I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3714 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to reauthorize and expand the 
National Threat Assessment Center of the Department of Homeland Security. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 11, 2019 
Mr. DEUTCH (for himself and Mr. DIAZ-BALART) 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 subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to reauthorize and 
expand the National Threat Assessment Center of the 
Department of Homeland Security. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘EAGLES Act of 
2019’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) On February 14, 2018, 17 individuals lost 
their lives in a senseless and violent attack on Mar-
jory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, 
Florida, a school whose mascot is the eagle. 
(2) These individuals lived lives of warmth, joy, 
determination, service, and love, and their loss is 
mourned by the Nation. 
(3) The shooter in that attack exhibited pat-
terns of behavior that were alarming and that should 
have alerted law enforcement and other Federal, 
State, and local officials. 
(4) The attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas 
High School was preventable. 
(5) Lives were saved because of the brave and 
exemplary conduct of many students, teachers, and 
staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in-
cluding several of the victims of the attack. 
(6) The National Threat Assessment Center 
(referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Center’’) was estab-
lished in 1998 to conduct research on various types 
of targeted violence. 
(7) Studies conducted by the Center on tar-
geted school violence, in particular, have shown 
that— 
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(A) most incidents were planned in ad-
vance; 
(B) the attackers’ behavior gave some indi-
cation that the individual was planning, or at 
least contemplating, an attack; 
(C) most attackers had already exhibited a 
pattern of behavior that was of concern to other 
people in their lives; and 
(D) prior to the attack, someone associated 
with the attacker, such as a family member or 
peer, knew the attack was likely to occur. 
(8) Through their research, the Center devel-
oped the threat assessment model for responding to 
indicators of targeted violence, which includes a 3- 
step process— 
(A) identifying individuals who are exhib-
iting behaviors that indicate they are planning 
an attack on a school; 
(B) assessing whether the individual poses 
a threat to the school, based on articulable 
facts; and 
(C) managing the threat the individual 
may pose to the school. 
(9) The threat assessment model works most 
effectively when all the relevant parties, including 
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school officials, local law enforcement, and members 
of the community, are part of a comprehensive pro-
tocol to identify, assess, and manage a potential 
threat to the school. 
(10) The primary goal of threat assessment 
programs in schools should be to prevent violent con-
duct, with an emphasis on early intervention, treat-
ment, and care of individuals exhibiting behaviors 
associated with targeted violence. 
(11) Early intervention, treatment, and preven-
tion of violent behavior is an effective way to prevent 
violent conduct that would harm others and neces-
sitate disciplinary action, including criminal pen-
alties. 
(12) The parties involved need the appropriate 
training and tools to establish the appropriate mech-
anisms for implementing this type of approach. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that a fact-based threat assessment approach, in-
volving school officials, local law enforcement, and mem-
bers of the community, is one of the most effective ways 
to prevent targeted violence in schools, and is a fitting me-
morial to those who lost their lives in the February 14, 
2018, attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School 
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and those who heroically acted to preserve the lives of their 
friends, students, and colleagues. 
SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION AND EXPANSION OF THE NA-
TIONAL THREAT ASSESSMENT CENTER OF 
THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 203 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 3056A 
the following: 
‘‘§ 3056B. Functions of the National Threat Assess-
ment Center of the United States Secret 
Service 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a National 
Threat Assessment Center (in this section referred to as 
the ‘Center’), to be operated by the United States Secret 
Service, at the direction of the Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity. 
‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Center shall 
include the following: 
‘‘(1) Training in the area of best practices on 
threat assessment. 
‘‘(2) Consultation on complex threat assessment 
cases or programs. 
‘‘(3) Research on threat assessment and the 
prevention of targeted violence, consistent with evi-
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dence-based standards and existing laws and regula-
tions. 
‘‘(4) Facilitation of information sharing on 
threat assessment and the prevention of targeted vi-
olence among agencies with protective or public safe-
ty responsibilities, as well as other public or private 
entities. 
‘‘(5) Development and implementation of evi-
dence-based programs to promote the standardiza-
tion of Federal, State, and local threat assessments, 
best practices in investigations involving threats, and 
the prevention of targeted violence. 
‘‘(c) SAFE SCHOOL INITIATIVE.—In carrying out the 
functions described in subsection (b), the Center shall es-
tablish a national program on targeted school violence pre-
vention, focusing on the following activities: 
‘‘(1) RESEARCH.—The Center shall— 
‘‘(A) conduct evidence-based research into 
targeted school violence and school threat as-
sessment; and 
‘‘(B) publish the findings of the Center on 
the public website of the United States Secret 
Service. 
‘‘(2) TRAINING.— 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Center shall offer 
training courses on targeted school violence pre-
vention to agencies with protective or public 
safety responsibilities and other public or pri-
vate entities, including public school districts 
and schools. 
‘‘(B) DEVELOPMENT.—Training programs 
developed by the Center shall use best practices 
in school threat assessment, such as data pro-
duced 
through 
experimental, 
quasi-experi-
mental, and non-experimental research. 
‘‘(C) PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this section, the Cen-
ter shall establish a plan to offer its training 
and other educational resources to public or pri-
vate entities within each State. 
‘‘(3) COORDINATION
WITH
OTHER
FEDERAL 
AGENCIES.—To the extent practicable, the Center 
shall develop research and training programs under 
this section in coordination with the Department of 
Justice and Department of Education. 
‘‘(4) CONSULTATION WITH ENTITIES OUTSIDE 
THE
FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT.—The Center is au-
thorized to consult with State and local educational, 
law enforcement, and mental health officials and pri-
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vate entities in the development of research and 
training programs under this section. 
‘‘(5) CONTRACTING SERVICES.—In carrying out 
the functions under subsection (b), and subject to 
the requirements of other applicable Federal law, the 
Director of the United States Secret Service may 
enter into contracts with public and private entities 
to assist in conducting research and training. 
‘‘(6) INTERACTIVE WEBSITE.—The Center may 
create an interactive website to disseminate informa-
tion and data on evidence-based practices in tar-
geted school violence prevention. 
‘‘(d) HIRING OF ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Di-
rector of the Secret Service may hire additional personnel 
to comply with the requirements of this section. 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the func-
tions of the Center— 
‘‘(1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; and 
‘‘(2) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 
through 2023. 
‘‘(f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years 
after the date of enactment of this section, the Director 
of the Secret Service shall submit to the Committee on 
the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Ju-
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diciary of the House of Representatives a report on actions 
taken by the United States Secret Service to implement 
provisions of this section, which shall include— 
‘‘(1) the number of employees hired (on a full- 
time equivalent basis); 
‘‘(2) the number of individuals in each State 
trained in school threat assessment; 
‘‘(3) the number of school districts in each 
State trained in school threat assessment or targeted 
school violence prevention; 
‘‘(4) information on Federal, State, and local 
agencies trained or otherwise assisted by the Center; 
‘‘(5) a formal evaluation indicating whether the 
training and other assistance provided by the Center 
is effective; 
‘‘(6) a formal evaluation indicating whether the 
training and other assistance provided by the Center 
was implemented by the school; 
‘‘(7) a summary of the Center’s research activi-
ties and findings; and 
‘‘(8) a strategic plan for disseminating the Cen-
ter’s educational and training resources to each 
State. 
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘evidence-based’— 
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‘‘(A) means a program that demonstrates 
a rationale based on high-quality research find-
ings or positive evaluation that such program is 
likely to improve relevant outcomes; and 
‘‘(B) includes ongoing efforts to examine 
the effects of the program; and 
‘‘(2) the term ‘State’ means any State of the 
United States, the District of Columbia, the Com-
monwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, 
Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands. 
‘‘(h) NO FUNDS TO PROVIDE FIREARMS TRAIN-
ING.—None of the funds authorized to be appropriated 
under this section may be used to train any person in the 
use of a firearm. 
‘‘(i) NO EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this 
section may be construed to preclude or contradict any 
other provision of law authorizing training in the use of 
firearms.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) Section 4 of the Presidential Threat Protec-
tion Act of 2000 (18 U.S.C. 3056 note), is repealed. 
(2) The table of sections for chapter 203 of title 
18, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
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after the item relating to section 3056A the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘3056B. Functions of the National Threat Assessment Center of the United 
States Secret Service.’’. 
Æ 
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