I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9962 

To establish a Gun Safety Board, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 11, 2024 

Mr. DESAULNIER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To establish a Gun Safety Board, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gun Safety Board and 

5 Research Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GUN SAFETY BOARD. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Health and 

8 Human Services shall, not later than 1 year after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act, establish a board to be known 

10 as the Gun Safety Board. 

11 (b) DUTIES.—The Gun Safety Board shall— 


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1 (1) not later than 2 years after the date of en2 actment of this Act, establish a program that uses 

3 not less than half of the amounts appropriated 

4 under this Act to provide grants that recipients shall 

5 use to— 

6 (A) conduct original research about fire7 arm violence reduction (including research 

8 about topics identified for additional research 

9 by the Gun Safety Board under paragraph (3)); 

10 and 

11 (B) to educate members of the public 

12 about— 

13 (i) causes and effects of firearm vio14 lence; and 

15 (ii) ways to reduce firearm violence; 

16 (2) conduct original research about firearm vio17 lence reduction; and 

18 (3) publish in the Federal Register and on a 

19 public website of the Department of Health and 

20 Human Services, not less frequently than annually— 

21 (A) policy and funding recommendations 

22 for potential Federal, State, and local action 

23 based on available scientific research about fire24 arm violence reduction; 


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1 (B) a list of subject areas related to fire2 arm violence reduction that the Gun Safety 

3 Board finds would benefit from additional sci4 entific research; and 

5 (C) the Gun Safety Board’s findings about 

6 the efficacy of existing State and Federal laws 

7 intended to reduce firearm violence, and the ex8 pected efficacy of proposed State and Federal 

9 legislation intended to reduce firearm violence, 

10 in reducing— 

11 (i) domestic violence; 

12 (ii) suicide and attempted suicide; 

13 (iii) chronic community violence; 

14 (iv) police violence; 

15 (v) mass shootings; 

16 (vi) hate crimes; 

17 (vii) school shootings; 

18 (viii) health care-related expenditures 

19 (including lost days of work and other indi20 rect expenditures) for victims of firearm21 caused injuries; 

22 (ix) hospital interventions; 

23 (x) broader socioeconomic impacts of 

24 chronic gun violence; 


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1 (xi) diversions of firearms, including 

2 straw purchasing and gun trafficking; and 

3 (xii) unintentional shootings. 

4 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

5 (1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Gun 

6 Safety Board shall be composed of 22 members ap7 pointed by the Secretary of Health and Human 

8 Services. 

9 (2) COMPOSITION.—The members shall in10 clude— 

11 (A) 1 member with expertise in public 

12 health; 

13 (B) 1 member with expertise in mental 

14 health care; 

15 (C) 1 member with expertise in firearm vi16 olence reduction research; 

17 (D) 1 member with expertise in trauma 

18 surgery; 

19 (E) 1 member with expertise in law en20 forcement; 

21 (F) 1 member with a background in fire22 arm manufacturing, firearm sales, professional 

23 firearm use, or recreational firearm use; 

24 (G) 2 members representing victims of 

25 firearm violence; 


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1 (H) 1 member representing a nonprofit or2 ganization that advocates for racial justice; 

3 (I) 1 member representing a nonprofit or4 ganization that advocates or engages in firearm 

5 violence intervention or prevention; and 

6 (J) 1 member from each of— 

7 (i) the National Institutes of Health; 

8 (ii) the Centers for Disease Control 

9 and Prevention; 

10 (iii) the Substance Abuse and Mental 

11 Health Services Administration; 

12 (iv) the United States Consumer 

13 Product Safety Commission; 

14 (v) the Federal Bureau of Investiga15 tion; 

16 (vi) the Department of Health and 

17 Human Services; 

18 (vii) the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 

19 Firearms, and Explosives within the De20 partment of Justice; 

21 (viii) the Office of Juvenile Justice 

22 and Delinquency Prevention within the De23 partment of Justice; 

24 (ix) the Bureau of Justice Assistance 

25 within the Department of Justice; 


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1 (x) the Office for Victims of Crime 

2 within the Department of Justice; 

3 (xi) the Office on Violence Against 

4 Women within the Department of Justice; 

5 and 

6 (xii) the National Institute of Justice 

7 within the Department of Justice. 

8 (d) TERMS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para10 graph (2), each member shall be appointed for a 

11 term of 4 years. 

12 (2) TERMS OF INITIAL APPOINTEES.—As des13 ignated by the Secretary of Health and Human 

14 Services at the time of appointment, of the members 

15 first appointed— 

16 (A) 3 shall be appointed for a term of 4 

17 years; 

18 (B) 2 shall be appointed for a term of 3 

19 years; 

20 (C) 2 shall be appointed for a term of 2 

21 years; and 

22 (D) 2 shall be appointed for a term of 1 

23 year. 

24 (3) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed to fill 

25 a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the 


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1 term for which the member’s predecessor was ap2 pointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of 

3 that term. A vacancy shall be filled in the manner 

4 in which the original appointment was made. 

5 (e) BASIC PAY.—Members shall be paid at a rate set 

6 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services that is 

7 consistent with title 5, United States Code. 

8 (f) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall receive 

9 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, 

10 in accordance with applicable provisions under subchapter 

11 I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 

12 (g) CHAIR.—The Secretary of Health and Human 

13 Services shall designate 1 member to serve as chair of the 

14 Gun Safety Board. 

15 (h) VICE CHAIR.—The members of the Gun Safety 

16 Board shall elect 1 member to serve as vice chair of the 

17 Gun Safety Board. 

18 (i) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet at least once 

19 each month at the call of the chair. 

20 (j) STAFF.—The chair may appoint and, consistent 

21 with title 5, United States Code, fix the pay of additional 

22 personnel as the chair considers appropriate. 

23 (k) FIREARM.—For the purposes of this Act, the 

24 term ‘‘firearm’’ shall have the meaning given the term in 

25 section 921 of title 18, United States Code. 


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1 (l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 

3 $5,000,000 for each of the first 2 fiscal years beginning 

4 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

5 $25,000,000 for each fiscal year thereafter. 

6 (m) PROHIBITION ON DIVERSION OF OTHER FED7 ERAL GUN VIOLENCE RESEARCH FUNDS.—The amounts 

8 made available for Federal gun violence research other 

9 than under this Act shall not be reduced in order to pro10 vide funds to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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