carolina, Ranking Member
Vice Chair FRED UPTON, Michigan
DORIS O. MATSUI, California JOHN SHIMKUS, Illinois
KATHY CASTOR, Florida BRETT GUTHRIE, Kentucky
JOHN P. SARBANES, Maryland H. MORGAN GRIFFITH, Virginia
BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida
KURT SCHRADER, Oregon BILLY LONG, Missouri
JOSEPH P. KENNEDY III, LARRY BUCSHON, Indiana
Massachusetts SUSAN W. BROOKS, Indiana
TONY CARDENAS, California MARKWAYNE MULLIN, Oklahoma
PETER WELCH, Vermont RICHARD HUDSON, North Carolina
RAUL RUIZ, California EARL L. ``BUDDY'' CARTER, Georgia
DEBBIE DINGELL, Michigan GREG GIANFORTE, Montana
ANN M. KUSTER, New Hampshire GREG WALDEN, Oregon (ex officio)
ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois
NANETTE DIAZ BARRAGAN, California
LISA BLUNT ROCHESTER, Delaware
BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois
FRANK PALLONE, Jr., New Jersey (ex
officio)
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Hon. Anna G. Eshoo, a Representative in Congress from the State
of California, opening statement............................... 1
Prepared statement........................................... 4
Hon. Bobby L. Rush, a Representative in Congress from the State
of Illinois, opening statement................................. 5
Hon. Adam Kinzinger, a Representative in Congress from the State
of Illinois, opening statement................................. 6
Prepared statement........................................... 8
Hon. G. K. Butterfield, a Representative in Congress from the
State of North Carolina, opening statement..................... 9
Hon. Robin L. Kelly, a Representative in Congress from the State
of Illinois, opening statement................................. 11
Witnesses
Brenda K. Mitchell, pastor and mother of Kenneth D. Mitchell, Jr. 13
Prepared statement........................................... 15
Selwyn Rogers, Jr., M.D., Chief of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery,
Univesity of Chicago Medicine.................................. 18
Prepared statement........................................... 20
Ronald M. Stewart, M.D., Medical Director, Committee on Trauma,
American College of Surgeons................................... 23
Prepared statement........................................... 26
Additional material submitted for the record \1\
Norman Livingston Kerr, Director of Violence Prevention, City of
Chicago........................................................ 36
Prepared statement........................................... 38
Spencer Leak, Sr., President and Chief Executive Officer, Leak
and Sons Funeral Home.......................................... 40
Prepared statement........................................... 42
Niva Lubin-Johnson, M.D., Immediate Past President, National
Medical Association............................................ 46
Prepared statement........................................... 49
Additional material submitted for the record................. 55
Submitted Material
Testimony of Megan L. Ranney, Chief Research Officer, AFFIRM
Research, submitted by Mr.Rush................................. 87
Report, ``2014 Kelly Report: Gun Violence in America,'' by Office
of Congresswoman Robin L. Kelly, submitted by Ms. Kelly \2\
Letter of October 1, 2019, from David J. Skorton, President and
Chief Executive Officer, Association of American Medical
Colleges, to Ms. Eshoo and Mr. Burgess, submitted by Ms. Eshoo. 91
----------
\1\ Two articles submitted by Dr. Stewart have been retained in
committee files and also are available at https://docs.house.gov/
meetings/IF/IF14/20191003/110968/HHRG-116-IF14-Wstate-StewartR-
20191003-SD004.pdf.
\2\ The report has been retained in committee files and also is
available at https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF14/20191003/110968/
HHRG-116-IF14-20191003-SD008.pdf.
A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS: THE GUN VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC IN AMERICA
----------
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019
House of Representatives,
Committee on Energy and Commerce,
Subcommittee on Health,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 9:35 a.m., in
the Great Hall at Kennedy-King College, 6301 South Halsted
Street, Chicago, IL, Hon. Anna G. Eshoo (chairwoman of the
subcommittee), presiding.
Members present: Representatives Eshoo, Rush, Schakowsky,
Butterfield, Clarke, Kelly, and Kinzinger.
Also present: Representatives Danny K. Davis and Jesus G.
``Chuy'' Garcia.
Staff present: Stephen Holland, Health Counsel; John
Marshall, Policy Coordinator; Aisling McDonough, Policy
Coordinator; Rebecca Tomilchik, Staff Assistant; CJ Young,
Press Secretary; Lauren Citron, Legislative Assistant, Rep.
Rush; Jeremy Edwards, Communications Director, Rep. Rush;
Nishith Pandya, Legislative Director, Rep. Rush; Yardly Pollas,
Chief of Staff, Rep. Rush; Robyn Wheeler-Grange, District
Director, Rep. Rush; Michael Brady, Press Assistant, Rep.
Eshoo; Osaremen Okolo, Health Policy Advisor, Rep. Schakowsky;
Kristen Shatynski, Minority Professional Staff Member; Paul
Laurie, Minority Legislative Assistant, Rep. Kinzinger; Austin
Weatherford, Minority Chief of Staff, Rep. Kinzinger; and
Lanette Garcia, Legislative Assistant, Rep. Garcia.
Ms. Eshoo. Good morning, everyone.
The Subcommittee on Health will now come to order. Before
we begin, per an agreement between the majority and the
minority, I would like to ask for unanimous consent for the
House Members who are with us today who are not members of the
committee, that they be recognized for 3 minutes to ask
questions after committee members have asked theirs.
And note, only committee members will be allowed to make
opening statements. Hearing no objections, so ordered.
The Chair now recognizes herself for 5 minutes for an
opening statement.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ANNA G. ESHOO, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
First of all, thank you, everyone, for being here this
morning. It is an honor for those of us that are not from
Chicago to be here.
I am Anna Eshoo. I have the honor of chairing this
subcommittee, and I have many relatives in Chicago. So this is
the Midwestern part of my family, and it is an honor to be here
with my colleagues on a very serious issue.
This is the very first Energy and Commerce Committee
hearing on the gun violence epidemic in our country as a public
health issue, and this subcommittee has jurisdiction over
public health issues in our country.
I want to recognize first the members of the committee who
represent parts of Chicago and the region, starting with
Congressman Bobby Rush, whose district we are in.
Thank you, Bobby, very much for inviting us--asking the
subcommittee to come here.
Congresswoman Robin Kelly, who is here to my left;
Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky from the Chicago region; and to
Representative Adam Kinzinger, who is also a representative
here from the State of Illinois, a little farther away--I think
next door to Robin.
Mr. Kinzinger. Yes. Yes.
Ms. Eshoo. And Mr. Kinzinger makes this hearing a
bipartisan hearing, and we are grateful to him for being here
today for his leadership and the leadership of each Member that
is here today.
We are also grateful to have with us, and we welcome our
congressional colleagues who are guests of the committee today,
Representative Danny Davis, whom I always say is the voice of
God when you----
[Laughter.]
Mr. Rush. Yes.
Ms. Eshoo [continuing]. Hear that magnificent voice of his,
and Chuy Garcia, who is here; the vice chair of the Energy and
Commerce Committee, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke; and I already
mentioned Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky.
Now, on this--on the subject matter that is before us
today, it is important to note that 100 Americans are killed by
a gun and hundreds more are shot and injured every day in our
country. Millions of Americans have watched in horror to see
the shootings and the massacres that have taken place in our
country.
They have watched families bury their loved ones, and there
are too many that live in fear of what could happen next, and
some are here with us today.
They are in the audience, they are at the witness table,
and they are on the dais as Members of Congress. Congressman
Rush buried his son as a result of gun violence.
I think this collective heartbreak will move us to work
with real purpose. We are here to treat American gun violence
for what it is: an epidemic.
And to treat an epidemic, we have to study it, we have to
understand what works to prevent it, and we need to learn how
to treat the trauma that is caused by it.
We know that a public health approach can work. Consider
antismoking efforts, or preventing injuries from car crashes.
We have achieved lifesaving results through funding data
analysis, encouraging research, and adopting commonsense
product improvements with these epidemics.
Another simple yet profound and proven method is listening
to people from the communities most affected by an epidemic and
the public health it represents.
We are here in Chicago's South Side, where so many have
lived with the epidemic of gun violence and for decades. Thank
you, again, Congressman Rush, for inviting our committee to
hold this hearing in your district and for your years of work
to address gun violence.
Gun homicide is the leading cause of death for African-
American boys and men ages 15 to 34, and it is the second-
leading cause of death for Hispanic boys and men ages 15 to 34
as well.
African-American men make up 52 percent of all gun homicide
victims despite only being 7 percent of the population of our
country.
Compared to the rate of gun homicides for white boys and
men of the same ages, the rate for African Americans is 21
times greater, and the rate for Hispanic men is nearly four
times greater.
Notably, the communities most impacted by gun violence are
the most knowledgeable about how to treat it and prevent it.
It is why our witnesses include Mr. Spencer Leak, Sr.,
owner of a family-run funeral home in the Chatham neighborhood,
who has comforted hundreds if not thousands of families whose
loved ones have been killed by a gun.
It is why we are listening to Pastor Brenda Mitchell and
Mr. Norman Kerr, who have taken their experiences with gun
violence and used them to promote commonsense, evidence-based
policies.
And it is why we are hearing from the physicians who work
every day to heal the physical, mental, and generational trauma
from shootings and who see the bodies that are ravaged by gun
violence.
Today's hearing will not be enough to stop the daily
violence. But we can broaden our understanding of how best to
treat this epidemic and provide resources for public health
research.
I am proud that the House voted to provide $50 million for
gun violence research at the CDC and the NIH, and the Senate
needs to do the same.
I want to thank Congresswoman Robin Kelly, a leader on the
issue of gun violence and for introducing----
[Applause.]
Ms. Eshoo. Sure, you can applaud. Every Member welcomes
that. It is a validation of our work.
I want to thank her for introducing H.R. 1114, and this is
legislation that requires the U.S. Surgeon General to provide
an annual report to Congress on the public health impacts and
the--you can applaud--and the costs of gun violence in America.
And I hope that our hearing today helps that bill come
closer to become law. So thank you, Congresswoman Robin Kelly.
Again, I thank each of my congressional colleagues. It is a
special honor to join with you here today in Chicago. I want to
thank each one of our witnesses for your professionalism and
your willingness to be here with us today, and everyone else
that has joined us. Those that are in the audience, thank you
for being here today.
Collectively, I think your presence and your testimony is
going to fuel our action.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Eshoo follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Anna G. Eshoo
Welcome to the very first Energy and Commerce hearing on
gun violence as a public health issue.
First, I'd like to recognize the members of the committee
who represent the Chicago region: Representative Bobby Rush
whose district we are in, Congresswomen Robin Kelly and Jan
Schakowsky, and our Republican colleague, Representative Adam
Kinzinger, thank you for your leadership and for participating
in this hearing today.
We're grateful to and welcome our Congressional colleagues
who represent the Chicago region and are guests of the
Committee today: Representatives Danny Davis, Sean Casten, and
Chuy Garcia.
One hundred Americans are killed with a gun and hundreds
more are shot and injured every day. Millions of Americans have
seen a shooting, buried a loved one, or live in fear of what
could happen next, and some are here with us today.
They are in the audience, they are at our witness table,
and they are on the dais as Members of Congress.
Your heartbreak moves us to work with purpose.
We're here to treat American gun violence for what it is--
an epidemic, and to treat an epidemic, we must study it,
understand what works to prevent it, and learn how to treat the
trauma caused by it.
We know that a public health approach can work. Consider
antismoking efforts or preventing injuries from car crashes.
We've achieved life-saving results through funding data
analysis, encouraging research, and adopting commonsense
product improvements with these epidemics.
Another simple yet profound and proven method is listening
to people from the communities most affected by the public
health threat.
We're here in Chicago's South Side where so many have lived
with the epidemic of gun violence for decades. I thank
Congressman Bobby Rush for inviting our committee to hold this
hearing in Chicago and for his years of work to address gun
violence.
Gun homicide is the leading cause of death for Africa-
American boys and men ages 15 to 34, and the second-leading
cause of death for Hispanic boys and men ages 15 to 34.
African-American men make up 52% of all gun homicide
victims, despite only being seven percent of the U.S.
population.
Compared to the rate of gun homicides for white boys and
men of the same ages, the rate for African Americans is 21
times greater, and the rate for Hispanic men is nearly four
times greater.
Notably, the communities most impacted by gun violence are
the most knowledgeable about how to treat and prevent it.
It's why our witnesses include Mr. Spencer Leak, Sr., owner
of a family-run funeral home in the Chatham neighborhood who
has comforted hundreds of families whose loved ones have been
killed by a gun.
It's why we're listening to Pastor Brenda Mitchell and Mr.
Norman Kerr, who've taken their experiences with gun violence
and used it to promote commonsense, evidence-based policies.
And it's why we're hearing from the physicians who work
every day to heal the physical, mental, and generational trauma
from shootings and see the human beings whose bodies are
ravaged by gun violence.
Today's hearing will not be enough to stop the daily
violence. We need to provide money for public health research.
I'm proud the House voted to provide $50 million for gun
violence research at the CDC and NIH. The Senate needs to do
the same.
I want to thank Congresswoman Robin Kelly for introducing
H.R. 1114, legislation that requires the U.S. Surgeon General
to provide an annual report to Congress on the public health
impacts and the costs of gun violence in America. I hope our
hearing today helps that bill come closer to being law.
Again, I thank each Member of Congress, our witnesses, and
our audience for joining us today. Your presence and testimony
will fuel our action.
Ms. Eshoo. I now have the privilege of recognizing the
gentleman from Illinois, Mr. Rush, for his opening statement.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BOBBY L. RUSH, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
Mr. Rush. I want to thank you, Madam Chairman, and my
friend from the great state of California. You and I were sworn
in together in Congress back in January of 1993, and we have
enjoyed each other and had our--our friendship has flowed all
the way to this day and including this day.
I want to thank you for convening this important hearing
and discussion right here in my district in the Kennedy-King
College.
Kennedy-King College is, in some sense, apropos for a
discussion on nonviolence in that both John F. Kennedy and
Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., were killed
by gun violence.
Gun violence, Madam Chairman, is indeed a national
epidemic. Gun violence undermines the public health and the
public safety of all of our communities.
This epidemic has had painful consequences for far too many
families here in Chicago, including my own family. Far too many
families in my district and similarly situated districts all
across the country have felt these painful consequences.
Madam Chairman, you mentioned my son, whose name was Huey.
Huey's murder was 10 years ago this very month. The anniversary
of his murder was October 31st.
So we are--10 years later, we are still fighting, still
wanting to try to resolve this matter of--this epidemic of gun
violence in our Nation.
Madam Chair, way back in 2017 I started calling more
hearings such as this to take place here in my district.
Important conversations are going on in Washington, DC.
But just as important if not more so is that we are having
these conversations right here in a community that for too long
has felt the pain of this epidemic.
It is for this very reason that I am pleased that we are
finally convening today this hearing to discuss this public
health crisis, this epidemic of gun violence.
And I want to thank all of my colleagues on both sides of
the aisle for being here today, and I want to thank the
witnesses who have come out at their own expense, sacrificing
their own time and resources, to bear testimony at this
hearing.
And, Madam Chairman, I am confident that during today's
hearing we will be able to shine a light on the public health
impacts of gun violence, and I am optimistic that we will walk
away and conclude this hearing with tangible ideas and
solutions that will protect our communities in the future from
this widespread and totally unrecognized epidemic.
This epidemic gun violence is not just a law enforcement
issue, Madam Chairman. It is a healthcare crisis in our Nation,
and as you stated earlier, it is an epidemic that we must
address as an epidemic in our Federal Government.
Madam Chairman, I look forward--Madame Chairwoman, I look
forward to hearing from today's witnesses, and with that said,
I ask for unanimous consent to insert in the record the
testimony of an individual who appeared at a hearing that I had
in Washington.
That was an unofficial hearing, but I had a hearing at the
Library of Congress almost 2 years ago where Dr. Megan Ranney,
an emergency physician, a violence prevention leader, and the
chief research officer of affirmed research in the country's
only nonprofit institution dedicated to solving gun violence
through the public health approach.
Madam Chairman, I want to submit with unanimous consent her
testimony for the record.
Ms. Eshoo. So ordered.
[The information appears at the conclusion of the hearing.]
Mr. Rush. And, Madam Chairman, with that I yield back the
balance of my time, and again, thank you for your participation
and your leadership on this and on the issue in our Congress.
Ms. Eshoo. The gentleman yields back.
Let me just say on behalf of my colleagues we are all very,
very grateful to the faculty, to the entire team here at
Kennedy-King, for your hospitality, for your warm welcome, for
the coffee when we came through the door and had this morning.
Let me just say that the two words, Kennedy and King, will
always be a source of inspiration to each one of us, and how
fitting it is that we are having this hearing in an institution
of learning.
It is now my pleasure to recognize the gentleman from
Illinois, Adam Kinzinger, for his 5 minutes and his opening
statement.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ADAM KINZINGER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
Mr. Kinzinger. Well, good morning, everybody, and for our
witnesses, thank you very much for being here. Chairwoman
Eshoo, thank you for making the trip, and to all my colleagues,
I really appreciate you all being here.
I may be outnumbered today, but I assure you there is a 100
percent turnout of Republicans from northern Illinois.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Kinzinger. So yes. Let me----
[Applause.]
Mr. Kinzinger. One of the other things I want to make very
clear, because you don't get to see this a lot when you watch
TV and stuff, most of us here--I think all of us get along
really well. We actually respect each other.
Unfortunately, you just see the times we argue and debate,
and you assume that it is like that all the time. We actually
like each other, and if I don't like somebody it is not because
of their politics. It is maybe because they are a jerk. But
nobody here fits that bill.
But I think that is important for me because I want to say
this. You know, I think when we get into these debates, whether
it is guns or gun violence, a lot of the times both sides just
retreat to their corner and mistrust each other in a
conversation and they assume the worst of what folks are
saying, and in some cases people may mean the worst when they
make a position.
But I think this is--while we are never going to agree at
whatever the end result is in the near future, I think there
are a lot of areas we can agree, and I think if we can begin to
talk to each other again and respect each other again and
listen to each other again, I think we will be able to make
some progress, and that is why I am here.
I am actually here not to debate my points and not to
argue. I am here to listen. I am here to listen to the people
of this community, to learn more about what is working and what
more we can do at the Federal level to help remedy some of
these issues.
You know, whether it is a small town or a big city across
the Nation, Americans are terrified by the mass shootings they
have seen that have, sadly, become a regular occurrence.
Too often, though, our attention to gun-related violence
focuses more on the mass shootings, and hardly any goes to the
steady, devastating strings of violence and daily killings that
happen here in Chicago and elsewhere, and frankly, I am
horrified each week when I see the number of people shot or
killed over the weekend in Chicago or when I get a notification
on my phone about an active shooter. This is our community, and
we need to work together to stop this violence.
As a Congressman, I feel the heat on all ends of this
debate, as all my colleagues do here, and I see the validity of
both sides of the conversation.
We, clearly, have a gun violence epidemic here in America,
and I want to work with my colleagues on both sides of the
aisle to find solutions that will reduce suicides, drug-related
violence, gang violence, and mass shootings.
While the larger gun debate continues, I believe there are
many areas we can find agreement, and it is our duty to do so.
And today I look forward to hearing from our distinguished
panel of witnesses about what more we can do to address this
problem.
During this hearing, I am interested in discussing the
community aspect of the gun violence crisis. I believe this
component is at the heart of a lot of issues we face.
I know there have been community initiatives in Chicago,
including job training, youth-based programs and support
groups, which have made a significant impact.
These programs that are often formed by the community and
for the community have shown how critical of a role communities
can play in addressing this crisis.
We really need to make sure we are paying attention to
these programs and replicate them when they are successful. I
am also interested in the mental health aspect of gun violence
and what we can do in Congress to ensure we provide the tools
necessary to address this component of the problem, such as
improving access to community health centers and those needing
medical help.
But we can't legislate a heart, and that is where community
and religious organizations come into play. They can help guide
and give people hope for a better future.
If you don't have hope and you don't have any reason to
follow a moral code or fear the results of your action,
tragedy, in many cases, follows.
Desperation can be a dangerous trigger, and to the extent
we can work on helping and healing those who are struggling and
end the stigma of discussing and facing mental illness in this
country, I fear things may only get worse.
In discussing the desperation and hopelessness, we come to
the issue of suicide. In 2017, 60 percent of gun-related deaths
were suicides, and here in Illinois 1 person dies by suicide
every 6 hours.
In the age of technology and instant gratification, more
and more people are feeling less connected. They feel isolated
and hopeless, and it is an issue we need to resolve as a
society.
Kids today feel that their self-worth depends on the number
of likes or comments or snaps they get in a given day, and that
is a concern to me.
So, as we get into these different issues surrounding gun
violence, I want to reiterate it is a complex problem that
requires a comprehensive, holistic approach.
I am grateful to our subcommittee for holding this hearing
today and especially to our panelists for being here to share
their experience, their expertise, and insight as we look at
the root cause of this violence and work together to find real
solutions to address the gun violence epidemic.
With that, I yield back.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Kinzinger follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Adam Kinzinger
Good morning, everyone. I'd like to thank the chairman and
staff for organizing today's hearing in Chicago, and the
witnesses for taking the time to discuss some of the outside
factors at play in the public health aspect of the gun violence
crisis we face as nation.
I'm here to listen to our witnesses and the people of this
community to learn more about what's working and what more we
can do at the Federal level to help remedy some of these
issues.
Across the country, from small towns to big cities,
Americans have been terrified by the mass shootings that have
sadly become a regular occurrence.
Too often, our attention to gun-related violence focuses
more on the mass shootings and hardly any goes to the steady,
devastating strings of violence and daily killings that happen
here in Chicago, just north of my hometown.
Frankly, I am horrified each week when I see the number of
people shot and/or killed over the weekend in Chicago or when I
get a notification on my phone about an active shooter in our
area. This is our community and we need to work together to
stop this violence.
As a Congressman, I feel the heat on all ends of this
debate, and I see the validity of both sides of the
conversation.
We clearly have a gun violence epidemic here in America,
and I want to work with my colleagues on both sides of the
aisle to find solutions that will reduce suicides, drug-related
violence, gang violence, and mass shootings.
While the larger gun debate continues, I believe there are
many areas where we can find agreement and it is our duty to do
so.
Today, I look forward to hearing from our distinguished
witnesses about what more we can do to address this problem.
During this hearing, I'm interested in discussing the
community aspect of our gun violence crisis. I believe this
component is at the heart of the issues we face.
I know there have been community initiatives in Chicago,
including job training, youth-based programs, and support
groups, which have made a significant impact.
These programs that are often formed by the community and
for the community, and have shown how critical of a role
communities play in addressing the crisis.
We really need to make sure we're paying attention to these
programs and replicate them when they are successful.
I'm also interested in the mental health aspect of gun
violence, and what we can do in Congress to ensure we are
providing the tools necessary to address this component of the
problem, such as improving access to Community Health Centers
for those needing medical help.
But we cannot legislate the heart. And that's where the
community and religious organizations come into play. They can
help guide and give people hope for a better tomorrow.
If you don't have hope, you don't have any reason to follow
a moral code or fear the results of your actions.
Desperation can be a dangerous trigger, and to the extent
we can work on helping and healing those who are struggling,
and end the stigma of discussing and facing mental illness in
this country, I fear things may only get worse.
In discussing this desperation and hopelessness, we come to
the issue of suicide.
In 2017, 60% of gun-related deaths in the U.S.
were suicides.
And here in Illinois, one person dies by suicide
every six hours.
In the age of technology and instant gratification, more
and more people are feeling less connected--they feel isolated
and hopeless, and it's an issue we need to resolve as a
society. Kids today feel their self-worth depends on the number
of likes or comments or snaps they get in a given day, and
that's a real concern to me.
As we get into the different issues surrounding gun
violence today, I want to reiterate that this is a complex
problem that requires a comprehensive, holistic approach.
I'm grateful to our subcommittee for holding this hearing
today and especially to our panelists for being here to share
their expertise, experience, and insight as we try to look at
the root causes of this violence and work together to find real
solutions to address the gun violence epidemic.
Ms. Eshoo. The gentleman yields back.
It is now--the Chair would like to recognize Mr.
Butterfield, the vice chairman of the full committee, for his 5
minutes for an opening statement. A pleasure to recognize you.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. G. K. BUTTERFIELD, A REPRESENTATIVE
IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
Mr. Butterfield. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I know
Ms. Clarke may not take too kindly to that. She is the vice
chair of the full committee. I am vice chair of the
subcommittee. Thank you.
Ms. Eshoo. You just got a raise.
Mr. Butterfield. I know. Thank you.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Butterfield. But let me join Congressman Rush and
Congressman Kinzinger for--join with them in thanking you for
your incredible work on this subcommittee.
You promised us months ago that you would have this field
hearing, and you have fulfilled that commitment, and so we
thank you very much.
It is good to be with my colleagues, particularly those
from Illinois, and my good friend, Bobby Rush, who sits to my
right, and I understand that we are physically in your
congressional district. So thank you for your work.
Madam Chair, the gun violence epidemic in America can no
longer be ignored. We must treat this epidemic for what it is.
It is a public health crisis, and that is why we are here
today.
Democrats in the House recognize this crisis, and we are
determined--yes, we are--we are determined to take some action.
With that said, Madam Chair, I would like to yield 2
minutes to my friend from Illinois, Congresswoman Kelly.
Ms. Eshoo. Are you yielding?
Mr. Butterfield. I was going to yield Congresswoman Kelly
some time if she is not on the schedule to do an opening
statement.
She is on the schedule? Reclaiming my time.
[Laughter.]
Ms. Eshoo. Now, don't lose the time.
Mr. Butterfield. I just didn't want to--I just didn't want
to leave my friend out--Ms. Kelly--because she works so hard.
But for too long, Madam Chair, we have handcuffed the
Federal Government from researching the affliction of gun
violence in America and its impacts on public health.
We need to marshal the resources of the Department of
Health and Human Services and the CDC to know the impact--the
huge impact--that gun violence is having on kids right here in
Chicago and our neighbors all across the country.
We need to know how they will be impacted throughout their
lives after they witness their loved ones get gunned down in
the streets or committing suicide with the assistance of a
firearm.
We need to know why the homicide rate in America is more
than 25 times the average of other developed nations. We are
going to face the gun violence epidemic head on, and today's
hearing will help us in that fight.
I now want to yield time to Ms. Schakowsky, since she is on
the second tier. But she is nonetheless a very strong and
forceful leader in this area.
Ms. Schakowsky?
Ms. Schakowsky. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
So we heard that number--an average of a hundred people a
day. That adds up. If you multiply it by 365, 36,500 people a
year dying from guns. In Chicago, as of Sunday 2,101 people
shot and 382 killed.
This is a crisis. It demands a sense of urgency right now.
We are raising the profile right now today, but we need action.
So, you know, in Chicago and in Illinois we have good laws
on guns. But 60 percent of the guns that come into our State
come from other States across the border.
You can go to Indiana on a weekend and go to a gun show,
open up your trunk, and load up that car with any kind of gun
that you want, and drive across the border. We don't stop
people.
I want to thank not only our panel, but I see people in the
audience with red shirts, moms against gun violence. Moms--
thank you so much.
[Applause.]
Ms. Schakowsky. I see people that are here that want to
help us. They deserve our help. And on the panel, let me just
thank Pastor Mitchell, especially because of the feeling of a
mom, not only as an expert now, on this to bring that.
And I want to--Mr. Leak, a friend of mine--when we are
talking about the number of people killed, I said, ``Think
about if it were a virus, what would we be doing? We would be
searching for that.'' And he said, ``Well, what about if it
were terrorism?'' He said, ``We would be at war.''
This is a war that we have to win. Children are hiding in
bathtubs in their homes to seek refuge from bullets that may
come through.
So this is an opportunity and an obligation today to
actually move ahead.
Thank you. I yield back. I thank the gentleman for yielding
to me.
Mr. Butterfield. Thank you. Madam Chair, I yield back.
[Applause.]
Ms. Eshoo. The gentleman yields back.
I now would like to recognize the gentlewoman from
Illinois, Congresswoman Robin Kelly, for her statement, and
with thanks for your work as well.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ROBIN L. KELLY, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
Ms. Kelly. Thank you, Chairwoman Eshoo, and thank you for
your leadership in this area, and I want to welcome all of my
colleagues to Chicago and thank all of the witnesses for taking
their time to be here.
But thank you for holding this important hearing on gun
violence as a public health crisis. Thank you to all of my
colleagues. As I said, really appreciate you being here. By
being here you are showing your commitment to solutions that
will end our Nation's gun violence epidemic.
Congresswoman Schakowsky talked about the statistics--over
35,000 people, and the number of people in the Chicagoland
area. Like nationwide statistics, a disproportionate number of
these victims are young African-American men. Specific to the
public health threat posed by gun violence, I have introduced,
as you have heard, H.R. 1114, legislation to require the
Surgeon General, our Nation's doctor, to submit an annual
report on the impacts of gun violence on public health.
In 1964, the Surgeon General issued this report, ``Smoking
and Health.'' That report sparked a revolution in thinking
about tobacco use, smoking, and public health.
In 2019, it is time for this Surgeon General to issue a
report on gun violence. In addressing the public health impacts
of gun violence, we cannot be limited to the immediate impacts
of bullets on the human body.
We know that gun violence takes an emotional and
psychological toll on communities. In some parts of my
district, young people experience levels of PTSD on par with
returning veterans because of regular gun violence.
Simply addressing easy access to guns will not solve all
the challenges in these communities. Decades of systemic
underinvestments and disinvestments in schools, transportation,
businesses, and public spaces coupled with residential
segregation by race has created a divided city--a divided city
in which gun violence is largely concentrated in black and
brown communities that are underserved, underresourced, and,
for some, wary of law enforcement.
As a member of this subcommittee and chair of the
Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust, I am dedicated to
finding solutions that improve the health of all communities
across the country. This includes preventing gun violence.
As I said, gun violence impacts our society in various
ways, and not only does it take a toll on our healthcare
system, it also negatively impacts our economics and reduces
worker productivity.
A recent study on gun violence found that loss of quality
of life, psychological and emotional trauma, decline in
property values, and other legal and societal consequences
stemming from gun violence cost an estimated $174 billion.
Of that cost, the Government directly absorbs $12 billion.
Instead of using these funds to invest in our communities,
workers, and their families, these dollars are bled away due to
gun violence and its impacts.
I always say nothing stops a bullet like an opportunity. In
order to combat gun violence and help these communities
rebuild, they need investment.
In this Congress I have introduced several pieces of
legislation to improve economic opportunities in underserved
areas, including Creating Pathways for Youth Employment Act,
Heroes for At-Risk Youth, and Community College to Career Fund
Act.
For the past several Congresses, I have also introduced the
Urban Progress Act that would also help to fill this void in
economic opportunities, strengthen police-community relations,
and promote commonsense gun violence prevention policies.
I look forward to the witnesses' testimony and, again,
welcome.
And I yield back.
Ms. Eshoo. The gentlewoman yields back.
The Chair reminds Members that, pursuant to committee
rules, all Members' written opening statements shall be made
part of the record.
I now would like to introduce the witnesses for today's
hearing.
To my left, Pastor Brenda Mitchell. She is the mother of
Kenneth D. Mitchell, Jr. Welcome to you and thank you for being
here with us today.
Dr. Selwyn Rogers, Jr., chief, section for trauma and acute
care surgery, and founding director, the Trauma Center,
University of Chicago Medicine. Welcome to you, and thank you
for joining us here today.
Dr. Ronald Stewart, director of trauma programs, American
College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma. Traveled from Texas to
be with us here today.
Mr. Norman Kerr, director of violence prevention from the
city of Chicago. Thank you for joining us today.
Mr. Spencer Leak, Sr., the president and CEO of Leak and
Sons Funeral Home. He has a real story to tell.
And last but not least, Dr. Niva Lubin-Johnson, immediate
past president of the National Medical Association. Thank you
to you.
Thank you to each witness. We look forward to your
testimony and now, at this time, the Chair recognizes each
witness for 5 minutes.
We will begin with Pastor Brenda Mitchell. I think that you
are probably familiar. Do we have the lighting system there?
Yes. Green--you know what green means. Yellow, caution.
When the red light comes on, full stop.
All right. You are probably wondering why that doesn't
apply to Members of Congress.
[Laughter.]
Ms. Eshoo. But anyway, so thank you again, and the Chair is
pleased to recognize Pastor Brenda Mitchell for your 5 minutes
of testimony.
STATEMENTS OF BRENDA K. MITCHELL, PASTOR AND MOTHER OF KENNETH
D. MITCHELL, Jr.; SELWYN ROGERS, Jr., M.D., CHIEF OF TRAUMA AND
ACUTE CARE SURGERY, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO MEDICINE; RONALD M.
STEWART, M.D., MEDICAL DIRECTOR, COMMITTEE ON TRAUMA, AMERICAN
COLLEGE OF SURGEONS; NORMAN LIVINGSTON KERR, DIRECTOR OF
VIOLENCE PREVENTION, CITY OF CHICAGO; SPENCER LEAK, Sr.,
PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, LEAK AND SONS FUNERAL
HOME; NIVA LUBIN-JOHNSON, M.D., IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT,
NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
STATEMENT OF BRENDA K. MITCHELL
Ms. Mitchell. Thank you.
Good morning to this esteemed body, to Everytown Survivor
Network for allowing me to be here, to the moms of Mom Demand
Action and Purpose Over Pain, who has also given me my voice. I
also recognize Spencer Leak, Sr., who was the recipient of my
son's burial service and given me a voice also on Black-on-
Black love.
I am Pastor Brenda Mitchell. I live in University Park,
Illinois. I have lived and worked in the Chicago area most of
my life.
Today I am here as someone who has experienced two family
members taken by gun violence--my brother and my son. Today I
am here as a voice for my son.
I am here as a voice for my community. I am here on behalf
of the hundreds of mothers who have had their children torn
from their lives by gun violence.
My son, Kenneth, was the center of our family. He was the
first grandchild on both sides of the family and became a role
model for his younger siblings and cousins.
At the age of 31, he was a single parent of two little
boys, 8 and 6, and another son who would be born 30 days after
his death.
It was Super Bowl weekend. As the manager of a golf center
in University Park, he was hosting a Super Bowl party on
Sunday. His boys were with their mother, so he took the rare
opportunity that evening to spend some time with friends at a
local sports bar, playing darts and enjoying each other's
company.
As Kenneth was leaving, an argument broke out between two
individuals outside of the bar. Kenneth intervened, attempting
to diffuse the situation and make peace, when a friend of one
of the individuals went to his van, grabbed a gun, and started
randomly firing into the crowd.
Kenneth was struck by a stray bullet and killed. I received
a call in the middle of the night that no parent wants to
receive. I was told my son, Kenneth, had been hurt in a
shooting and he was lying at the scene with a sheet over him.
I could not tell my husband his son, his namesake, our
first-born child, was dead. Earlier that day, I distinctly
remember feeling so satisfied with my life, and I thanked God
for meeting my needs and the needs of my family. I could not
ask for anything.
Little did I realize that in less than 24 hours I would
have to ask God for strength.
After Kenneth's death, I felt for the first time in our
lives that my family was dysfunctional. My son was a crime
scene. I could not touch him. The pain was so intense that I
would not wish this experience on my own worst enemy.
Even worse was trying to navigate through it with no
resources. I was traumatized with nowhere to go.
Just a week before Kenneth's death, our younger son, Kevin,
left for his third tour of duty in Afghanistan. This is the
kind of thing that a mother worries about.
I prayed for Kevin, placed him on the altar, and in my mind
he was the one who was in danger. I never would have imagined
Kenneth would be the one to die from an act of gun violence
right here at home in a free country.
A week later, I brought Kevin back to bury his brother in a
free country. My life shows that trauma. Post-traumatic stress
syndrome and grief have lasting effects in the lives of those
that are touched by gun violence.
However, I learned these terms and the impact on health.
Even if I didn't know what it was called, I knew how it felt
and I saw the effect it had on my life and the lives of
surviving family members.
My mother could not handle after losing her first grandson,
to gun violence, after the death of her own son. My mother
willed herself out of her pain. She died from a broken heart.
I myself had to leave a successful career because of PTSD
and trauma. I lost cognitive memory. I did not know my phone
number or the names of people very close to me.
I still struggle to recall the date of my son's death. This
is not because the date is not significant to me, but because
it is a manifestation of that trauma.
I almost died three times with extreme hypertension and
narrowing of the arteries in my brain because of the level of
stress I was under. I was grieving for my son, raising my
grandsons left without their primary parent.
I had to look at my youngest grandson and know that he
would never meet his father. I had to recreate his father for
him. There are no words that communicate the depth of that
loss. How many young men and women have we lost who will never
have the chance to reach their full potential?
Every day there are communities being shattered by the
devastation that is this crisis of gun violence. We have
children in Chicago who aren't worried about growing up to be a
doctor or a lawyer. They are just worried about growing up,
period.
That reality is unacceptable. In my own journey--and I am
almost done--I have come full circle. I identify with the
devastation families experience every day in our country and in
Chicago.
It has become my passion to help others understand how
trauma of gun violence can affect individuals and communities.
I have become an advocate for trauma-informed care, and I will
do whatever I can to help others so that they don't have to
experience what I have gone through.
It is so important that families like mine who have been
deeply impacted by gun violence to keep telling their stories.
If we keep shining the light on the impact of gun violence,
then our children's deaths are no longer in vain.
I thank you for allowing me to humbly submit this
testimony.
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Eshoo. Pastor Mitchell----
[Applause.]
Ms. Eshoo. Pastor Mitchell, thank you for the courage you
have exhibited today in coming here to tell your story, which
is just riddled with just tremendous grief. Thank you. We
really hold you in our debt.
I now would like to recognize Dr. Selwyn Rogers, Jr., and
thank you for being here today to be a witness. You have 5
minutes for your testimony.
STATEMENT OF SELWYN ROGERS, Jr., M.D.
Dr. Rogers. Good morning. Thank you very much, Chairwoman
Eshoo, and the entire Subcommittee on Health. I want to thank
all of you, including Bobby Rush, for all that you do to
continue to keep Chicago and America safe.
We are honored to have you here in Chicago and appreciate
the time you are spending to understand the devastating toll
violence has on the lives of Americans, and the steps you and
Congress can do to help protect our children, our families, and
our country.
My name is Selwyn Rogers, and I serve as a professor of
surgery and chair of trauma and acute care surgery at the
University of Chicago Medicine.
In my work, I lead a dedicated staff of specialists who
care for people who have been traumatically injured. In my own
location in the South Side of Chicago, we sit in the epicenter
of much of our city's gun violence.
When we think of gun violence in the United States, we
often think of tragic events such as mass shootings in Dayton,
Ohio, or El Paso, Texas.
However, in Chicago, every day we see smaller examples that
are no less devastating. We see a 22-year-old man driving with
his girlfriend shot and killed in a carjacking. His crime--he
owned a nice car. His name was Alexis Andrade.
We see a 36-year-old mother of three shot and killed in
front of her children at a cell phone store. Her name was
Candice Dickerson.
We see the 11-year-old girl killed by a stray bullet in her
living room while she planned her birthday party the next day.
Her name was Kentayvia Blackful.
At our hospital at the University of Chicago Medicine, we
work to the absolute limits of our abilities every day to save
people like these.
But far too often the bullets lead to death, despite all of
our efforts. When that happens, we have a moment of silence to
mourn the loss.
However, we know that that moment will soon be pierced by
screams of anguish and sometimes anger at a life that has been
extinguished way too soon.
The loved ones plea to tell us that their daughter, their
son, their significant other is not dead. They ask me, ``How
could this happen? Why did this happen?''
I have no answers. But answers are exactly what we need. I
am here to testify today that we collectively need to find
answers to the intentional gun violence that has killed over
14,000 Americans in 2017, the data that is most recently
available.
In addition, as we also noted, over 23,000 Americans were
killed by gun suicides last year. In February of this year, I
joined a medical summit of more than 40 professional
organizations that agreed upon a united statement on the impact
bullets have on the health of people.
My colleague Dr. Ron Stewart, to my left, will elaborate on
these in his remarks. We must understand this violence is a
public health issue and a public health crisis, and as such we
should address it with the same urgency that we do for Ebola or
any other disease we know we can treat.
Because when we do that, when we look at gun violence as a
disease, that means it can be treated and it can be cured. If
we make a true, meaningful investment in our communities, we
can address some of the holistic issues that have created this
gun violence epidemic.
Consider, for example, that the unemployment rate in our
South Side coverage area is more than 5 times the national
average, or that 43 percent of children of color here live in
poverty, more than double the State average, or that South Side
residents suffer significantly higher rates of chronic health
conditions such as asthma and diabetes, breast cancer and HIV.
In this unhealthy environment, where day-to-day life is a
constant struggle, where homelessness and hopelessness are all
too common, is it any wonder that there is such a high rate of
gun violence?
To address this, we need to develop evidence-based
solutions and invest in research to address these root issues.
Federal, State, and city dollars need to be dedicated to the
study of improved prevention efforts.
Beyond that, we have to invest in remedying the social
factors such as education disparities and lack of economic
opportunities that are often at the root base of gun violence.
While these measures will take years to enact and take
effect, there are a number of programs that can be invested in
now. Violence interruption programs such as Cure Violence or
the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago use community outreach
workers to help prevent retaliatory violence. Hospital-based
violence intervention programs such as at the University of
Chicago Medicine and other medical centers throughout Chicago
have been shown to reduce recidivism.
These efforts are all aimed at secondary prevention. But we
must also focus on primary prevention initiatives so that
people are not injured in the first place. I know that gun
violence feels like an overwhelming problem. I have seen the
pain with my own eyes. I have wiped the blood from my own
hands.
Yet, I am still hopeful because I know that, if we take
concrete actions and we do the small things that make big
changes, we can change the tide of violence that has become way
too common and such a devastating problem for so many in our
communities and in our Nation.
Thank you for the opportunity for this testimony.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Rogers follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Eshoo. Thank you, Dr. Rogers.
Now it is a pleasure to recognize Dr. Ronald Stewart for
your 5 minutes of testimony, and thank you for being with us
and traveling a distance to do so.
STATEMENT OF RONALD M. STEWART, M.D.
Dr. Stewart. Thank you, Chairwoman Eshoo, and members of
the subcommittee. Thank you for inviting the ACS to
participate. It is an honor to follow a hero and colleague of
mine, Dr. Selwyn Rogers.
I would also like to thank the leadership and staff of
Kennedy-King College for their terrific hospitality.
The ACS is based out of Chicago, and we are also very
grateful for the invitation. For 96 years, the American College
of Surgeons has worked to comprehensively improve the care of
injured patients in areas such as EMS, trauma centers, disaster
response systems, and this has resulted in dramatic
improvements in care and outcomes for our patients.
For the past 5 years, we have focused much of our efforts
on implementing a durable public health approach to reduce
firearm violence and to increase the resilience of our country
and the health of our patients.
The ACS represents those who care for the patients who
suffer from firearm injuries. The hardest part of my work is
trying to explain to the family of a child, a child who is the
very embodiment of the future of that family, a child who was
completely normal at breakfast, is now dead.
For those in this audience who have lost loved ones--Pastor
Mitchell, Representative Rush--I know my pain pales in
comparison to yours. But I want you to know that we, the
American College of Surgeons, are committed to let no one die
or suffer in vain.
And we know that by working together we can prevent injury
and violence, and we are driven to make this goal a reality.
Over the course of the 5 years, we developed our strategy
around three guiding principles.
One, address firearm violence as a public health and
medical problem, not a political problem. This means focusing
our attention on serving humanity and basing our actions on
scientific truth as best we can determine it.
Two, search for evidence-based violence prevention programs
and best practices with the goal of implementing these programs
through our network of 554 trauma centers across the U.S.
What do we mean by implementing evidence-based violence
prevention programs? Is it possible to prevent or cure
violence? Well, yes, it is.
For those who believe that this is really too difficult a
task, to me, it is definitely not more difficult than managing
a complex viral epidemic. With the will, it is possible to
prevent and cure violence.
But to get this right requires the full commitment of all
medicine along with partnerships at the local, State, and
Federal levels. The people who are right now here, this
community, communities across the United States who are working
to make this a goal, to make this goal a reality, need our full
support and our full commitment.
Three, foster and provide a forum for a collegial civil
dialogue centered on reducing unnecessary death and suffering
related to firearm injury.
In a very interesting way, this principle has led us to
realize that achieving the goals of the first two are not as
difficult as we initially thought.
I told you the hardest thing about my job. I also know your
job is difficult. We, the voters, send you conflicting and
mixed messages. But I have learned that the message on firearm
violence is not as conflicting and mixed as many would guess if
we can actually talk about the problem.
We have been intentionally inclusive in our discussions. I
have probably talked to more people in medicine on both sides
of the political firearm debate than anyone. I presented and
talked with people from Texas and from California, from Chicago
and from Little Rock, Arkansas.
We have extensively surveyed ourselves and are surveying
medical organizations. We have held town halls. We have put
together a working group of surgeons who are also serious
firearm owners.
This group produced a set of recommendations which they
call the Chicago Consensus One. These recommendations are
included in my written testimony, and I ask you to carefully
review these recommendations to give you a real feel for what
we can do when we work together.
In February, as Dr. Rogers noted, we hosted a historic
medical summit on firearm injury prevention in Chicago. This
summit consisted of the largest medical and public health
organizations in the United States, 47 leading medical
organizations.
The group identified many opportunities to collaborate in
the areas of research, education, target injury prevention
initiatives. These 47 all support nine consensus-based
recommendations published this month in the Journal of American
College of Surgeons.
Our written testimony includes this entire document, which
I ask you to also carefully consider because it provides a
comprehensive overview of what we mean by a public health
approach.
Wrapping up, intentional violence is the most neglected
health problem in America, and firearm violence is a public
health crisis.
But I am optimistic. If we commit to addressing intentional
violence in the same way we did with motor vehicle-related
injury and death five decades ago, we can and we will make
dramatic progress.
This means working together to, one, make firearm ownership
as safe as reasonably possible for those who own firearms and
for those who do not; two, work together to understand and
address the root causes of violence.
In summary, this is the core of a public health approach to
firearm injury prevention. As I said, I am optimistic. While
our country currently appears paralyzed by political
polarization, we hope that our recent work of building
consensus among a range of diverse stakeholders and then moving
to action provides a hopeful guide.
We do understand there is not a simple solution to complex
problems. But we also know if we use the power of partnership,
innovation, science, these complex problems are completely
manageable and, yes, even curable.
We are fully committed to working with you. Thank you very
much for the opportunity to present today.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Stewart follows:\1\]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Additional material submitted by Dr. Stewart has been retained
in committee files and is available at https://docs.house.gov/meetings/
IF/IF14/20191003/110968/HHRG-116-IF14-Wstate-StewartR-20191003-
SD004.pdf.
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Eshoo. Thank you very much, Dr. Stewart.
I think each one of you gives us hope with your testimony.
I now have the privilege of recognizing Mr. Kerr, who is
here today. We welcome you. He is the director of violence
prevention for the city of Chicago.
You have 5 minutes for your testimony, sir, and welcome.
STATEMENT OF NORMAN LIVINGSTON KERR
Mr. Kerr. Thank you.
Good morning, Chairwoman Eshoo and members of the
committee. So great to see you, Illinois delegation here this
morning,and to be at this great campus, Kennedy-King College.
I would like to thank the committee for holding this
important hearing on community responses to gun violence. Let
me start by introducing myself.
My name is Norman Kerr. I am the new director of violence
prevention under Mayor Lightfoot's Office of Public Safety.
Since day one, Mayor Lightfoot has been clear that her
highest priority and greatest responsibility as mayor is
ensuring peace and safety in all of Chicago's neighborhoods.
And each and every day since May 20th, the mayor's Office
of Public Safety has been building on our comprehensive
reduction strategy with the goal of measurably reducing gun
violence.
Chicago finds itself in a unique period. In 2016, the city
suffered a dramatic increase in shootings and homicides more
severe than that experienced by any of the other 5 largest
American cities over the past 25 years.
The vast majority of these homicides were committed with
illegal guns. Across Chicago, communities have been devastated
by the hundreds of homicides and by the thousands of nonfatal
shootings that occur each year.
In addition to long-lasting trauma, estimates of the direct
and indirect economic costs run to billions of dollars per
year.
Since 2016, the trends have improved. Shootings and
homicides have seen double-digit year-over-year decreases 2
years in a row.
In fact, over this past summer, we saw an accelerated
decrease in violent crimes with June, July, and August seeing
the lowest number of shooting victims since 2014.
And, while many organizations are tackling gun violence
independently of city leadership through various privately
funded frameworks, the experience of peer cities shows that
violence reduction efforts are far more successful through
effective coordination of resources, policy, and management
decisions across all stakeholders.
Mayor Lightfoot's commitment to promoting safe communities
and reducing gun violence is evident in her appointment of
Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Susan Lee, who leads the city's
first-ever Office of Public Safety.
As the mayor's point person for all antiviolence efforts,
the deputy mayor is responsible for public safety oversight and
operations with activities grounded in three areas:
Leading a comprehensive violence reduction strategy by
collaborating with street outreach and other community-based
antiviolence organizations while also ensuring coordination
with city agencies and the police department;
Guiding public safety agency operations, including Chicago
Police Department, Chicago Fire Department, Office of Emergency
Management and Communications, Civilian Office of Police
Accountability, and Police Board, managing consent decree
reform priorities, leading gun policy strategy and liaising
with State and county governments.
And finally, building on data and research critical to
policy decisions, including regular analysis and review of
violence trends as well as evaluation of violence reduction
initiatives.
As core components of its initial efforts, the Mayor's
office has convened biweekly regional coordination meetings on
the West Side and South Side, facilitated broad yet targeted
collaboration across city agencies through monthly public
safety cabinet meetings, and launched a gun stat initiative, an
unprecedented collaborative effort with the U.S. Department of
Justice, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, the Office
of Cook County Sheriff, and other major partners that is
designed to track gun offenders in order to identify trends and
strengths and address any weaknesses within the criminal
justice system.
We have embarked on a proactive strategy that looks at gun
violence as a public health crisis, which is what it is. While
we continue to seek consistent reductions of violence crime
throughout the city, Mayor Lightfoot will be the first to say
we have much more work to do.
Together, we have to restitch our broken safety net. We
have to work on providing wraparound services and job training
in the neighborhoods that have been under siege and
economically distressed for decades.
We recognize the fact that this will not be solved
overnight. By investing in neighborhoods and addressing the
root causes of gun violence, we can continue to make meaningful
gains in public safety and communities throughout the city.
We will continue working with Chicagoans from every
neighborhood and background, from block clubs and faith groups
to businesses and school communities who have joined us hand in
hand in our multifaceted, comprehensive approach to reducing
violence in our city.
Continued improvement for the people of Chicago will also
take cooperation by all levels of government. I look forward to
working with this committee to further policies and programs
that create and maintain safe communities for our families to
thrive.
Thank you, and I look forward to continued work.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Kerr follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Eshoo. Thank you, Mr. Kerr, and please give the best of
all of the committee members to the mayor. Thank you for being
here this morning.
The Chair now recognizes Mr. Leak for his 5 minutes of
testimony. Thank you for being with us.
STATEMENT OF SPENCER LEAK, Sr.
Mr. Leak. Thank you, Madam Chairman. Would it be out of
order if I give honor to God, my maker, my creator, this
morning, as we approach these most important hearings where --
--
[Applause.]
Ms. Eshoo. Amen.
Mr. Leak [continuing]. Our congressmen, who represent us
well who are here today, Congressman Garcia, Congresswoman
Schakowsky, and Cook and Davis, and my brother, Congressman
Bobby Rush, who gave us the invitation to come here.
I thank you for this privilege, and I want to say to you
that I am the CEO of an 85-year-old funeral service
organization that no week goes by, Members of Congress, that I
don't service the families of at least two gun violence
victims.
I have to service them and then try to counsel them and try
to answer the question that is invariably asked by the mothers
and fathers of the children that I service, and that question
is one word: ``Why, Mr. Leak? Why?''
Of all of the families that I have serviced, one comes to
mind this morning. Let me share with you. It is on March 12th,
2013. The mother and father of 6-month-old Jonylah Watkins came
to our funeral home seeking our service. The city of Chicago
had to lay this precious child to rest, and her death touched
my heart even though I am a professional funeral director.
When I think about her short lifespan, a verse of Scripture
found in the Book of Revelations, the sixth chapter and the
thirteenth verse, seems to define her in a profound manner:
``And the stars of heaven fell onto the Earth even as a fig
tree casts her untimely figs when she is shaken by a mighty
wind.''
Truly, this little baby girl was an untimely fig who was
not allowed to reach her potential. Her life was cut off by the
mighty winds of guns and drugs causing so much death and
destruction to the hearts of the future of our children--death
and destruction caused by Black-on-Black gun violence. So much
evil is manifested in its wake.
The challenge to all of us who live in this city as well as
this Nation is to engage those mighty winds of adversity. We
must reverse the tide that has seen too many figs cast out,
untimely figs here in Chicago and across our Nation.
Thirty years ago, Madam Chairman, I had the honor to be the
director of the Cook County Department of Corrections. Inmates
coming into the jail accused of homicides were predominantly
black, their perpetrators were predominantly black as well as
the victims. They were abusing alcohol and drugs during the
commission of the crime.
And finally, the perpetrators and the victims were known to
one another. There was a relationship, and because of that
relationship the police were able to arrest the perpetrator in
the majority of the instances.
Today, Madam Chairman, those circumstances are reversed. In
the majority of homicides, the perpetrator has no relationship
to the victim. These homicides are mostly random violence and
so often render the police and the courts a challenge in
seeking an arrest.
The role, I believe, of Congress must be one that
recognizes that, unless in an earlier period of the life of the
would-be perpetrator, they must receive some type of special
crime prevention.
It is not found as it could be in the home, in the church,
but it is found, in my examination, in the schools. The
perpetrator and the future victims were students at one time in
the Chicago public schools.
If we can create an environment that in those particular
schools that teaches morals, character, good citizenship during
their formative years, we will be able to save hundreds, even
thousands of lives.
My brothers and sisters, you, who are Congressmen, we are
depending on you today to leave Chicago knowing that you are
going to do something about what plagues us as a city.
God bless you.
[Applause.]
[The prepared statement of Mr. Leak follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Eshoo. Thank you, Mr. Leak. You have summoned us to a
higher place, for sure.
I now would like to recognize, last but not least, Dr. Niva
Lubin-Johnson, the immediate past president of the National
Medical Association, and welcome to you and thank you for being
here.
You have 5 minutes for your testimony.
STATEMENT OF NIVA LUBIN-JOHNSON, M.D.
Dr. Lubin-Johnson. Thank you, and thank you, Congressman
Eshoo, for the invitation this morning, to all of the Health
Subcommittee members for holding this hearing today here in my
hometown of Chicago.
I would especially like to thank subcommittee member
Congressman Bobby Rush, who is my Congressman, as well as
Congresswoman Robin Kelly, who I have had the pleasure with--
working with quite frequently on a myriad of health issues
dating back to when she was a State representative, and the
other Chicago Congressman here today, my colleague in
healthcare, the Honorable Danny K. Davis, and to Jesus Garcia
and Jan Schakowsky, also fellow natives of Chicago.
I am here today to talk about policies and solutions to the
public health threat posed by gun violence, not only as a
physician who has practiced internal medicine for over 30 years
here in Chicago but also as the immediate past president of the
National Medical Association.
NMA is the largest and oldest national organization
representing African-American professionals, doing so for over
50,000 African-American physicians and our patients in the
United States and its Territories.
We are the collective voice of African-American physicians
and the collective voice and the leading voice for parity and
justice in medicine. Gun violence has been a key issue for NMA
and continues to be on the forefront this year as it was
throughout my presidency.
As you know, it is one of the leading causes of death in
America, where more than 39,000 people die by guns every year
and 85,000 more suffer nonfatal injuries.
It costs our economy $229 billion annually, and the cost of
firearm assault injury includes work loss, medical and mental
healthcare, emergency transportation, police criminal justice
activities, insurance claims processing, employer cost, and
decreased quality of life.
We know the statistics about what has gone on here in
Chicago. Fortunately, those numbers are decreasing. But also I
want to make note that Chicago per capita is not the highest
city of gun violence. I believe we rank about number 15 in the
country, definitely not in the top 10.
So what do we do about it? One, as mentioned before, we
have got to look at where the guns come from. Sixty percent
come from outside of Chicago, and we have to deal with how they
get into the city.
In November of last year, the National Rifle Association
had the audacity to tweet ``Someone should tell self-important
anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane'' after the American
College of Physicians released a report calling this a public
health crisis.
Physicians, including NMA, countered, ``This is our lane,''
and, as you heard, more than 40 medical organizations,
including NMA, joined forces as a coalition to raise money to
confront this related death and injury epidemic as a public
health initiative.
It hit close to home here in Chicago after the tragic
shooting of award-winning NMA member Dr. Tamara O'Neal outside
of Mercy Hospital.
I, too, am on staff at Mercy Hospital and have been so for
over 30 years. I didn't know Dr. O'Neal, but I wish I had.
As you know, she was a graduate of University of Illinois
and worked at Mercy Hospital. Two physicians I know closely
were involved that day.
One is a urologist who saved my husband's life--he is a
prostate cancer survivor--who actually was going across the
hall when he heard the shots, and another who--I will tell a
little bit of my age. I am over 50, yes, and I need a
colonoscopy. The first man to do that was in a room getting
ready to do a procedure on a patient, had to lock himself in
the room when that perpetrator knocked on the door where he
was.
NMA has long been an advocate of stemming gun violence in
our communities and the country at large. We are in full
agreement with the American College of Physicians that gun
violence and violence prevention is a public health crisis, and
we believe it demands a multifaceted approach because, as we
all know, as the late Carl Bell said, this is a multifaceted
problem. There are different types of violence.
In 2017, we published a position paper on gun violence. In
2018, we developed a fact sheet on gun violence and advocated
for it while on our Capitol Hill day during March of this year.
In July, with 10 other African-American professional
organizations, we crafted a letter to all of the presidential
candidates outlining gun violence as one of our top issues of
concern.
On August 4th of this year, myself along with Dr. Stewart
and Dr. Roger Mitchell, who is the chair of our task force,
appeared on ``CBS Sunday Morning'' on a story about gun
violence and the public health coalition that has formed as a
result of that NRA tweet.
We have endorsed the House-passed H.R. 8, and we have also
advocated for other pieces of legislation that have been
crafted by the House of Representatives.
We call on the Federal Government to immediately convene a
bipartisan commission to evaluate steps to reduce and
eventually eliminate gun violence utilizing a public health
approach.
Especially I would like to include in this research the
fact that NMA is now surveying our four historically black
medical schools to see where they can come and help in this
space, but also to study the effects of lead in terms of
violence and aggressiveness, but also to continue the work of
Dr. Carl Bell in terms of fetal alcohol syndrome. It is
decrease of choline levels and that leading to increase of
violence.
I want to thank you all for the opportunity to be here this
morning on behalf of NMA and our president, Oliver Brooks, and
I look forward to your questions.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Lubin-Johnson follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Eshoo. Thank you very much, Dr. Lubin-Johnson, and
thank you for the support that you just expressed for H.R. 8,
the comprehensive background check legislation that is now at
the doorstep of the United States Senate, and we pray that that
will be taken up because we know the good that can come from
that.
Now, all of our witnesses have testified. I am going to
call on Congresswoman Robin Kelly. I won't start with the
questioning.
I want to make sure that both Congresswoman Kelly and
Congressman Kinzinger get to ask their questions. They both
have time limitations today.
So I will set my questions aside for now. Recognize the
gentlewoman for her 5 minutes of questioning.
Ms. Kelly. Thank you, Chairwoman Eshoo, and thank all of
you for your testimony. It is very much appreciated and we are
listening, believe me.
I am not--you know, I am not going to call you Pastor
Mitchell. I am going to call you Brenda, because you call me
Robin.
[Laughter.]
Ms. Kelly. Thank you so much for testifying today and, as
you have heard me say before, thank you for being so selfless,
because you could go in your home and close your door and not
be bothered. But as you chose to be an advocate, you chose to
turn your pain into passion. So thank you so much.
I am just going to cut right to the chase. What do you want
Congress to do? What do you feel like we can do to be helpful,
to help families and communities?
Ms. Mitchell. I think that what we need to do is to, number
one, pass H.R. 8, which I did--I am speaking for the Senate to
take seriously what is happening in our communities and the
blood that is left on the ground in our communities, to
understand that that becomes holy ground for us.
It is sacred. And even with the lack of resources around
trauma-informed care, it took me to almost have to lose my life
three times to realize what I was going through.
And in addition to that, to be vulnerable enough to remove
the stigma of accepting therapy and counseling to move through
all the emotions that I was experiencing that were attacking my
internal organs and to be able to understand what it is to try
to come back to yourself, because that is life changing.
I became somebody that even I didn't recognize or know
anymore, and I had to find my way back to myself. And so I ask
Congress to put forth more research into trauma, and when we
talk about trauma to move it from being a mental health issue,
because I don't identify with mental health, but I do identify
with being traumatized and having my heart ripped out of my
chest and a sore that I know would never be healed.
Ms. Kelly. Thank you. And also, I don't know if anyone in
the audience was there, but I just want to publicly thank all
the people that got on the bus to come to Washington, DC. I
think that was so very important.
And I don't know if everyone knows, but after the rally was
over we took families from Kentucky into Senator McConnell's
office to talk to them about please passing both bills that we
sent over in February.
Dr. Stewart, I wanted to ask you--you stated in your
testimony that there is a workgroup to address the social
determinants of health and its impact on violence in vulnerable
communities.
Can you explain the intersectionality of structural
violence and social determinants of health, especially as it
relates to gun violence in underserved communities?
Dr. Stewart. Yes, ma'am. The----
[Disturbance in hearing room.]
Ms. Kelly. We talked--we talked about that.
Ms. Eshoo. If the Chair can just----
Ms. Kelly. I talked about that in my statement.
Ms. Eshoo. If the Chair can just intervene here. We have--
--
[Disturbance in hearing room.]
Ms. Eshoo. Well, we need to go on. We need to go on with
our hearing. Congresswoman Kelly, you have the floor and keep
your--please, sir, we are trying to have a hearing here. All
right.
[Disturbance in hearing room.]
Dr. Stewart. Yes, ma'am. You want me to just answer? So, if
you look at our--if you look at the strategy--if you look at
the strategy for the American College of Surgeons, I was clear
with respect to that. Make firearm ownership as safe as
reasonably----
[Disturbance in hearing room.]
Ms. Eshoo. Why don't we--why don't we just pause for a few
moments?
[Disturbance in hearing room.]
Ms. Eshoo. I think if we can ask--I think if we can ask the
gentleman to move with the others out of the room so that we
can continue with the hearing, please.
I think that it is very important to understand that this
is not a town hall meeting. This is a congressional committee
having an official congressional hearing to listen to witnesses
that will instruct us in order to address the epidemic of gun
violence.
Each one of us does town hall meetings in our congressional
districts. We are thoroughly accustomed to people shouting out
at us and being unrestrained and hearing from them.
But that is not what today is. Today is the hearing with
the witnesses, professionals all, being instructive to the
Congress on how we can shape tangible legislation that is going
to have an effect on addressing this epidemic in our country.
So I think it is important to delineate the difference
between the town hall meeting and a congressional hearing.
So now I would ask my colleague, Congresswoman Kelly, to
resume her questioning. And I thank you, everyone, for your
patience.
Ms. Kelly. I just wanted to add to that. We did have
Members of Congress come to Illinois, and we did meet with a
group of--of course, we can't meet with everybody, but we
specifically met with young folks under 25. Most of them were
under 20. So we have done things like that also.
But, Dr. Stewart, do you remember the question?
Dr. Stewart. I do.
Ms. Kelly. OK.
Dr. Stewart. And so working to understand and address the
root cause of violence is one of our two-prong strategies, and
that means we have to get to what many people have testified
and what many of you commented on: addressing social
determinants of health and structural violence.
What do we mean--what does Dr. Rogers mean by structural
violence? It is the ways we put individuals in our communities
in harm's way, and there are things it is not easy to see.
As a fish--we have a colleague, Wayne Meredith, who would
say a fish can't see water. And so it may not be obvious to us,
but there are structural issues that lead to increased violence
and increased rates of death.
And so we have put together a workgroup, which is a
national workgroup of experts, in addressing social
determinants of health and structural violence.
We call that the I Save workgroup. We view that as
complementary to our Firearm Strategy Team workgroup--making
firearm ownership as safe as reasonably possible while trying
to work to understand and address the root causes of violence.
And violence, too, I will just say--feel free to interrupt
me--but I would say that it is a bigger problem than what we
realize, because it is true that there is a hundred to 109, a
hundred to 110 people who die every day from firearm violence.
There is actually 182 who die every day from intentional
violence from all mechanisms. So working to understand and
address the root causes of violence is critical, and that is
just the death.
That is just the deaths. It does not take into account the
magnitude of the health burden, which is tremendous, and an
investment by Congress in this, I believe, is critically
needed, and I think it will return benefits far beyond that
investment.
Ms. Kelly. Thank you, Dr. Stewart.
And finally, I would like to submit for the record my Kelly
Report on Gun Violence in America, which includes commonsense
policy recommendations to reduce the gun violence epidemic.
Ms. Eshoo. So ordered.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The report has been retained in committee files and also is
available at https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF14/20191003/110968/
HHRG-116-IF14-20191003-SD008.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ms. Kelly. I yield back.
Ms. Eshoo. The gentlewoman yields back.
And now I would like to call on Congressman Adam Kinzinger
for his 5 minutes of questioning and thank him again for being
here and making our hearing, very importantly, a bipartisan
one.
Mr. Kinzinger. Well, thank you, Madam Chair. And again,
thank you for yielding the time. I appreciate it, and to all my
colleagues and Robin, thank you for your good questions, too.
But especially to the witnesses. Thank you for being here.
Your stories were both emotional and also informing. So thank
you for that.
Pastor Mitchell, I don't know what to say except my deepest
condolences, and I appreciate you sharing your story because I
think it is important for all of us to see how it affects
family, how family can do their best to overcome, and it brings
a human element that sometimes when we talk about statistics,
which, you know, we have to talk about statistics, but
sometimes that gets missing, and I appreciate you doing the
very difficult thing, but bringing a human face to that.
And so my deepest condolences and to you.
Mr. Leak, I just want to say to you--I don't have any
questions, but I wanted to make a point, which is thank you for
your testimony as well.
You know, evil is a very real thing, and we don't talk a
lot about it.
But for whatever reason, there is a generation of young
people, and I think it transcends race and it transcends income
and boundary lines, that are listening to the whispers in their
ear and doing really terrible things at very young ages.
And I attribute that partially to evil, mental health, and
I appreciate you bringing that up.
But to the questions, Dr. Rogers, you mentioned in your
testimony that the University of Chicago has developed a
program that employs people with similar life experiences who
help connect trauma patients and families to wraparound
services, which include vocational training, mental health
counseling, and other social services.
Can you elaborate further on how this kind of hospital-
based intervention and outreach to high-risk individuals
presents a unique teachable moment, basically improves outcomes
and prevents future violent injuries?
Dr. Rogers. There is a network of hospital-based policy and
prevention programs across the country. Approximately 30
hospitals have invested in these programs, and they basically
take people who have been injured by violent injuries, be it
gun violence, stabbings, or assault, and use that moment to
intervene in their lives.
Basically, think of violence as a chronic disease instead
of an acute event. And in the context of that, people often
come in with preexisting social issues that they need,
educational disparities, economic opportunities they have not
taken advantage of, and being able to invest in people through
these hospital-based intervention programs has found
significant effects in decreasing recidivism rates of recurrent
injury or retaliatory violence.
The other aspect is preventing people from injuring someone
else. There is a common saying that hurt people hurt people,
and when you think about the opportunity that hospitals, health
systems, may have to intervene in people's lives who have been
hurt to prevent retaliatory violence, it is a very important
possible intervention.
Mr. Kinzinger. And I want to add to that. So a lot of
people don't know this about me, but my father was a director
of an organization that helped the homeless, and one of the
things that they really took as a way to do that is to
understand that homelessness was not just the fact that you
don't have a shelter over your head at night.
There was a lot of other things that lead to that, and how
do you wrap that around.
And I think the same thing comes--when it comes to
violence. Somebody comes into a hospital with a gunshot wound,
obviously, your priority is to heal that person and ensure they
continue to live.
But if they are just pushed out the door or they are not
given any other opportunity, you will likely see that person
back in the same position. So it is how do we interdict that,
and I appreciate you bringing that up.
Dr. Stewart, you were the lead author of a study published
which you discussed that identifies some common ground
solutions to reduce violent harm.
Number five in the consensus statement raises the
importance of engaging both firearm owners and populations at
risk. Can you elaborate further on the need to engage the
community of firearm owners and why, as part of that solution?
Dr. Stewart. I can, and I do think it is a critical piece
of the public health approach, which is to engage people who
are at risk and a part of a knowledgeable stakeholder group.
I will just give an example. If we were going to do a
bicycle safety initiative in a neighborhood, we would come with
data. We would come with expertise. We would have all that.
But one of the things that we would do right away is we
would engage with the bicycle riders. We would engage with them
for their expertise, for their knowledge, and for their buy-in,
and we have done that in the past, and we know that we learn
from bicycle safety initiatives.
We learn that bicycle helmets were not cool. They are not
thermally cool and they weren't culturally cool, and so we made
bicycle helmets thermally cooler and culturally cooler, and you
see people wearing bicycle helmets.
Mr. Kinzinger. Yes, that has always been a surprise to me.
I was raised in the generation where you never wore bicycle
helmets.
But I will tell you, we have got a lot of questions. Thank
you all for being here.
My time is up and, Madam Chair, I yield back.
Ms. Eshoo. The gentleman yields back, and I know both of
the Members that just questioned have other commitments and
need to leave the committee, the witnesses, and everyone that
is here today. Thanks, both of you, both for your leadership
and your ongoing work and your attendance today.
And you may have noticed that we were leaning over and kind
of whispering to each other. It is part of our team building
because you are giving us ideas. So travel safely. Make your
meetings, and thank you for being here today.
I want--let us applaud them. Let us applaud them.
[Applause.]
Ms. Eshoo. All right. The Chair now recognizes herself for
5 minutes to ask questions. Is there anyone on the panel that
does not agree that this--that gun violence is an epidemic and
that we work through the public health lens to address it? Is
there agreement across the panel on that?
I think I heard all of you. Yes, I see everyone nodding.
Because that is what this hearing is addressing itself to.
In the work of the Congress, if you were to advise us on
shaping legislation, what would the top three or top five
initiatives be that you would recommend to us?
I think at the top of the list is is that we need to,
first, secure the kind of data that can be shared when there is
an epidemic.
Certainly, the CDC and the NIH develop the information, so
we can work off of facts. It is very important, especially in
the scientific community, that we have facts. And we have
already--as I said in my opening statement, Congress has
appropriated $50 million.
If you divide that by 50 States, it is not a lot of money.
But it is a start, and we have to start somewhere, and we can
build on that.
But aside from that, what would you recommend to us that we
take back to DC with us and build into legislation to address
this epidemic in the public health lane?
Whomever would like to go first. Mr. Kerr?
Mr. Kerr. Sure, I will go first.
So with an epidemic you have to go to the population that
is most infected, and in this case you have to go to the
population that is violent, and there is no way around it. You
have to develop that relationship with them and change their
trajectory.
So if you are going to vaccinate them, if you will, and
provide opportunities and guidance and support so that
vaccination will take and they will be on different trajectory.
Now, I am not opposed to prevention programs. I think it
all has to be in concert. It is not a competition between
intervention and prevention. But we have to look at where the
data says.
OK, this is the group that is most violent, and if we don't
develop a relationship with them, that change is going to be
minimal.
So this is something that we have to invest in. Just even
this thought is that this population is not a throwaway
population, that they can change, and we have seen this.
We have worked with individuals who have been on a certain
path, and the intervention is with them and then they change
what they are doing.
Now they are actually working for the program and helping
others to make that change as well. But it has to be something
that is really thought out, and also we have to look at their
ecosystems.
So it is not just working with that individual. What does
their home life look like? What does the people who are in
their network--social networks, family networks--look like?
What are they going through, because they impact that
individual.
Ms. Eshoo. Thank you. The doctors, I think, want to lean in
on this.
Dr. Rogers. I will lean in and add what Mr. Kerr said.
There has to be a lot of investment to reverse the chronic
disinvestment in communities, especially communities of color
that have been disproportionately affected by violence.
Way too often, violence can be intergenerational. I meet
with families every day who say that not just their cousin, not
just their father, not just their brother has been impacted by
gun violence, but multiple people in their families over
generations have been impacted.
And without really thinking about what the psychological,
emotional toll that that takes upon families and how that leads
to secondary trauma in people, we will not be able to make a
lasting impact.
And in many ways, because this is so longstanding we are
going to have to make a very deep, concentrated effort to make
an impact, and I think, if I could make any recommendation to
Congress, it is not going to be a simple Band-Aid solution.
Ms. Eshoo. No, we know that.
Dr. Rogers. This is going to take years of commitment over
time to reverse what has been present for decades.
Ms. Eshoo. Well, in listening to Pastor Mitchell talk about
all that she went through physically and the depression that
surrounded her and deepened her grief even more that we do a
lot through the Department of Defense relative--and the
Veterans Administration relative to PTSD.
It seems to me that you are a witness and someone that has
experienced that, and I think this--it needs to be a part of
what we do.
Did you want to add to that?
Ms. Mitchell. Yes. I think--I was on a town hall with
Senator Chris Murphy and Congresswoman Lucy McBath and the
question was asked, What was the one thing that we are not
speaking about or addressing in terms of the gun violence
initiatives? And the laws--we know how important that is and,
though they have not made it to the Senate floor for reality to
be our experience, we realized that there is devastation in our
communities, and those things have not been addressed.
And as Dr. Rogers has stated, it is not anything that has
happened overnight. But I believe that, with the research that
has to happen in our community, there also has to be dollars
that deal with the socioeconomic issues in the communities as
well as the devastation and to have more resources out there.
I had the luxury of having insurance. I had the luxury of
being able to talk through my issues. Everybody doesn't have
that luxury, and unfortunately it is not even available in most
cases because we are not even creating the narrative around
trauma and trauma-informed care until most recently.
But there still needs to be more work and support driven in
those avenues.
Ms. Eshoo. Thank you very much.
My time has expired. I now would like to recognize the
gentleman, and a gentleman he is, Mr. Butterfield from North
Carolina.
Mr. Butterfield. North Carolina. Thank you so much, Madam
Chair.
Let me just begin by reiterating what Chairwoman Eshoo said
a few minutes ago. This is not a town hall meeting. All of us
have our own individual town hall meetings from time to time.
This is a congressional hearing. Why do I make this point?
I make the point to say that this is not a political exercise
that we are conducting today. This is serious business.
The Congress of the United States spends billions of
dollars every year in nondefense discretionary spending, and if
we are to invest in this issue and invest in methods of gun
prevention and the other issues that we care about, including
education, we have got to build a congressional record, and
that is what this is all about today.
We are building a congressional record. We will take this
information, and a verbatim copy of what is being said here
today is being placed in a congressional record.
We will take this information back to our committee. Our
committee will then have further hearings. We will mark up
legislation, and at some point it will be presented to the
entire House of Representatives for a vote.
And so I just wanted to go on record making that known, for
those who may not fully understand the scope of what we are
doing today.
The statistics show, Madam Chair, that 39,000 firearm-
related fatalities occurred in 2017--39,000. Eighty-three
children injured or killed by guns each day. Inaction is not an
option.
Even more disturbing is the way in which we fail to treat
this as a public health issue. We have not invested Federal
dollars in public health research to better understand how to
prevent firearm-related injuries and death.
We have invested in criminal justice initiatives, but we
have not invested significantly in public health research.
We were able, a few weeks ago, to approve appropriations in
legislation in the House to provide $50 million to support this
research, and that is just the beginning.
So let me ask our witnesses--and thank you to all six of
the witnesses--but let me ask our medical experts, if I can.
Can you share how you think this investment could help us
better understand and address this crisis and the impacts it
has on your patients and your friends?
Let us start with Dr. Rogers.
Dr. Rogers. Every day I am struck by the fact that gun
violence has devastating effects not just on those who are
killed but those who are left behind, and I think those people
who are left behind we often don't provide much in the way of
any services.
And echoing your comments, Mr. Butterfield, we have to
invest in research to better understand what works and what
doesn't work. Even for our returning veterans, post-traumatic
stress disorders are a very difficult problem to fix.
And, as Ms. Mitchell noted--Pastor Mitchell noted--it has
long-ranging effects for decades after the traumatic event, and
we have to find ways and approaches to address this in a more
lasting way.
Only through research can we do that. We have found
incredible ways of addressing the AIDS epidemic, for example.
So AIDS is now a chronic illness--that people can live for
decades with HIV.
We have to find ways of intervening in people's lives to
prevent violence and find solutions to problems that in the
greater society are often ignored.
And I think if that focus can happen through this
congressional hearing, that may be an important start.
Mr. Butterfield. Thank you.
In the last minute that I have remaining, Dr. Stewart and
then Dr. Lubin-Johnson, please.
Dr. Stewart. I would say the impact on our patients would
be that they would be--if we invest in these things we have
talked about, they would be healthier. They would be more
resilient. They would be stronger and they would be more free.
And it is critical that we make this investment, and we do
it across the entire spectrum of violence.
Mr. Butterfield. Thank you.
Dr. Lubin-Johnson?
Dr. Lubin-Johnson. Yes. Yes, and thank you for that
question, Congressman Butterfield.
I believe, you know, the investment is important for our
patients, our communities, especially their families who are
remaining, whether they have been--their loved ones have been
injured or killed.
I took care of two patients that come to note. One, her
daughter was killed going to the grocery store and left a 5-
year-old son behind, who she cared for during the week, and the
father--they had a great relationship. He took care of the
child during the weekends.
She ended up obtaining care through her job through
employee assistance programs, but I think other programs need
to be available to those who are left behind after these
tragedies.
But also we need programs to help those who remain in the
families, because we know part of structural violence is also
there are some elements of structural racism and we have to do
something and level the playing field in terms of the
economics, the education, and the healthcare that these victims
and their families have to receive and go through also.
Thank you.
Mr. Butterfield. Thank you. My time has expired. Thank you
for your response.
I yield back.
Ms. Eshoo. The gentleman yields back.
It is a pleasure to recognize Mr. Rush, whose district we
are in today, for his 5 minutes of testimony--I mean, of
questioning.
Mr. Rush. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Madam Chair, I certainly want to associate my remarks with
my friend, Mr. Butterfield.
I want to just reiterate the fact that this is not a town
hall hearing where we are going to have a lot of rah-rah and a
lot of--the applause meter is going to go up. It wasn't
intended for that purpose.
This is a sober and somber gathering of witnesses and
Members of Congress so that we can do the work that we were
elected to do, and that is to try to provide Federal resources
to solve the problems that we are discussing today, and that is
the epidemic of gun violence, and eliminate or ameliorate the
tragedies and suffering and the pain of families and
communities and nations that are affected by this senseless and
ceaseless epidemic of gun violence.
And with that, I want to ask my friend, Mr. Leak, who I
have known for many years and he has funeralized so many
families, including my family.
Mr. Leak, has there been a significant and striking
demographic change that you recognize among funeralizing
families during this particular era of epidemic gun violence?
Do you see a significant change in the demographics of your--of
gun violence victims that you have to funeralize twice a week?
Mr. Leak. What I have seen, Congressman Rush, is that the
perpetrator and the victim, as I have said, were African
American, and what I have seen is that there is not today the
relationship between perpetrator and victim that resulted in a
successful arrest and adjudication of the particular
perpetrator.
And the reason that we are not seeing that as we did 30, 40
years ago, the fact that there is no relationship between the
perpetrator and the victim.
Random violence is what we are seeing now, violence as we
talked about--this 6-month-old baby. That baby was not
targeted. It was just random violence that plagues us. And I
would say there is only one solution to that, and I----
Mr. Rush. Mr. Leak, let me just get to the heart of this.
You know, I remember in Chicago locally in the late '70s there
was a young man on the near North Side by the name of Dantrell
Davis, and he was shot down on the grounds in Cabrini-Green.
I think he might have been on his way to school that
morning, and he was shot down. And since that time, there have
been more and more younger people who are killed, and when
Dantrell Davis was killed there was a general alarm because he
was a young man, 9 years old, who was murdered.
But now the incidences of young people being killed has
increased, and I am saying do you agree that unlike our--when
we were becoming adults, most funerals were for older family
members who had died mostly of natural causes. But today, is it
the same today or is it--has there been a subtle and
significant switch that most funerals now are not folks who die
of natural causes, but young people who die of gun violence or
some other type of violent behavior?
Do you see that?
Mr. Leak. Yes, I do see that.
Congressman, I should not have to be servicing a family of
a 6-month-old girl. I should be servicing families where the
deceased person is my age. I should not be servicing families
who have lost their loved ones through homicide, suicide, drug
overdoses.
I am seeing more of that now than I had in the past, and I
just say to you I must reiterate and I ask that the Congress--
you have an effect upon the schools of our city.
Federal dollars come from Washington to our city, and all
due respect to my friend who represents the mayor, I am saying
to you that take back to Washington this story.
Two young kids were acting up. They were sent to the
principal's office. The principal asked them to come in one by
one. The first one came in. The principal asked him, he says,
``Johnny, where is God in your life? And go ask Jimmy to come
in here.''
Johnny went out to Jimmy and he said, ``Jimmy, we are in
big trouble. God is missing, and the principal thinks we have
something to do with it.''
God is missing from our schools, and we have a lot to do
with it, and I am asking you, when you go back to Washington,
DC, send some money here and most of all put God back into our
schools.
Mr. Rush. Thank you.
Dr. Rogers, I want to ask you, you made a statement in
your--you made a declaration in your statement. I want to quote
you: ``This violence is a public health issue as a disease, and
it means it can be treated and it can be cured.''
Can you expound upon treatment and the cure for it? What
can we do as Members of Congress to provide Federal resources,
more dollars, to cure this epidemic?
Dr. Rogers. I will start by saying there is so much about
gun violence that we don't understand. We have made tremendous
progress on the ability to do surgical procedures and medical
interventions to fix physical parts of human beings--broken
bones, or put back together damaged organs.
But we haven't really done much to figure out how to help
people's souls and minds, and investing more in the mental
health impact of violence both on people who have been directly
impacted by violence physically but also those who are in close
contact, because there is secondary trauma to everyone who is
in close contact with that individual who has been shot and/or
killed.
And to think about ways that we can actually create greater
mental health support for individuals who have been victimized
by violence, but also their close contacts.
Mr. Rush. I want to ask, Madam Chair, if I could, Dr.
Stewart--Dr. Stewart, are you saying that----
Oh. I yield back the balance of my time that has already
run out.
[Laughter.]
Ms. Eshoo. I thank the gentleman.
And I understand you are being driven to ask more questions
because you care so much about this issue. But now I would like
to start recognizing our colleagues that are here as guests of
the committee today, all Members of Congress, all from the
great State of Illinois.
And I want to recognize first my friend and colleague,
Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. She has--for many years she has
served on our Health Subcommittee. In this Congress she is
chairing another one.
But she turns up religiously to our subcommittee hearings
and has to wait for everyone else to ask their questions, and
then it is her turn, and it is the same today.
But she is here. She cares enormously, and it is a pleasure
to recognize her and welcome her once again to the committee
and its work.
Ms. Schakowsky. Thank you. I want to thank you, Chairman
Eshoo. It is really a privilege to be able to waive onto the
Health Subcommittee, and so I don't mind waiving. I thank you
for the opportunity.
I want to ask a question of everyone here today. How many
of you have lost a loved one due to gun violence that are here
in this room? Raise your hand so I can see that.
So it has affected a good chunk of this room for the panel
to know--on the panel and people behind you and including--we
have talked about Bobby Rush, but also I was at the funeral for
Danny Davis's grandson.
So two issues I want to talk to. I want to talk more about
the issue of trauma-informed care, which you raised, Pastor
Mitchell, but also the intersection with race, which is really
in many ways, I think, an elephant in this room and on this
issue.
We know that black children and teens are 14 times more
likely than white children and teens to die because of gun
violence, and that black men make up 52 percent of all gun
homicide victims.
So when you were talking about how it is people around
those that have been killed, I think we are talking about whole
communities--whole communities--where black children in
particular, but children of color--let me put it that way,
black and brown children--are traumatized just from the time
they are aware in this world of the dangers of their
communities.
So racial disparities--we know, for example, that women of
color in Illinois are six times more likely to die related to
childbirth than white women.
So these disparities in healthcare are a real challenge. So
I wanted to ask Dr. Lubin-Johnson, Dr. Rogers, anyone who
really wants to answer this, to share what has been successful
in dealing with trauma-informed and culturally competent care
as we look at solutions to these problems.
Did you want to start, Doctor, on the end?
Dr. Lubin-Johnson. Thank you for the question, Congressman
Schakowsky, and I am not a trauma surgeon, so I will leave that
to Dr. Rogers.
But in terms of the culturally informed competent care, I
think we really need to start with what I alluded to before,
which is the structural racism in our country, in our--that is
affecting our communities, the healthcare that is received
where those residents live, the education they receive, the
housing that they live in, and understand and recognize that
there is a disparity there that leads further due to the
socioeconomic differences between our communities and others,
that really serves as a nadir, let us say, for violence to
occur.
And so, you know, I have become someone who is a proponent
of implicit bias training as to start with in terms of helping
to eliminate some of the bias and discrimination in our
country.
And so what is implicit bias? It is bias that we are not
conscious of but gets exhibited in various ways. And we are
discovering, as you mentioned, with the issue with maternal
mortality in African Americans, that this plays a basis in it.
I mean, if Serena Williams can't get the healthcare she
needs, you know, post partum, who can? And because of that, we
have developed now--most States have a maternal mortality
review board.
And maybe we need a violence fatality review board in our
municipalities that take a look at the systems that interface
with at-risk youth and who are victims of the perpetrators of
violence and that will work.
There are programs that do work----
Ms. Schakowsky. I am going to cut--sorry.
Dr. Lubin-Johnson. Mm-hmm. No problem.
Ms. Schakowsky. I do want to ask anyone. Dr. Rogers?
Dr. Rogers. Addressing the point about trauma-informed
care, basically involves meeting people where they are, not
where you want them to be.
Oftentimes, when we face people who have been the victims
of violence, we don't think about the lived experiences that
those people have had and how that impacts how they relate to
the trauma that they are experiencing.
Oftentimes, the trauma is not just an event that happened
today but something that happened a week ago, a year ago, a
decade ago, a generation ago.
And we often do not find ways to incorporate that into care
that will provide for that individual patient.
Ms. Schakowsky. Let me--I am sorry, let me just let Pastor
Mitchell finish.
Ms. Mitchell. I think the other thing, when you talk about
the trauma-informed care, is to really identify that there is a
need for that in our communities, because in the communities of
color we don't identify with mental health or trauma care.
There is always the stigma of being treated or seeking
counseling and therapy.
As a pastor, it is very difficult to say because in the
congregation we believe that, if God and I can't fix it, then
it is not meant to be done.
But to actually, as I stated before, to allow yourself to
be vulnerable enough to understand that God has said in that
day knowledge would increase and to be able to accept the
knowledge that is before us and to move ourselves toward
wholeness.
Ms. Schakowsky. I just want to say one more sentence. While
I agree with all of you that it is going to take time, I also
want to--the T-shirts are Moms Demand Action, and I think
whether it is going to take long or short, what people want to
see now is steps--concrete steps--that represent action that is
going to address this problem of gun violence in our
communities.
Thank you. I yield back.
Ms. Eshoo. The gentlewoman yields back.
And now I would like to recognize the gentlewoman from New
York, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, and thank you for traveling
from New York to be with us here today.
You have 3 minutes for--5 minutes for your questioning.
Ms. Clarke. Very well. Thank you so much, Madam Chairwoman.
Let me thank you for doing this field hearing. Let me thank
my colleagues of the Illinois delegation for welcoming an East
Coast sister from Brooklyn for this hearing.
And let me thank our expert witnesses who have come to
testify before us today.
Dr. Rogers, in the colloquialism of a New Yorker, it is a
lot of levels to this thing, and I think that is one of the
things that you have mentioned in and repeatedly through your
testimony here today.
Reverend Brenda Mitchell, I want you to know that we are on
the same wavelength. I am going to give you three names: James
E. Davis, Gabrielle Giffords, Steven Scalise.
Each of these are colleagues of mine. One is in the past
tense. His name is James E. Davis. He was a colleague who was
gunned down before me in the New York City Council.
I walk with that trauma every day. Every single day. And as
you spoke of your experience, my experience is sitting here
bubbling up.
There is a lot of walking wounded, and there are many
levels to this. It is proximity to what happened, relation to
the individuals involved, community, and we have not really
wrapped our arms around the extent to which Americans are being
subjected to the pain of violence in our communities, in our
Nation overall.
Because for many it may not even be someone who is
immediate in their families. It may be a colleague. I have had
two colleagues now in Congress gunned down. Thank God they were
able to survive.
But it is--and we still haven't acted. One Republican, one
Democrat. All of us walking around knowing that our colleagues
were gunned down before us.
So my question is, and I am going to open this to the
panel, a comprehensive approach from a health and well-being
standpoint, how does gun access and availability through
trafficking create a dynamic for those who are looking to
commit violence?
And then what are the socioeconomic indicators that we need
to look at in terms of education and the opportunity gaps that
help to fortify us against future actions?
So it is a multipronged approach, but I would like to just
sort of get your take on it because I think that we are only
scratching the surface of the many levels that we have to
address through legislation and through behavior modification.
Ms. Mitchell. I am going to yield to the experts in just a
second. But I think that I am also on the school board in my
community, and so I get to see the disparity in terms of the
education system and what children are presenting themselves
with when coming into the classroom.
I also get to see the socioeconomics and the institutional
racism that kind of denies access to individuals.
And so, unless we take care of all of the different
layers--because it is not a one size fits all. There is trauma.
There is gun violence. There is a lack of action from the
Senate to move on things like the firearms and the red flag
laws.
And so all of those things, while they are not being taken
care of, is still our reality, and until, as Dr. Rogers said,
we deal with the different levels of gun violence and the
byproducts of gun violence, then we are doing a disservice to
the public.
Ms. Clarke. We only got a couple minutes. Does anyone else
want to address that issue?
Dr. Lubin-Johnson. So I would like to add something to that
issue in terms of the intersectionality of what occurs with
victims of, you know, violence and the socioeconomic status.
One thing is, you know, we talk about adverse childhood
experiences, and this is one of those, but also others are, you
know, housing and access to food, et cetera.
All these things are interrelated. I mean, we know that
even those stressful childhood experiences of violence can
carry over into adulthood with increased rates of heart
disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, et cetera, and I think
we have to develop programs that take all of that into account.
Even, you know, the increased stress level of a mother
could lead to increased preterm births, you know, as--you know,
as she is pregnant.
And so I think we really have to look at how all these
things, you know, in terms of efforts, childhood experiences,
social determinants of health, how they all play a part in any
program that is crafted to help ----
Ms. Clarke. Dr. Rogers, I did invoke your name. I did want
to get your response very quickly.
Dr. Rogers. Thank you. I do think, as you said, Ms. Clarke,
it is multilevel, and I think it is not going to be any one
simple solution to this problem.
But we have to be willing to tackle it on multi levels. I
think--I was going to make the comment earlier that race
matters. I think if gun violence--intentional gun violence--was
disproportionately affecting only white people, there would be
a different impetus for making some impact.
But, similarly, if you look at the issue across the United
States, we don't talk about the impact of suicide--gun
suicide--upon people's lives, the silent burden that families
bear, and we need to be more open about the impact that that
has throughout the country.
Ms. Clarke. The red flag law.
Madam Chair, I yield back. Thank you.
Ms. Eshoo. The gentlewoman yields back. It is now an honor
to recognize our colleague, Congressman Danny Davis. I said
earlier ``the voice of God,'' and the sorrow of the tragedy of
losing a family member, that burden is being carried by the
Congressman and his family when they buried their grandson.
So this is--it is very important to us that he is here with
us today and that he will work to be part of the solution,
learning from the witnesses. You have your 5 minutes to
question, my friend.
Mr. Davis. Thank you very much, Chairman Eshoo, and I
really want to thank you for bringing this hearing to Chicago.
As far away as New York might be, California is even much
further.
And I want to thank Congressman Rush for requesting and the
entire committee for acceding to that request.
I am so pleased that so many members of the Committee on
Energy and Commerce are here participating. We often have these
kind of discussions throughout the country.
But oftentimes, we don't have as many individuals who come
from their districts to participate because there are things
going on where they are.
And so, Madam Chairman, this is an absolute great day for
us. I want to thank all of the expert witnesses who have come,
and as I have listened I thought of the fact that less than 2
months ago, 2 young individuals were tried, convicted, and
sentenced to prison for the murder of my grandson, 15 years
old.
Their families are traumatized as much as our family, and
my son was amazed when, at one of the eulogies, I said, you
know, ``I am hurting for the families of the individuals who
shot Javon.''
And he asked me--he says, ``Daddy, did you mean what you
said?'' I said, ``Yes, I really did, because just as there are
going to be empty spaces at our Thanksgiving dinner table,
there are going to be empty spaces at their Thanksgiving dinner
table.'' And he said, ``Well, the only thing I can say is, I
think you are a better man than I am.''
But that is one of the reasons that I am so pleased to have
introduced with Senator Durbin a trauma-informed care bill
that, hopefully, will move us in the direction of providing
greater access to individuals who have experienced traumatic
events.
As we have heard, all of us, one way or the other, either
collectively or individually, are having these experiences. And
so yes, we need resources.
But when I think of public health, my mother taught us that
prevention was worth much more than cure. She would say an
ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure. And so
we know that there are things that we need to do in order to
reduce the presence of guns.
For example, I am big on mental health, trying to recognize
its impact. But, you know, if a person is feeling a certain
kind of anxiety and all they have got is a toothpick, they
cannot kill 10 or 12 people in 30 seconds or less.
So we must find a way to reduce the presence of guns in our
society. We must find a way.
[Applause.]
Mr. Davis. We must find a way to eliminate access to these
automatic and semi-automatic weapons that shouldn't be in the
hands of anyone except military and perhaps in some instances
law enforcement.
[Applause.]
Mr. Davis. We know what to do, but we must have the will to
do it. Had there not been a gun present in the little
conversation that my grandson and his friends were having, he
would be alive today and they would not be traumatized and
facing prison. And so recognizing what to do and then doing it.
My question is and my comment: Gun violence is a crisis,
but so is poverty a health crisis. So is economic oppression. I
understand the young man over here who is talking about jobs,
and he has come to believe that of all the issues--because when
we talk about the stats and the group that has the most
homicides, half of those individuals are out of work, don't
have a job, don't go to school, are not engaged in any kind of
training program. So this also contributes to their utilization
of other forces to do what they do.
So, Spencer, my question--Mr. Leak--and I have attended
many of those services that you provided, and we see each other
pretty much on a regular basis, almost every weekend there is
one.
How do we comprehensively face the issue that we have and
try and make sure that we can seriously reduce gun violence and
provide the help that individuals need to have once they have
experienced it?
Mr. Leak. Well, thank you, Congressman Davis. Let me say
that I have found that, if we can change the mindset of the
individuals, that we--these groups that we are talking about.
When I was director of the jail, I was telling Dr. Lubin
that 50 percent of the inmate population were there because of
mental health issues, and what can the jail do about mental
health other than to contain?
But I submit that we have not brought into play the
correctional systems--Federal and State and county--of our
nation.
When I was the director of the jail, I did not, Congressman
Davis, think that my job was to contain inmates or to confine
them.
My job was to correct them, and what I tried to do in that
jail is to correct the individuals who come to us. They have no
else--they are confined, and therefore they are individuals
that we may change their life set.
So that is one area there. But I cannot--I cannot reiterate
to you and all of the Congressmen here that when I sit down
with those mothers, Congressman, of those children killed in
violence, I can't come up with anything comprehensive. I can't
be really profound. I can only put my hand around that mother
and say to her, ``Let us have prayer.''
And the only thing that will get us through this crisis in
gun violence and violence in general is we must--there must be
a faith-based solution. And I know that there are those who say
it is unconstitutional.
We should not--we should separate church and State. But I
say to you, we have got to change the mindset, and the only one
who can change the mindset is the one who changes not.
Mr. Davis. Thank you again, Chairman Eshoo. I really do,
from a personal vantage point, thank you, Congressman Rush, and
the entire subcommittee for bringing this tremendous hearing to
Chicago.
And I yield back.
Ms. Eshoo. The gentleman yields back.
And you should know that we all hold you in the center of
our hearts, and we think you are very, very special.
I would just like to say to Mr. Leak that, when you see a
picture of the floor of the House of Representatives and the
Speaker's chair, what is engraved over it are the following
words: ``In God We Trust.''
I now would like to recognize, last but not least,
certainly, our colleague, Chuy Garcia, from the Chicago area,
and thank you for joining us today and for your patience.
You now have 5 minutes to question.
Mr. Garcia. Thank you, Madam Chair, and to all the members
of the committee and, of course, all the panelists. As all of
you are keenly aware, gun violence is ravaging our communities.
It is sad to think how normalized gun violence has become
in our city and across the country, and it is time for the
Government to quit cowering to the NRA and to do something
about it.
[Applause.]
Mr. Garcia. I am sick of seeing headlines of shooting after
shooting occurring all over our country.
This week marked a 2-year anniversary since my wife was
coming home from going to visit a friend and parking her car in
the garage and heard four gunshots.
She ran to the front of the house to check to see what had
happened. A 26-year-old was shot while standing over his bike.
She called me to hurry home because this had happened. This is
just one more testimonial to others that Members have shared,
that none of us are immune to gun violence in our country
today.
Mass shootings have captured the national attention but
are, in fact, a small share of gun violence in our country, and
Chicago is no stranger to the gun violence. It is constantly
demonized by the President. It is a popular talking point for
those who claim that gun control doesn't work.
But there is a big difference between the factors that
create the conditions for shootings and our city and mass
shootings other places. Our Black and Latino communities have
been harmed for generations by disinvestment, racism, poverty,
and gang violence.
I want to ask Dr. Rogers, why is it important that research
properly identifies the root causes of gun violence and
distinguishes mass shootings from the types of gun violence we
witness in Chicago?
Dr. Rogers. Thank you, Congressman Garcia.
As noted, mass shootings represent less than 1 percent of
total shootings in the United States but disproportionately
gets all of the media attention when, in fact, daily people die
from gun violence and suicides by guns without getting the same
attention.
It is only through dedicated research will we understand
exactly what works, be it safer guns, be it hand-imprinted ways
of protecting who actually fires a handgun, for example, or
actually thinking more holistically what are the primary and
secondary prevention efforts that we can do to prevent people
from being injured by firearms in the United States.
Mr. Garcia. And very briefly, how do we get stakeholders,
including the media and law enforcement, to properly and
responsibly report and highlight these differences?
Dr. Rogers. I think one of the things that is happening
today, the ability to try to listen in a way that actually
respects people's different viewpoints. I think that is a
important starting point for dialogue.
Mr. Garcia. Very well.
So recently our country witnessed the deadliest racially
motivated attack targeting Latinos in modern American history,
in El Paso. But this is not an isolated incident.
In fact, nationally, from 2016 to 2017, there was a 24
percent increase in hate crimes against Latinos, fueled by
white supremacy and hateful rhetoric coming from the White
House.
I visited El Paso in the wake of the shooting, and as our
community mourned we also understood that the President is not
contributing to preventing these incidents. He is contributing
to encouraging this type of violence.
I want to ask Dr. Kerr as my final question--Mr. Kerr--what
types of resources and community engagement will the city and
the relatively new administration commit to providing
communities most afflicted by gun violence in Chicago?
And I ask that understanding that this is a national panel,
but we are also looking at what cities are doing to--in
response to the gun epidemic.
Mr. Kerr. Sure. So, as I mentioned earlier, Mayor
Lightfoot's investment in violence--this is something I know is
a big issue for her, and we are poised to work with other
organizations and entities because this is an all-hands-on-deck
approach that is needed to address this issue.
So we are doing inventory of our programming to making sure
that we have ample prevention programs but also thinking in a
comprehensive way. We need prevention and we need intervention,
and we need that comprehensive approach to also go along
partners.
So who needs to be at the table? So, of course, city,
county, State, Federal, but also including our local partners
in the process.
So we have been able to have different town hall meetings
over the last few months to engage organizations, to engage
residents to be on board to give their input, to contribute to
the strategy, because we know it is important to have them
available on the ground.
Mr. Garcia. Thank you, Madam Chair. I think my time has run
out.
Ms. Eshoo. The gentleman yields back.
I think that this now concludes the time of questioning on
the part of Members. On behalf of every member of the
subcommittee, we want to thank each one of you, the witnesses.
Chicago is known as the Windy City. But I think here today
you have really put some wind at our back to address this issue
that we are grappling with that has caused so much grief not
only here in this community but in communities across our
country, the damage to people's lives, the loss of life, but
what we can do about this relative to public health and the
epidemic that it really represents.
So each one of us are extraordinarily grateful to you. What
you have given to us will be the--is foundational for us to
build legislation on, and I believe that we have a lot to work
with because you have given us examples of what is happening at
the medical center here, what is happening at the medical
center in Texas. That can be highly instructive to us, that we
have wraparound services.
Pastor Mitchell, for what you referenced and other
witnesses, this is a rich record that you have provided for us.
We are very grateful to you for it.
I want to remind Members that, pursuant to committee rules,
each Member has 10 business days to submit additional questions
to the witnesses.
We hope that you will respond in a timely manner, because
that part of the record is very important to us, as well, that
all of it be captured, and I trust that you will do that.
I now would like to ask unanimous consent to enter into the
record the letter of support from the Association of American
Medical Colleges. We thank the association for that and,
hearing no objection, so ordered.
[The information appears at the conclusion of the hearing.]
Ms. Eshoo. Isn't that nice that I can say that? Hearing
no--just like that, it is like my little magic wand.
And, again, to everyone that is here in the audience, there
are advocates here that give so much of their time to push and
to push, to push and to push.
Your time is not wasted. You are really--you have formed a
national corps of patriots to address gun violence in our
country, and we are so deeply grateful to you.
To those who have suffered the losses in your family, I
said in the beginning that your grief more than fuels the
effort that we are taking on. We carry you with us, and we want
you to know that.
To all the press that is here--I also want to salute and
thank the committee staff. It is not an easy thing to do, to
take a committee on the road and to get everything set up.
So they not only worked in Washington, DC, but they came
here before the Members arrived to get everything organized,
and I think that we can show our appreciation by applauding and
thanking them.
Thank you.
[Applause.]
Ms. Eshoo. Thank you to everyone. And with that, at this
time the subcommittee ----
Mr. Rush. Madam Chair? Madam Chair?
Ms. Eshoo. Yes, Mr. Rush?
Mr. Rush. I also want to acknowledge the work of my own
district staff who worked hand in hand with the committee staff
to make sure that this was set up.
Ms. Eshoo. Well, of course, and I know how closely they
worked with the committee staff. Thank you.
[Applause.]
Ms. Eshoo. With that, the subcommittee is now adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:58 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
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