I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5380 

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

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 22, 2018 

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 the Workforce, 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 2018’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 

2 There is established a commission to be known as the 

3 ‘‘Presidential Commission on Securing our Nation’s Chil4 dren’’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

5 SEC. 3. DUTIES. 

6 (a) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission shall de7 velop recommendations after a review and analysis of the 

8 following issues related to the safety and security of chil9 dren living in the United States: 

10 (1) The correlation or noncorrelation between 

11 mental illness and random acts of violence. 

12 (2) The accessibility of those who have exhib13 ited a history of violent behavior or have dem14 onstrated increased risk for violent behavior by idea15 tion of committing violence or stated intent to com16 mit violence to purchase or possess a firearm either 

17 by legal or illegal means, including— 

18 (A) proven methods that assist in identi19 fication of individuals at heightened risk of 

20 committing violence against themselves or oth21 ers; 

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

23 Tribal law enforcement to prevent or revoke 

24 possession of a firearm from individuals who 

25 have been identified as having a heightened risk 


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1 of committing violence against themselves or 

2 others; and 

3 (C) the ability of family members and 

4 friends to assist an individual who has dem5 onstrated increased risk for violent behavior. 

6 (3) Submission of individuals to the National 

7 Instant Criminal Background Check System, includ8 ing State and Federal compliance with data submis9 sion to such system. 

10 (4) Safety protocols and provisions on school 

11 property, including— 

12 (A) the feasibility, efficacy, and potential 

13 risks of commissioning armed security guards 

14 on school grounds; 

15 (B) the feasibility, efficacy, and potential 

16 risks of training and issuing licenses to teachers 

17 and school officials to use and possess a firearm 

18 on campus; 

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

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

21 (D) the feasibility and efficacy of imple22 menting evidence-based threat assessment pro23 cedures in all schools. 


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1 (5) Current State and Federal firearm, firearm 

2 ammunition, or firearm accessory regulations includ3 ing— 

4 (A) any age restriction on the possession 

5 or purchase of handgun, handgun ammunition, 

6 long gun, and long gun ammunition; and 

7 (B) the correlation between certain regula8 tions and its effect on illegal firearm possession. 

9 (6) The behavioral health support resources 

10 available to students in schools and their commu11 nities. 

12 (7) Any other issues the Commission considers 

13 relevant to understanding the state of violence in the 

14 country. 

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

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

17 Commission shall submit to the President and the Con18 gress a written report of the findings and recommenda19 tions based on the review and analysis required by sub20 section (a). 

21 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be com23 posed of 17 members appointed as follows: 

24 (1) Five members appointed by the President, 

25 in consultation with the Secretary of Education, the 


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1 Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the 

2 Attorney General. 

3 (2) Three members appointed by the Speaker of 

4 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 (3) Three members appointed by the minority 

10 leader of the House of Representatives, including— 

11 (A) one Member of the House of Rep12 resentatives; and 

13 (B) two individuals who are not Members 

14 of Congress. 

15 (4) Three members appointed by the majority 

16 leader of the Senate, including— 

17 (A) one Member of the Senate; and 

18 (B) two individuals who are not Members 

19 of Congress. 

20 (5) Three members appointed by the minority 

21 leader of the Senate, including— 

22 (A) one Member of the Senate; and 

23 (B) two individuals who are not Members 

24 of Congress. 


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1 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—Appointments shall be made 

2 from individuals who are specially qualified to serve on 

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

4 experience. 

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

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

7 in the manner in which the original appointment was 

8 made. 

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

10 elected by the members. 

11 (e) REIMBURSEMENT; SERVICE WITHOUT PAY.— 

12 Members of the Commission shall serve without pay, ex13 cept that members of the Commission shall be entitled to 

14 reimbursement for travel, subsistence, and other necessary 

15 expenses incurred by them in carrying out the functions 

16 of the Commission, in the same manner as persons em17 ployed intermittently by the Federal Government are al18 lowed expenses under section 5703 of title 5, United 

19 States Code. 

20 SEC. 5. STAFF. 

21 The Commission may appoint and fix the compensa22 tion of a staff director and such other personnel as may 

23 be necessary to enable the Commission to carry out its 

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

25 United States Code, governing appointments in the comVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Mar 28, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5380.IH H5380

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1 petitive service, and without regard to the provisions of 

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

3 relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates, 

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

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

6 V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 

7 5, United States Code. 

8 SEC. 6. MEETINGS. 

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

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

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

12 occur not later than 90 days after the date of the enact13 ment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 7. POWERS. 

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

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

17 act at times and places, take testimony, and receive evi18 dence as the Commission considers appropriate. 

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

20 Commission may, if authorized by the Commission, take 

21 any action which the Commission is authorized to take by 

22 this section. 

23 (c) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The Commission 

24 may secure directly from any department or agency of the 

25 United States information necessary to enable it to carry 


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

2 of such department or agency shall furnish such informa3 tion to the Commission. 

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

5 United States mails in the same manner and under the 

6 same conditions as other departments and agencies of the 

7 United States. 

8 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Administrator 

9 of General Services shall provide to the Commission on 

10 a reimbursable basis such administrative support services 

11 as the Commission may request that are necessary for the 

12 Commission to carry out its responsibilities under this Act. 

13 SEC. 8. STATE DEFINED. 

14 In this Act, the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the sev15 eral States, the District of Columbia, each commonwealth, 

16 territory, or possession of the United States, and each fed17 erally recognized Indian tribe. 

18 SEC. 9. TERMINATION. 

19 The Commission shall terminate on the date that is 

20 30 days after the date on which the Commission submits 

21 the report required by section 3(b). 

Æ 


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