Collins, King Join Bipartisan Group Introducing Mass Violence Prevention Bill
Five years after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, bipartisan lawmakers continue to push for changes to prevent future violence
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers in both chambers of Congress to introduce the EAGLES Act to help prevent acts of mass violence.
The EAGLES Act, named after the mascot for Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the site of a mass violence incident in 2018, would expand the U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) to include a greater focus on preventing targeted violence, including school violence.
“No child should feel unsafe in the classroom, and it is imperative that we take action to ensure that schools are a safe learning environment for students, teachers, and staff,” Senator Collins said. “This legislation would improve research and training to prevent targeted violence, including threats to schools. This is one of many commonsense steps that we can take to help protect our communities.”
“Our country has seen far too many acts of violence. Americans deserve to live their lives safely—at school, at grocery stores, at concerts, at places of worship, the list goes on,” said Senator King. “The EAGLES Act is a simple, commonsense, important step to stop mass violence before it happens, and keep communities safe from these tragedies. This bill will build on the National Threat Assessment Center track record of success and empower them to share their vast information resources wider to prevent future threats. I’m proud to join the bipartisan, bicameral coalition working on this bill and hope we can ensure its swift passage to help stop mass violence across our nation.”
The NTAC was created in 1998 to develop evidence-based indicators for various types of targeted violence, including school violence and other public threats. NTAC’s findings can then be used to develop best practices and training to prevent future acts of violence. Since 2002, the Secret Service has conducted hundreds of training operations for more than 198,000 school administrators, teachers, counselors, mental health professionals, school resource officers and other public safety partners.
The EAGLES Act reauthorizes and expands the NTAC, creating a national program on targeted school violence prevention and expanding the NTAC's research and training on school violence and its dissemination of information on school violence prevention initiatives. Through the bill’s school safety initiative, the NTAC will coordinate trainings and plans with the Department of Justice and Department of Education. The bill also requires the Secret Service to provide periodic progress reports to Congress.
Along with Senators Collins and King, the legislation was cosponsored by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rick Scott (R-FL), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Joe Manchin (D-WV). Companion legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.).
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