[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 22819-22821]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       CAMPUS SAFETY ACT OF 2008

  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the 
rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6838) to establish and operate a National 
Center for Campus Public Safety.

[[Page 22820]]

  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6838

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Center to Advance, Monitor, 
     and Preserve University Security Safety Act of 2008'' or the 
     ``CAMPUS Safety Act of 2008''.

     SEC. 2. NATIONAL CENTER FOR CAMPUS PUBLIC SAFETY.

       Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 
     of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3711 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 
     end the following new part:

          ``PART LL--NATIONAL CENTER FOR CAMPUS PUBLIC SAFETY

     ``SEC. 3021. NATIONAL CENTER FOR CAMPUS PUBLIC SAFETY.

       ``(a) Authority To Establish and Operate Center.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Director of the Office of Community 
     Oriented Policing Services is authorized to establish and 
     operate a National Center for Campus Public Safety (referred 
     to in this section as the `Center').
       ``(2) Grant authority.--The Director of the Office of 
     Community Oriented Policing Services is authorized to award 
     grants to institutions of higher education and other 
     nonprofit organizations to asisst in carrying out the 
     functions of the Center required under subsection (b).
       ``(b) Functions of the Center.--The Center shall--
       ``(1) provide quality education and training for campus 
     public safety agencies of institutions of higher education 
     and the agencies' collaborative partners, including campus 
     mental health agencies;
       ``(2) foster quality research to strengthen the safety and 
     security of the institutions of higher education in the 
     United States;
       ``(3) serve as a clearinghouse for the identification and 
     dissemination of information, policies, procedures, and best 
     practices relevant to campus public safety, including off-
     campus housing safety, the prevention of violence against 
     persons and property, and emergency response and evacuation 
     procedures;
       ``(4) develop protocols, in conjunction with the Attorney 
     General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of 
     Education, State, local, and tribal governments and law 
     enforcement agencies, private and nonprofit organizations and 
     associations, and other stakeholders, to prevent, protect 
     against, respond to, and recover from, natural and man-made 
     emergencies or dangerous situations involving an immediate 
     threat to the health or safety of the campus community;
       ``(5) promote the development and dissemination of 
     effective behavioral threat assessment and management models 
     to prevent campus violence;
       ``(6) coordinate campus safety information (including ways 
     to increase off-campus housing safety) and resources 
     available from the Department of Justice, the Department of 
     Homeland Security, the Department of Education, State, local, 
     and tribal governments and law enforcement agencies, and 
     private and nonprofit organizations and associations;
       ``(7) increase cooperation, collaboration, and consistency 
     in prevention, response, and problem-solving methods among 
     law enforcement, mental health, and other agencies and 
     jurisdictions serving institutions of higher education in the 
     United States;
       ``(8) develop standardized formats and models for mutual 
     aid agreements and memoranda of understanding between campus 
     security agencies and other public safety organizations and 
     mental health agencies; and
       ``(9) report annually to Congress and the Attorney General 
     on activities performed by the Center during the previous 12 
     months.
       ``(c) Coordination With Available Resources.--In 
     establishing the Center, the Director of the Office of 
     Community Oriented Policing Services shall--
       ``(1) consult with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the 
     Secretary of Education, and the Attorney General of each 
     State; and
       ``(2) coordinate the establishment and operation of the 
     Center with campus public safety resources that may be 
     available within the Department of Homeland Security and the 
     Department of Education.
       ``(d) Definition of Institution of Higher Education.--In 
     this section, the term `institution of higher education' has 
     the meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).
       ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
     $2,750,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2013.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Zoe Lofgren) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, over the past few years, we have seen a number of tragic 
incidents of violence at colleges and universities, including the 
disastrous incidents at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University.
  This bill will help schools to more effectively prevent such 
incidents and to more effectively respond if such incidents do occur. 
It creates a national center for campus public safety administered 
through the Department of Justice. The center will train campus safety 
agencies, promote research into improving campus safety, and be a 
clearinghouse for campus safety information. The director at the center 
will have the authority to award grants to institutions of higher 
learning to help them meet their enhanced public safety goals.
  I would like to thank and publicly acknowledge Crime Subcommittee 
Chairman Bobby Scott of Virginia, as well as ranking member of that 
subcommittee, Louie Gohmert of Texas, as well as Senator Leahy for 
their bipartisan leadership on this initiative.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I support this bill.
  I would like to associate myself with the remarks made by the 
gentlewoman from California, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, and I will 
include my entire statement as part of the Record.
  Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, teachers and students at Virginia 
Tech gathered to mark the 1-year anniversary of the campus shooting 
that killed 27 students and 5 faculty members. We now know that the 
shooter was a mentally-disturbed young man who was able to purchase two 
handguns. He brought those handguns to the campus and began a shooting 
spree that spanned several hours and occurred in both dorms and 
classrooms across campus.
  Sadly, in February of this year, a gunman stormed a classroom at 
Northern Illinois University and opened fire, killing 5 students and 
wounding 16 others before killing himself.
  In the wake of the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern 
Illinois University and a recent rash of violence in public schools 
across the country, it is appropriate for Congress to act to provide 
resources to schools and law enforcement officials to help protect our 
schools.
  School and college campuses should be safe environments for students 
to learn. Today, campus security requires much more than ever before, 
including campus police, emergency alert systems, and emergency 
response plans.
  H.R. 6838, the CAMPUS Safety Act, authorizes the Department of 
Justice to establish a National Center for Campus Public Safety to 
award grants to colleges and universities and other nonprofit 
organizations, provide education and training for campus public safety 
agencies, and promote research to improve the security of colleges and 
universities.
  The center may coordinate with other Federal agencies to prevent and 
respond to natural disasters, incidents of campus violence, or other 
emergencies. The center may also promote the development of an 
effective behavioral health threat assessment to prevent campus 
violence.
  It is my hope that through this legislation and other programs across 
the country, we can do our best to prevent violence on our college and 
university campuses.
  I urge my colleagues to support the passage of H.R. 6838.
  I yield back my time.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H.R. 6838, ``Center to Advance, Monitor, and Preserve University 
Security Safety Act of 2008'', introduced by my colleague Congressman 
Bobby Scott of Virginia.
  Sadly, this legislation is in reaction to the numerous tragedies 
occurring at colleges and universities, including the disastrous events 
that occurred at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University. The 
Virginia Tech shooting resulted in the slaying of over 30 members of 
the Virginia Tech family and many others being wounded.
  The shooting that occurred on the campus of Northern Illinois 
University on February 14, 2008 also killed and injured several 
individuals

[[Page 22821]]

on the campus. Unfortunately, because these events were the first of 
their kind for the schools, they were not fully knowledgeable on how to 
respond.


                           CAMPUS SAFETY ACT

  This legislation will assist all institutions of higher education and 
states receive the best information possible on campus safety.
  This legislation establishes and organizes a National Center for 
Campus Safety (Center) which will:
  1. Provide quality education and training for campus public safety 
agencies of institutions of higher education and the agencies' 
collaborative partners, including campus mental health agencies;
  2. Foster quality research to strengthen the safety and security of 
the institutions of higher education in the United States;
  3. Serve as a clearinghouse for the identification and dissemination 
of information, policies, procedures, and best practices relevant to 
campus public safety, including off-campus housing safety, the 
prevention of violence against persons and property, and emergency 
response and evacuation procedures;
  4. Develop protocols, in conjunction with the Attorney General, the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Education, State, 
local, and tribal governments and law enforcement agencies, private and 
nonprofit organizations and associations, and other stakeholders, to 
prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from, natural and 
man-made emergencies or dangerous situations involving an immediate 
threat to the health or safety of the campus community;
  5. Promote the development and dissemination of effective behavioral 
threat assessment and management models to prevent campus violence;
  6. Coordinate campus safety information (including ways to increase 
off-campus housing safety) and resources available from the Department 
of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of 
Education, State, local, and tribal governments and law enforcement 
agencies, and private and nonprofit organizations and associations;
  7. Increase cooperation, collaboration, and consistency in 
prevention, response, and problem-solving methods among law 
enforcement, mental health, and other agencies and jurisdictions 
servIng institutions of higher education in the United States;
  8. Develop standardized formats and models for mutual aid agreements 
and memoranda of understanding between campus security agencies and 
other public safety organizations and mental health agencies; and
  9. Report annually to Congress and the Attorney General on activities 
performed by the Center during the previous 12 months.
  The Center will train campus public safety agencies, encourage 
research to strengthen college safety and security, and serve as a 
clearinghouse for the dissemination of relevant campus public safety 
information. By having this information, institutions of higher 
education will be able to easily obtain the best information available 
on ways to keep campuses safe and secure and how to respond in the 
event of a campus emergency.


                                 TEXAS

  The good state of Texas has 214 institutions of higher learning 
alone, with Texas Southern University, University of Houston, and Texas 
Technical University to name just a few.
  With so many institutions comes, so many different standards of 
campus safety regulations.


                               CONCLUSION

  This legislation would consolidate the information from the various 
colleges and universities so that the standards for collaboration in 
prevention, response, and problem-solving methods among law 
enforcement, mental health, and other agencies is consistent throughout 
the nation. What is done at Prairie View A&M University is also done at 
UCLA, is done at New York University, and is done at the University of 
Florida.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6838 and ensure that our 
colleges and universities are safe places for our young people to study 
and learn.
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I simply urge adoption of 
this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Zoe Lofgren) that the House suspend 
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6838.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________