(2) The Constitution of the United States of 
America, in its preamble, further sets forth the in-
surance of the cause of peace in stating, ‘‘We the 
People of the United States, in Order to form a 
more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domes-
tic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, 
promote the general Welfare, and secure the Bless-
ings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity’’. 
(3) The United States has been at peace for 
only 21 entire years since its birth during the Revo-
lutionary War. During the course of the 20th cen-
tury, more than 100,000,000 people perished in 
wars. Many of our citizens today have never known 
a peaceful year in their lifetimes. 
(4) Thus far in the 21st century, nearly 
1,000,000 people have died in conflict and war. In 
2015 alone, 65.3 million people, or one person in 
113, were displaced from their homes by conflict and 
persecution. The United States has been at war over 
15 years, with more than 6,800 members of the 
Armed Forces and hundreds of thousands of civil-
ians estimated to have been killed in the conflicts in 
Iraq, Afghanistan, and territories occupied by ISIL. 
(5) Every year 300,000 people are killed by gun 
violence around the world. In the United States, 
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100,000 people are shot each year in murders, as-
saults, suicides and suicide attempts, accidents, and 
police actions. Approximately 20 veterans a day 
commit suicide nationwide. Over 33,000 people die 
each year of gunshot wounds, 12,000 of whom are 
murdered. Every day, 50 children are shot, eight of 
whom are fatally shot, and each gun injury and fa-
tality results in trauma to family members and loved 
ones. More people have died from guns in the United 
States since 1968 than on battlefields of all the wars 
in United States history. 
(6) A World Health Organization report esti-
mates that interpersonal violence within the United 
States costs approximately $300 billion annually, not 
including war-related costs. The Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention states that an average of 34 
people age 10 to 24 were murdered each day in the 
United States in 2014. The Pew Charitable Trust 
calculates that child abuse and neglect in the United 
States cost $103.8 billion in 2007. 
(7) On April 4, 2012, the Institute for Econom-
ics and Peace released the United States Peace 
Index, which assesses peacefulness at the State and 
city levels and analyzes the costs associated with vio-
lence and the socio-economic measures associated 
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with peace. While violence within the United States 
has declined since the year 2015, violence and vio-
lence containment still cost the average taxpayer 
$6,417 per year. The total cost of violence to the 
United States—including lost productivity from vio-
lence—is conservatively calculated to be over $460 
billion. 
(8) A 2015 study by the Institute for Econom-
ics and Peace reports conservative estimates that 12 
percent of the gross domestic product of the United 
States was spent on containing violence. The study 
included government, corporate, and individual ex-
penditures, regardless of whether the expenditure 
was related to international affairs such as offshore 
military activities, or domestic spending such as 
dealing with crime and the consequences of crime. 
(9) Violence prevention is cost effective. For 
every dollar spent on violence prevention and 
peacebuilding, thousands of lives and dollars are 
saved. Research indicates that investing early to pre-
vent conflicts from escalating into violent crises is, 
on average, 60 times more cost effective than inter-
vening after violence erupts. The philosophy and 
techniques of nonviolence and the science of 
peacebuilding provide tools and techniques that can 
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be applied not only at the levels of individual and 
community growth, but also within the Federal Gov-
ernment and at national and international levels. 
(10) The United Nations recognizes that pro-
motion of peace is vital for the full enjoyment of all 
human rights and the United Nations Declaration 
on the Right of Peoples to Peace mandates that 
preservation of the right to peace is a fundamental 
obligation of each country. In 1999, the United Na-
tions adopted a Programme of Action on a Culture 
of Peace, stating that a culture of peace is an inte-
gral approach to preventing violence and violent con-
flicts, an alternative to the culture of war and vio-
lence, and is based on education for peace, the pro-
motion of sustainable economic and social develop-
ment, respect for human rights, equality between 
women and men, democratic participation, tolerance, 
and the free flow of information and disarmament. 
The United Nations declared the years 2001 
through 2010 an International Decade for a Culture 
of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the 
World, and the United Nations supports a culture of 
peace. In 2015, the UN adopted 17 sustainable de-
velopment goals, including promotion of peaceful and 
inclusive societies. 
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(11) Peacebuilding is defined by the United Na-
tions as a range of measures targeted to reduce the 
risk of lapsing or relapsing into conflict by strength-
ening national capacities at all levels for conflict 
management and to lay the foundations for sustain-
able peace and development. Peacebuilding is built 
upon research into the root causes of violence in the 
United States and the world, through promotion and 
promulgation of effective policies and programs that 
ameliorate those root causes of violence, and through 
providing all citizens, organizations, and govern-
mental bodies with opportunities to learn about and 
practice the essential tools of nonviolent conflict res-
olution and peacebuilding. 
(12) In 2000, the Earth Charter Commission 
released the Earth Charter, an international declara-
tion of fundamental values and principles created to 
build a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society. 
The preamble of the Earth Charter provides, ‘‘To 
move forward we must recognize that in the midst 
of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms 
we are one human family and one Earth community 
with a common destiny. We must join together to 
bring forth a sustainable global society founded on 
respect for nature, universal human rights, economic 
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justice, and a culture of peace.’’. Peacebuilding is 
working together with all countries to protect both 
life and land and hold the Earth in balance. 
TITLE 
I—ESTABLISHMENT 
OF 
DEPARTMENT 
OF 
PEACE-
BUILDING 
SEC. 
101. 
ESTABLISHMENT 
OF 
DEPARTMENT 
OF 
PEACEBUILDING. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a 
Department of Peacebuilding, which shall— 
(1) be within the executive branch of the Fed-
eral Government; and 
(2) be dedicated to peacebuilding, peacemaking, 
and the study and promotion of conditions conducive 
to both domestic and international peace and a cul-
ture of peace. 
(b) SECRETARY OF PEACEBUILDING.—There shall be 
at the head of the Department a Secretary of 
Peacebuilding, who shall be appointed by the President, 
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 
(c) MISSION.—The Department shall— 
(1) cultivate peace and peacebuilding as a stra-
tegic national policy objective; 
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(2) reduce and prevent violence in the United 
States and internationally through peacebuilding and 
effective nonviolent conflict resolution; 
(3) strengthen nonmilitary means of peace-
making; 
(4) take a proactive, strategic approach in the 
development of field-tested, best practices and poli-
cies that promote national and international conflict 
prevention, 
nonviolent 
intervention, 
mediation, 
peaceful resolution of conflict, and structured medi-
ation of conflict; 
(5) address matters both domestic and inter-
national in scope; 
(6) provide an institutional platform for the 
growing wealth of expertise in peacebuilding to dra-
matically reduce the national and global epidemic of 
violence; 
(7) support local communities in finding, fund-
ing, replicating, and expanding programs to reduce 
and prevent violence; 
(8) invest in nongovernmental organizations 
that have implemented successful initiatives to re-
duce and prevent violence, both internationally and 
domestically; and 
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(9) consult with other Federal agencies to apply 
and practice the science of peacebuilding in their re-
spective fields of responsibility. 
SEC. 102. RESPONSIBILITIES AND POWERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 
(1) work proactively and interactively with each 
branch of the Federal Government on all policy mat-
ters relating to conditions of peace; 
(2) call on the experience and expertise of indi-
viduals and seek participation in the development of 
policy from private, public, and nongovernmental or-
ganizations; 
(3) monitor and analyze causative principles of 
conflict and make policy recommendations for devel-
oping and maintaining peaceful conduct; 
(4) research effective violence reduction pro-
grams and promote and promulgate such programs 
within Government and society; and 
(5) consult with private, public, and nongovern-
mental organizations to develop a metric model that 
provides the means to measure and report progress 
toward peace in the United States to the President, 
Congress, and the public, and issue reports on such 
progress annually. 
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(b) DOMESTIC RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Secretary 
shall collaborate with governmental and nongovernmental 
organizations and individuals to promote personal and 
community security and peace by— 
(1) developing new policies and supporting ex-
isting policies that effectively address personal and 
family violence, including suicide, domestic violence, 
spousal abuse, child abuse, and mistreatment of the 
elderly; 
(2) creating new policies and programs and ex-
panding existing policies and programs that effec-
tively reduce drug and alcohol abuse; 
(3) developing new policies and programs and 
expanding existing policies and programs that effec-
tively address crime, punishment, and rehabilitation, 
including— 
(A) working to reduce prison recidivism 
rates; 
(B) supporting the implementation of non-
violent conflict resolution education and train-
ing for victims, perpetrators, and those who 
work with them; and 
(C) supporting effective police and commu-
nity relations; 
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(4) analyzing existing policies, employing suc-
cessful, field-tested programs, and developing new 
approaches for dealing with the tools of violence, in-
cluding handguns and assault weapons, especially 
among youth; 
(5) developing new and expanding effective pro-
grams that address and ameliorate societal chal-
lenges such as school violence, gangs, hate crimes, 
economic injustice, human trafficking, racial or eth-
nic violence, violence against LGBTQ+ individuals, 
and police-community relations disputes; 
(6) making policy recommendations to the At-
torney General regarding civil rights and labor law; 
(7) assisting in the establishment and funding 
of community-based violence prevention programs, 
including violence prevention counseling and peer 
mediation in schools and unarmed civilian peace-
keeping at a local level; 
(8) providing counseling and advocacy on behalf 
of individuals victimized by violence; 
(9) providing for public education programs and 
counseling strategies that promote tolerance and re-
spect for the diversity of all individuals in the 
United States with regard to race, religion, creed, 
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gender and gender identification, sexual orientation, 
age, ethnicity, and other perceived differences; and 
(10) supporting local community initiatives that 
draw on neighborhood resources to create peace 
projects that facilitate the development of conflict 
resolution and healing of societal wounds such as pa-
triarchy, racism, war, manifest destiny, and eco-
nomic injustice to thereby inform and inspire na-
tional policy. 
(c) INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Sec-
retary shall— 
(1) advise the Secretary of Defense and the 
Secretary of State on matters relating to national 
security, including the protection of human rights 
and the prevention of, amelioration of, and de-esca-
lation of unarmed and armed international conflict; 
(2) contribute to and participate in the develop-
ment of training of all United States personnel who 
administer post-conflict reconstruction and demobili-
zation in war-torn societies; 
(3) sponsor national and regional conflict-pre-
vention and dispute-resolution initiatives, create spe-
cial task forces, and draw on local, regional, and na-
tional expertise to develop plans and programs for 
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addressing the root sources of conflict in troubled 
areas; 
(4) counsel and advocate on behalf of women 
victimized by violence, including rape, situations 
leading up to conflict, conflicts, and post-conflict sit-
uations; 
(5) counsel and advocate on behalf of victims of 
human trafficking both domestically and internation-
ally and work to end the trafficking of human 
beings; 
(6) provide for exchanges between the United 
States and other countries that endeavor to develop 
domestic and international peace-based initiatives; 
(7) encourage the development of international 
sister city programs, pairing United States cities 
with cities around the world for artistic, cultural, 
economic, educational, and faith-based exchanges; 
(8) establish and administer a budget des-
ignated for the training and deployment of unarmed 
civilian peacekeepers to participate in multinational 
nonviolent peacekeeping forces that may be con-
ducted by civilian, governmental, or multilateral or-
ganizations; 
(9) jointly with the Secretary of the Treasury, 
strengthen peace enforcement through hiring and 
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training monitors and investigators to help with the 
enforcement of international arms embargoes; 
(10) in consultation with the Secretary of State, 
bring together all stakeholders who are impacted by 
a conflict by facilitating peace summits where such 
stakeholders may gather under carefully prepared 
conditions to promote nonviolent communication and 
mutually beneficial solutions; 
(11) submit to the President recommendations 
for reductions in weapons of mass destruction, and 
make annual reports to the President on the sale of 
arms from the United States to other countries, with 
an analysis of the impact of such sales on the de-
fense of the United States and how such sales affect 
peace; 
(12) in consultation with the Secretary of State, 
develop strategies for sustainability and management 
of the distribution of international funds; 
(13) advise the Permanent Representative of 
the United States to the United Nations on matters 
pertaining to the United Nations Security Council; 
and 
(14) support the implementation of inter-
national peacebuilding strategies through a balanced 
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use of peacebuilding, diplomacy, development, and 
defense. 
(d) 
MEMBERSHIP
OF
THE
SECRETARY
OF 
PEACEBUILDING ON THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUN-
CIL.—Section 101(a) of the National Security Act of 1947 
(50 U.S.C. 3021(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’; 
(2) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para-
graph (7); and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(6) the Secretary of Peacebuilding; and’’. 
(e) HUMAN SECURITY RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Sec-
retary shall address and offer nonviolent conflict resolu-
tion strategies and suggest resources for unarmed civilian 
peacekeepers to the appropriate relevant parties on issues 
of human security if such security is threatened by con-
flict, whether such conflict is geographic, religious, ethnic, 
racial, or class-based in its origin, derives from economic 
concerns, or is initiated through disputes concerning scar-
city of natural resources (such as water and energy re-
sources), food, trade, or climate and environmental con-
cerns. 
(f) MEDIA-RELATED RESPONSIBILITIES.—Respect-
ing the First Amendment to the Constitution of the 
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United States of America and the requirement for free and 
independent media, the Secretary shall— 
(1) seek assistance in the design and implemen-
tation of nonviolent policies from media profes-
sionals; 
(2) study the role of the media in the escalation 
and de-escalation of conflict at domestic and inter-
national levels, including the role of fear-inducing 
and hate-inducing speech and actions, and making 
the findings of such study public; and 
(3) make recommendations to professional 
media organizations in order to provide opportuni-
ties to increase media awareness of peacebuilding 
initiatives. 
(g) EDUCATIONAL
RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Sec-
retary shall— 
(1) with the support of, and in consultation 
with, the United States Institute of Peace, develop 
a peace education curriculum that includes studies 
of— 
(A) the civil rights movement in the United 
States and throughout the world, with special 
emphasis on the role of nonviolence and how in-
dividual endeavor and involvement have contrib-
uted to advancements in peace and justice; 
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(B) peace agreements and circumstances 
in which peaceful intervention has worked to 
stop conflict; and 
(C) the patriarchal structure of society and 
the inherent violence of such structure in the 
shaping of relationships and institutions; 
(2) in consultation with the Secretary of Edu-
cation— 
(A) commission the development of such 
curriculum and make such curriculum available 
to local school districts to enable the use of 
peace education objectives at pre-kindergarten 
schools, elementary schools, and secondary 
schools in the United States; 
(B) support in early childhood, pre-kinder-
garten schools, elementary schools, secondary 
schools, and institutions of higher education a 
well-resourced, balanced education that includes 
math, science, English, history, ethnic studies, 
social studies, health, physical education, for-
eign languages, the arts, and music that will 
prepare students for success in a globally inter-
connected world; and 
(C) offer incentives in the form of grants 
and training to encourage the development of 
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