II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2759 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to reauthorize and expand the 

National Threat Assessment Center of the Department of Homeland Security. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 25, 2018 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. NELSON, and Mr. HATCH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to reauthorize and 

expand the National Threat Assessment Center of the 

Department of Homeland Security. 

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 ‘‘EAGLES Act of 

5 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) On February 14, 2018, 17 individuals lost 

9 their lives in a senseless and violent attack on MarVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 May 03, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2759.IS S2759

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1 jory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland 

2 Florida, a school whose mascot is the eagle. 

3 (2) These individuals lived lives of warmth, joy, 

4 determination, service, and love, and their loss is 

5 mourned by the Nation. 

6 (3) The shooter in that attack exhibited pat7 terns of behavior that were alarming and that should 

8 have alerted law enforcement and other Federal, 

9 State, and local officials. 

10 (4) The attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas 

11 High School was preventable. 

12 (5) Lives were saved because of the brave and 

13 exemplary conduct of many students, teachers, and 

14 staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in15 cluding several of the victims of the attack. 

16 (6) The National Threat Assessment Center 

17 (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Center’’) was estab18 lished in 1998 to conduct research on various types 

19 of targeted violence. 

20 (7) Studies conducted by the Center on tar21 geted school violence, in particular, have shown 

22 that— 

23 (A) most incidents were planned in ad24 vance; 


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1 (B) the attackers’ behavior gave some indi2 cation that the individual was planning, or at 

3 least contemplating, an attack; 

4 (C) most attackers had already exhibited a 

5 pattern of behavior that was of concern to other 

6 people in their lives; and 

7 (D) prior to the attack, someone associated 

8 with the attacker, such as a family member or 

9 peer, knew the attack was to likely to occur. 

10 (8) Through their research, the Center devel11 oped the threat assessment model for responding to 

12 indicators of targeted violence, which includes a 

13 three-step process— 

14 (A) identifying individuals who are exhib15 iting behaviors that indicate they are planning 

16 an attack on a school; 

17 (B) assessing whether the individual poses 

18 a threat to the school, based on articulable 

19 facts; and 

20 (C) managing the threat the individual 

21 may pose to the school. 

22 (9) The threat assessment model works most 

23 effectively when all the relevant parties, including 

24 school officials, local law enforcement, and members 

25 of the community, are part of a comprehensive proVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 May 03, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2759.IS S2759

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1 tocol to identify, assess, and manage a potential 

2 threat to the school. 

3 (10) The primary goal of threat assessment 

4 programs in schools should be to prevent violent con5 duct, with an emphasis on early intervention, treat6 ment, and care of individuals exhibiting behaviors 

7 associated with targeted violence. 

8 (11) Early intervention, treatment, and preven9 tion of violent behavior is an effective way to prevent 

10 violent conduct that would harm others and neces11 sitate disciplinary action, including criminal pen12 alties. 

13 (12) The parties involved need the appropriate 

14 training and tools to establish the appropriate mech15 anisms for implementing this type of approach. 

16 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con17 gress that a fact-based threat assessment approach, in18 volving school officials, local law enforcement, and mem19 bers of the community, is one of the most effective ways 

20 to prevent targeted violence in schools, and is a fitting me21 morial to those who lost their lives in the February 14, 

22 2018, attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School 

23 and those who heroically acted to preserve the lives of their 

24 friends, students, and colleagues. 


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1 SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION AND EXPANSION OF THE NA2 TIONAL THREAT ASSESSMENT CENTER OF 

3 THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 203 of title 18, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding the following: 

6 ‘‘§ 3056B. Functions of the National Threat Assess7 ment Center of the United States Secret 

8 Service 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a National 

10 Threat Assessment Center (in this section referred to as 

11 the ‘Center’), to be operated by the United States Secret 

12 Service, at the direction of the Secretary of Homeland Se13 curity. 

14 ‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Center shall 

15 include the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) Training in the area of best practices on 

17 threat assessment. 

18 ‘‘(2) Consultation on complex threat assessment 

19 cases or programs. 

20 ‘‘(3) Research on threat assessment and the 

21 prevention of targeted violence, consistent with evi22 dence-based standards and existing laws and regula23 tions. 

24 ‘‘(4) Facilitation of information sharing on 

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1 ty responsibilities, as well as other public or private 

2 entities. 

3 ‘‘(5) Development and implementation of evi4 dence-based programs to promote the standardiza5 tion of Federal, State, and local threat assessments, 

6 best practices in investigations involving threats, and 

7 the prevention of targeted violence. 

8 ‘‘(c) SAFE SCHOOL INITIATIVE.—In carrying out the 

9 functions described in subsection (b), the Center shall es10 tablish a national program on targeted school violence pre11 vention, focusing on the following activities: 

12 ‘‘(1) RESEARCH.—The Center shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) conduct evidence-based research into 

14 targeted school violence and school threat as15 sessment; and 

16 ‘‘(B) publish the findings of the Center on 

17 the public website of the United States Secret 

18 Service. 

19 ‘‘(2) TRAINING.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Center shall offer 

21 training courses on targeted school violence pre22 vention to agencies with protective or public 

23 safety responsibilities, as well as other public or 

24 private entities, including public school districts 

25 and schools. 


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1 ‘‘(B) DEVELOPMENT.—Training programs 

2 developed by the Center shall use best practices 

3 in school threat assessment, such as data pro4 duced through experimental, quasi-experimen5 tal, and non-experimental research. 

6 ‘‘(C) PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after 

7 the date of enactment of this section, the Cen8 ter shall establish a plan to offer its training 

9 and other educational resources to public or pri10 vate entities within each State. 

11 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION WITH OTHER FEDERAL

12 AGENCIES.—To the extent practicable, the Center 

13 shall develop research and training programs under 

14 this section in coordination with the Department of 

15 Justice and Department of Education. 

16 ‘‘(4) CONSULTATION WITH ENTITIES OUTSIDE

17 THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—The Center is au18 thorized to consult with State and local educational, 

19 law enforcement, and mental health officials and pri20 vate entities, in the development of research and 

21 training programs under this section. 

22 ‘‘(5) CONTRACTING SERVICES.—In carrying out 

23 the functions under subsection (b), and subject to 

24 the requirements of other applicable Federal law, the 

25 Director of the Secret Service may enter into conVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 May 03, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2759.IS S2759

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1 tracts with public and private entities to assist in 

2 conducting research and training. 

3 ‘‘(6) INTERACTIVE WEBSITE.—The Center may 

4 create an interactive website to disseminate informa5 tion and data on evidence-based practices in tar6 geted school violence prevention. 

7 ‘‘(d) HIRING OF ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Di8 rector of the Secret Service may hire additional personnel 

9 to comply with the requirements of this section. 

10 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the func12 tions of the Center— 

13 ‘‘(1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; and 

14 ‘‘(2) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 

15 through 2022. 

16 ‘‘(f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years 

17 after the date of enactment of this section, the Director 

18 of the Secret Service shall submit to the Committee on 

19 the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Ju20 diciary of the House of Representatives a report on actions 

21 taken by the United States Secret Service to implement 

22 provisions of this section, which shall include— 

23 ‘‘(1) the number of employees hired (on a full24 time equivalent basis); 


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1 ‘‘(2) the number of individuals in each State 

2 trained in school threat assessment; 

3 ‘‘(3) the number of school districts in each 

4 State trained in school threat assessment or targeted 

5 school violence prevention; 

6 ‘‘(4) information on Federal, State, and local 

7 agencies trained or otherwise assisted by the Center; 

8 ‘‘(5) formal evaluation indicating whether the 

9 training and other assistance provided by the Center 

10 is effective; 

11 ‘‘(6) a formal evaluation indicating whether the 

12 training and other assistance provided by the Center 

13 was implemented by the school; 

14 ‘‘(7) a summary of the Center’s research activi15 ties and findings; and 

16 ‘‘(8) a strategic plan for disseminating the Cen17 ter’s educational and training resources to each 

18 State. 

19 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

20 ‘‘(1) the term ‘evidence-based’— 

21 ‘‘(A) means a program that demonstrates 

22 a rationale based on high-quality research find23 ings or positive evaluation that such program is 

24 likely to improve relevant outcomes; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) includes ongoing efforts to examine 

2 the effects of the program; and 

3 ‘‘(2) the term ‘State’ means any State of the 

4 United States, the District of Columbia, the Com5 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, 

6 Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of 

7 the Northern Mariana Islands. 

8 ‘‘(h) NO FUNDS TO PROVIDE FIREARMS TRAIN9 ING.—None of the funds authorized to be appropriated 

10 under this section may be used to train any person in the 

11 use of a firearm. 

12 ‘‘(i) NO EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this 

13 section may be construed to preclude or contradict any 

14 other provision of law authorizing training in the use of 

15 firearms.’’. 

16 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

17 (1) Section 4 of the Presidential Threat Protec18 tion Act of 2000 (18 U.S.C. 3056 note), is repealed. 

19 (2) The table of sections for chapter 203 of title 

20 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

21 after the item relating to section 3056A the fol22 lowing: 

‘‘3056B. Functions of the National Threat Assessment Center of the United 

States Secret Service.’’. 

Æ 


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