[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 29 (Thursday, February 14, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S1386]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Jones, Mr. Scott of 
        Florida, Mr. Manchin, and Mr. Gardner):
  S. 495. A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to reauthorize 
and expand the National Threat Assessment Center of the Department of 
Homeland Security; to the Committee on the Judiciary.


                               Eagles Act

  Mr. President, I come to the floor today to take a moment and 
remember the tragedy that occurred a year ago at the Marjory Stoneman 
Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
  One year ago today, on Valentine's Day, 17 innocent lives were lost 
at the hands of a troubled, evil young man who entered a high school 
and opened fire.
  The tragedy in Parkland cannot be forgotten.
  We in the Senate cannot afford to forget such senseless acts of 
violence, and instead must continue to fight to prevent dangerous 
attacks in our country and our schools.
  I remain dedicated to keeping weapons out of the hands of those who 
seek to harm others.
  That is why I am proud to reintroduce the EAGLES Act of 2019.
  Along with Senators Rubio, Scott from Florida, Jones, Manchin, and 
Gardner, I am reintroducing a piece of legislation today that 
proactively works to mitigate threats of violence on school campuses.
  The EAGLES Act is named after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High 
School Mascot, the Eagles.
  It reauthorizes and expands the U.S. Secret Service's National Threat 
Assessment Center which is used to study targeted violence and develop 
best practices and training to identify and manage threats before they 
result in violence.
  This legislation also allows the Secret Service to focus a 
significant portion of its efforts directly on school safety by 
equipping communities and schools with training and best practices on 
recognizing and preventing school violence.
  In the wake of the Parkland shooting, there has been a flurry of 
activism, opinions, and action on the issue of gun safety, gun 
violence, and rights guaranteed to law abiding citizens under the 
Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
  It's our obligation as members of Congress to discuss issues, 
shortcomings, and room for advancement.
  The EAGLES Act is part of the solution to prevent future violence in 
our communities.
  This past year in the Senate, we took important steps to address gun 
violence and solutions to prevent future attacks.
  Through investigations, hearings, oversight of federal agencies, and 
legislation, I worked with my colleagues to shed light on the issue and 
seek solutions.
  For example, last Congress, two instrumental pieces of legislation to 
help protect Americans from future acts of violence were signed into 
law.
  The first was the Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing School 
Violence Act, which provides funding to schools to strengthen their 
infrastructure to make it more difficult for shooters to enter schools.
  The other bill signed into law was the Fix NICS Act.
  This law penalizes Federal agencies who fail to comply with the 
requirements in current law to report dangerous individuals and violent 
criminals to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
  These laws enjoyed bipartisan support and will help keep our 
communities safe.
  As former Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I also held a number 
of hearings on gun violence, one which specifically addressed the 
government's role and failures in preventing the Parkland shooting.
  It was because of the lack of government coordination, successful 
identification of threats, and mitigation of dangers that I introduced 
the EAGLES Act last Congress.
  As we learned in the hearing following the Parkland shooting and 
through subsequent investigations, there was much more that should have 
been done to prevent the Parkland shooting from happening.
  There's still more to do to address the issue of targeted violence.
  I expect my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will continue to 
propose solutions.
  It's a conversation worth having. We should find more ways to keep 
weapons out of the hands of dangerous individuals while still 
protecting important constitutional rights.
  It's in that spirit that I am reintroducing the EAGLES Act.
  By passing this Act, we can do more to assess threats, train 
communities and schools, and prevent violence.
  We cannot undo the tragedies of the past, but together we can do a 
better job to prevent future tragedies.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues on this important 
priority.
  I yield the floor.
                                 ______