II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 951 

To establish the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 22, 2023 

Mr. MURPHY (for himself and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, 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 ‘‘Office of Gun Violence 

5 Prevention Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ADVISORY COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Advisory 

9 Council’’ means the advisory council established 

10 under section 3(c)(1). 


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1 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

2 the Director of the Office. 

3 (3) GUN VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘gun violence’’ 

4 includes homicide, violent crime, domestic violence, 

5 attempted suicide, suicide, and unintentional death 

6 or injury involving a firearm. 

7 (4) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of8 fice of Gun Violence Prevention established under 

9 section 3(a). 

10 SEC. 3. OFFICE OF GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 

13 establish within the Office of Legal Policy of the De14 partment of Justice the Office of Gun Violence Pre15 vention. 

16 (2) DIRECTOR.—The Attorney General shall 

17 appoint a Director to be the head of the Office. 

18 (b) DUTIES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director, in consulta20 tion with the Advisory Council, shall coordinate, in21 tegrate, and maximize the efficacy of each responsi22 bility, program, and service relating to gun violence 

23 prevention administered by the Attorney General to 

24 maximize an integrated approach to reducing gun viVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:41 Apr 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S951.IS S951

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1 olence and serving victims of gun violence, includ2 ing— 

3 (A) the responsibilities of the heads of the 

4 Criminal and Civil Divisions of the Department 

5 of Justice, the Director of the Office of Com6 munity Oriented Policing Services, each United 

7 States Attorney, Director of the Bureau of Al8 cohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the 

9 Director of the Office on Violence Against 

10 Women, the Director of the Office of Victims of 

11 Crime, and the Director of the Office of Justice 

12 Programs; and 

13 (B) the administration of the national in14 stant criminal background check system estab15 lished under section 103 of the Brady Handgun 

16 Violence Prevention Act (34 U.S.C. 40901). 

17 (2) EVALUATION.—The Director, in consulta18 tion with the Advisory Council, shall evaluate laws, 

19 regulations, Federal programs, offices, data sources, 

20 and grant programs relating to gun violence preven21 tion administered by the Attorney General to assess 

22 how each such law, regulation, Federal program, of23 fice, data source, and grant program can be maxi24 mized, modernized, and coordinated to reduce gun 

25 violence. 


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1 (3) POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Director 

2 shall recommend to Congress and the President leg3 islative and executive policy options to promote evi4 dence-based gun violence prevention strategies, in5 cluding the implementation of existing laws, regula6 tions, and grant programs. 

7 (4) DATA.—The Director, in consultation with 

8 the Advisory Council, shall— 

9 (A) identify gaps in available data needed 

10 for gun violence prevention research, policy de11 velopment, and the implementation of evidence12 based gun violence prevention strategies; and 

13 (B) develop a plan to collect and analyze 

14 the data described in subparagraph (A). 

15 (5) ASSESSMENT.—The Director, in consulta16 tion with the Advisory Council, shall assess ongoing 

17 research efforts of the Department of Justice relat18 ing to gun violence to establish a comprehensive re19 search agenda on the causes and solutions of gun vi20 olence. 

21 (6) EDUCATION.—The Director, in consultation 

22 with the Advisory Council, shall educate the general 

23 public about Federal laws, regulations, and grant 

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1 ing by conducting education and awareness cam2 paigns— 

3 (A) directed at— 

4 (i) owners of firearms; 

5 (ii) parents and legal guardians of mi6 nors; and 

7 (iii) professionals who provide services 

8 to individuals and communities dispropor9 tionately impacted by gun violence; and 

10 (B) that include education relating to the 

11 secure storage or firearms and suicide preven12 tion. 

13 (7) COORDINATION.—In carrying out the duties 

14 under this subsection, the Director shall coordinate 

15 with Federal agencies and commissions that have ju16 risdiction over gun violence prevention, including— 

17 (A) the Department of Health and Human 

18 Services; 

19 (B) the Department of Veterans Affairs; 

20 (C) the Department of Education; 

21 (D) the Department of Housing and 

22 Urban Development; 

23 (E) the Department of Commerce; 

24 (F) the Department of Homeland Security; 

25 (G) the Department of Defense; 


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1 (H) the Department of the Interior; 

2 (I) the Consumer Product Safety Commis3 sion; 

4 (J) the Federal Trade Commission; and 

5 (K) the United States Sentencing Commis6 sion. 

7 (8) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

9 thereafter, the Director shall submit to Congress a 

10 report that includes— 

11 (A) information on the state of gun vio12 lence in the United States; 

13 (B) recommendations for policy initiatives 

14 and legislation to reduce gun violence in the 

15 United States; and 

16 (C) a description of the efforts of the Di17 rector to carry out the duties under this sub18 section. 

19 (c) ADVISORY COUNCIL.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

21 after the date of enactment of this Act, and not less 

22 frequently than quarterly thereafter, the Attorney 

23 General shall convene an advisory council— 

24 (A) chaired by the Director; and 


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1 (B) the membership of which includes the 

2 following individuals or a designee of the indi3 vidual: 

4 (i) The Deputy Attorney General. 

5 (ii) The Associate Attorney General. 

6 (iii) The Assistant Attorney General 

7 for the Office of Legal Policy. 

8 (iv) The Assistant Attorney General 

9 for the Office of Justice Programs. 

10 (v) The Assistant Attorney General 

11 for the Criminal Division. 

12 (vi) The Director of the Bureau of Al13 cohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 

14 (vii) The Director of the Federal Bu15 reau of Investigation. 

16 (viii) The Director of the Bureau of 

17 Justice Assistance. 

18 (ix) The Director of the Office on Vio19 lence Against Women. 

20 (x) The Director of the Office of Vic21 tims of Crime. 

22 (xi) The Director of the Bureau of 

23 Justice Statistics. 

24 (xii) The Director of the National In25 stitute of Justice. 


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1 (2) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall 

3 make every reasonable effort to include as 

4 members of the Advisory Council not fewer 

5 than 12 additional individuals. 

6 (B) REPRESENTATIVES.—The additional 

7 members described in subparagraph (A) shall 

8 include not fewer than 1— 

9 (i) survivor of gun violence; 

10 (ii) community violence intervention 

11 service provider; 

12 (iii) public health official; 

13 (iv) medical professional who provides 

14 trauma care; 

15 (v) mental health clinician; 

16 (vi) official from a department of jus17 tice of a State; 

18 (vii) State or local public health de19 partment official; 

20 (viii) teacher; 

21 (ix) member of a student group; and 

22 (x) veteran. 


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1 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec3 essary to carry out this section. 

Æ 


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