I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 743 

To establish a Commission on Securing Our Nation’s Children, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 24, 2019 

Mr. KATKO (for himself and Mr. CUELLAR) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition 

to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish a Commission on Securing Our Nation’s 

Children, 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 ‘‘Securing Our Children 

5 Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 

7 There is established a commission to be known as the 

8 ‘‘Presidential Commission on Securing Our Nation’s Chil9 dren’’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 


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1 SEC. 3. DUTIES. 

2 (a) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission shall de3 velop recommendations after a review and analysis of the 

4 following issues related to the safety and security of chil5 dren living in the United States: 

6 (1) The correlation or noncorrelation between 

7 mental illness and random acts of violence. 

8 (2) The accessibility of those who have exhib9 ited a history of violent behavior or have dem10 onstrated increased risk for violent behavior by idea11 tion of committing violence or stated intent to com12 mit violence to purchase or possess a firearm either 

13 by legal or illegal means, including— 

14 (A) proven methods that assist in identi15 fication of individuals at heightened risk of 

16 committing violence against themselves or oth17 ers; 

18 (B) the ability for Federal, State, local, or 

19 Tribal law enforcement to prevent or revoke 

20 possession of a firearm from individuals who 

21 have been identified as having a heightened risk 

22 of committing violence against themselves or 

23 others; and 

24 (C) the ability of family members and 

25 friends to assist an individual who has dem26 onstrated increased risk for violent behavior. 


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1 (3) Submission of individuals to the National 

2 Instant Criminal Background Check System, includ3 ing State and Federal compliance with data submis4 sion to such system. 

5 (4) Safety protocols and provisions on school 

6 property, including— 

7 (A) the feasibility, efficacy, and potential 

8 risks of commissioning armed security guards 

9 on school grounds; 

10 (B) the feasibility, efficacy, and potential 

11 risks of training and issuing licenses to teachers 

12 and school officials to use and possess a firearm 

13 on campus; 

14 (C) the impact of gun-free school zone laws 

15 on the rates of gun violence in those areas; and 

16 (D) the feasibility and efficacy of imple17 menting evidence-based threat assessment pro18 cedures in all schools. 

19 (5) Current State and Federal firearm, firearm 

20 ammunition, or firearm accessory regulations includ21 ing— 

22 (A) any age restriction on the possession 

23 or purchase of handgun, handgun ammunition, 

24 long gun, and long gun ammunition; and 


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1 (B) the correlation between certain regula2 tions and its effect on illegal firearm possession. 

3 (6) The behavioral health support resources 

4 available to students in schools and their commu5 nities. 

6 (7) Any other issues the Commission considers 

7 relevant to understanding the state of violence in the 

8 country. 

9 (b) REPORT.—Not later than the date that is 1 year 

10 after the date of the first meeting of the Commission, the 

11 Commission shall submit to the President and the Con12 gress a written report of the findings and recommenda13 tions based on the review and analysis required by sub14 section (a). 

15 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be com17 posed of 17 members appointed as follows: 

18 (1) Five members appointed by the President, 

19 in consultation with the Secretary of Education, the 

20 Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the 

21 Attorney General. 

22 (2) Three members appointed by the Speaker of 

23 the House of Representatives, including— 

24 (A) one Member of the House of Rep25 resentatives; and 


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1 (B) two individuals who are not Members 

2 of Congress. 

3 (3) Three members appointed by the minority 

4 leader of the House of Representatives, including— 

5 (A) one Member of the House of Rep6 resentatives; and 

7 (B) two individuals who are not Members 

8 of Congress. 

9 (4) Three members appointed by the majority 

10 leader of the Senate, including— 

11 (A) one Member of the Senate; and 

12 (B) two individuals who are not Members 

13 of Congress. 

14 (5) Three members appointed by the minority 

15 leader of the Senate, including— 

16 (A) one Member of the Senate; and 

17 (B) two individuals who are not Members 

18 of Congress. 

19 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—Appointments shall be made 

20 from individuals who are specially qualified to serve on 

21 the Commission by virtue of their education, training, or 

22 experience. 

23 (c) VACANCY.—Any vacancy on the Commission shall 

24 not affect the powers of the Commission, but shall be filled 


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1 in the manner in which the original appointment was 

2 made. 

3 (d) CHAIR.—The Chair of the Commission shall be 

4 elected by the members. 

5 (e) REIMBURSEMENT; SERVICE WITHOUT PAY.— 

6 Members of the Commission shall serve without pay, ex7 cept that members of the Commission shall be entitled to 

8 reimbursement for travel, subsistence, and other necessary 

9 expenses incurred by them in carrying out the functions 

10 of the Commission, in the same manner as persons em11 ployed intermittently by the Federal Government are al12 lowed expenses under section 5703 of title 5, United 

13 States Code. 

14 SEC. 5. STAFF. 

15 The Commission may appoint and fix the compensa16 tion of a staff director and such other personnel as may 

17 be necessary to enable the Commission to carry out its 

18 functions, without regard to the provisions of title 5, 

19 United States Code, governing appointments in the com20 petitive service, and without regard to the provisions of 

21 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title 

22 relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates, 

23 except that no rate of pay fixed under this section may 

24 exceed the equivalent of that payable for a position at level 


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1 V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 

2 5, United States Code. 

3 SEC. 6. MEETINGS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall meet at the 

5 call of the Chair or of a majority of its members. 

6 (b) FIRST MEETING.—The first such meeting shall 

7 occur not later than 90 days after the date of the enact8 ment of this Act. 

9 SEC. 7. POWERS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may, for the 

11 purpose of carrying out this Act, hold hearings, sit and 

12 act at times and places, take testimony, and receive evi13 dence as the Commission considers appropriate. 

14 (b) DELEGATION.—Any member or agent of the 

15 Commission may, if authorized by the Commission, take 

16 any action which the Commission is authorized to take by 

17 this section. 

18 (c) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The Commission 

19 may secure directly from any department or agency of the 

20 United States information necessary to enable it to carry 

21 out this Act. Upon request of the Commission, the head 

22 of such department or agency shall furnish such informa23 tion to the Commission. 

24 (d) USE OF MAILS.—The Commission may use the 

25 United States mails in the same manner and under the 


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1 same conditions as other departments and agencies of the 

2 United States. 

3 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Administrator 

4 of General Services shall provide to the Commission on 

5 a reimbursable basis such administrative support services 

6 as the Commission may request that are necessary for the 

7 Commission to carry out its responsibilities under this Act. 

8 SEC. 8. STATE DEFINED. 

9 In this Act, the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the sev10 eral States, the District of Columbia, each commonwealth, 

11 territory, or possession of the United States, and each fed12 erally recognized Indian tribe. 

13 SEC. 9. TERMINATION. 

14 The Commission shall terminate on the date that is 

15 30 days after the date on which the Commission submits 

16 the report required by section 3(b). 

Æ 


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