I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2585 
To establish a Federal Advisory Council to Support Victims of Gun Violence. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 8, 2019 
Mr. EVANS (for himself, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. HAS-
TINGS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. DEAN, Ms. 
HOULAHAN, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Penn-
sylvania, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. MENG, Mr. VEASEY, and Mr. ESPAILLAT) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary 
A BILL 
To establish a Federal Advisory Council to Support Victims 
of Gun Violence. 
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 ‘‘Resources for Victims 
of Gun Violence Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) In the United States, approximately 100 in-
dividuals are killed with guns every day, and more 
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than 36,000 individuals die from gun violence every 
year. Approximately 100,000 more individuals sur-
vive gun-related injuries every year. 
(2) The approximately 100,000 individuals who 
survive gun-related injuries every year in the United 
States face a life-long process of physical and emo-
tional healing, in addition to the heavy economic 
costs faced by those survivors, their families and 
communities, and society as a whole. According to a 
recent national poll, 4 percent of adults alive in the 
United States as of the date of the poll, or an esti-
mated 10,000,000 people, have been shot and in-
jured in their lifetimes. 
(3) Nearly two-thirds of gun-related deaths in 
the United States are suicides. Suicide attempts in-
volving firearms are uniquely lethal: while less than 
5 percent of suicide attempts not involving a firearm 
result in death, approximately 85 percent of suicide 
attempts involving a firearm end in death. According 
to a 2018 report by the Department of Veterans Af-
fairs, veterans are about 1.5 times as likely as civil-
ians to die by suicide, and 69.4 percent of veteran 
suicides in 2016 resulted from a firearm injury. 
(4) More than one-third of gun-related deaths 
in the United States are homicides, and in 2010, the 
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gun homicide rate in the United States was 25.2 
times higher than in 22 other high-income countries. 
(5) Gun homicides in the United States occur 
disproportionately in cities, particularly in racially 
segregated neighborhoods with high rates of poverty. 
Gun homicide disproportionately affects communities 
of color, and Black Americans represent the major-
ity of gun homicide victims. 
(6) More than 325 mass shootings took place in 
the United States in 2018, and more than 1,900 
mass shootings have taken place since the shooting 
at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, 
Connecticut, in 2012. Fifty-four percent of mass 
shootings are related to domestic or family violence. 
(7) Firearms are the second leading cause of 
death for children and teenagers and the first lead-
ing cause of death for Black children and teenagers 
in the United States. Every year, nearly 3,000 chil-
dren and teenagers are shot and killed, and approxi-
mately 15,600 are shot and injured. 
(8) During an average year in the United 
States, more than 600 women are shot to death by 
an intimate partner, and many more women are shot 
and injured by an intimate partner. Nearly 
1,000,000 women in the United States who are alive 
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as of the date of enactment of this Act have been 
shot or shot at by an intimate partner, and approxi-
mately 4,500,000 women alive as of that date have 
been threatened with a gun by an intimate partner. 
(9) More than 10,300 violent hate crimes com-
mitted in the United States in an average year in-
volve a gun, or more than 28 each day. The vast 
majority of hate crimes are directed against commu-
nities of color, religious minorities, and lesbian, gay, 
bisexual, transgender, and queer (commonly known 
as ‘‘LGBTQ’’) people. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADVISORY COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Advisory 
Council’’ means the Advisory Council to Support 
Victims of Gun Violence established under section 4. 
(2) APPROPRIATE
COMMITTEES.—The term 
‘‘appropriate committees’’ means the following: 
(A) The Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate. 
(B) The Committee on the Judiciary of the 
Senate. 
(C) The Committee on Education and 
Labor of the House of Representatives. 
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(D) The Committee on Energy and Com-
merce of the House of Representatives. 
(E) The Committee on the Judiciary of the 
House of Representatives. 
(F) Any other relevant committee of the 
Senate or of the House of Representatives with 
jurisdiction over matters affecting victims of 
gun violence. 
(3) GUN VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘gun violence’’ 
means— 
(A) suicide involving firearms; 
(B) homicide involving firearms; 
(C) domestic violence involving firearms; 
(D) hate crimes involving firearms; 
(E) youth violence involving firearms; 
(F) mass shootings; 
(G) unintentional shootings; 
(H) nonfatal shootings; and 
(I) threats or exposure to violent acts in-
volving firearms. 
(4) VICTIM OF GUN VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘vic-
tim of gun violence’’ means— 
(A) an individual who has been wounded 
as a result of gun violence; 
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(B) an individual who has been threatened 
with an act of gun violence; 
(C) an individual who has witnessed an act 
of gun violence; and 
(D) a relative, classmate, coworker, or 
other associate of— 
(i) an individual who has been killed 
as a result of gun violence; or 
(ii) an individual described in sub-
paragraph (A) or (B). 
(5) VICTIM ASSISTANCE PROFESSIONAL.—The 
term ‘‘victim assistance professional’’ means a pro-
fessional who assists victims of gun violence, includ-
ing— 
(A) a medical professional, including an 
emergency medical professional; 
(B) a social worker; 
(C) a provider of long-term services or 
care; and 
(D) a victim advocate. 
SEC. 4. ADVISORY COUNCIL TO SUPPORT VICTIMS OF GUN 
VIOLENCE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an Advi-
sory Council to Support Victims of Gun Violence. 
(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Council shall 
be composed of the following members or their des-
ignees: 
(A) The Secretary of Health and Human 
Services. 
(B) The Attorney General. 
(C) The Secretary of Education. 
(D) The Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development. 
(E) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 
(F) The Commissioner of the Social Secu-
rity Administration. 
(G) The Assistant Secretary for Mental 
Health and Substance Use. 
(H) The Director of the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention. 
(I) The Director of the National Institutes 
of Health. 
(J) The Administrator of the Administra-
tion for Community Living. 
(K) The Director of the Office on Violence 
Against Women. 
(L) The Director of the Office for Victims 
of Crime. 
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(M) The chairman of the Board of the 
Legal Services Corporation. 
(N) As appropriate, the head of any other 
Federal department or agency identified by the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services as 
having responsibilities, or administering pro-
grams, relating to issues affecting victims of 
gun violence. 
(2) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—In addition to the 
members described in paragraph (1), the Advisory 
Council shall be composed of the following: 
(A) Not fewer than 2 and not more than 
5 victims of gun violence, who shall be ap-
pointed by the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services. 
(B) Not fewer than 2 and not more than 
5 victim assistance professionals, who shall be 
appointed by the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services. 
(3) LEAD AGENCY.—The Department of Health 
and Human Services shall be the lead agency for the 
Advisory Council. 
(c) DUTIES.— 
(1) 
ASSESSMENT.—The 
Advisory 
Council 
shall— 
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(A) survey victims of gun violence and vic-
tim assistance professionals about their needs 
in order to inform the content of information 
disseminated under paragraph (2) and the re-
port published under paragraph (3); 
(B) conduct a literature review and assess 
past or ongoing programs designed to assist vic-
tims of gun violence or individuals with similar 
needs to determine— 
(i) the effectiveness of the programs; 
and 
(ii) best and promising practices for 
assisting victims of gun violence; and 
(C) assess the administration of compensa-
tion funds established after mass shootings to 
determine best and promising practices to di-
rect victims of gun violence to sources of fund-
ing. 
(2) INFORMATION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Council 
shall identify, promote, coordinate, and dissemi-
nate to the public information, resources, and 
best and promising practices available to help 
victims of gun violence— 
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(i) meet their medical, financial, edu-
cational, workplace, housing, transpor-
tation, assistive technology, and accessi-
bility needs; 
(ii) maintain their mental health and 
emotional well-being; 
(iii) seek legal redress for their inju-
ries and protection against any ongoing 
threats to their safety; and 
(iv) access government programs, 
services, and benefits for which they may 
be eligible or to which they may be enti-
tled. 
(B) CONTACT
INFORMATION.—The Advi-
sory Council shall include in the information 
disseminated under subparagraph (A) the 
websites and telephone contact information for 
helplines of relevant Federal agencies, State 
agencies, and nonprofit organizations. 
(C) AVAILABILITY.—The Advisory Council 
shall make the information described in sub-
paragraphs (A) and (B) available— 
(i) online through a public website; 
and 
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(ii) by submitting a hard copy and 
making available additional hard copies 
to— 
(I) each Member of Congress; 
(II) each field office of the Social 
Security Administration; 
(III) each State agency that is 
responsible for administering health 
and human services, for dissemination 
to medical facilities; 
(IV) each State agency that is re-
sponsible for administering education 
programs, 
for 
dissemination 
to 
schools; and 
(V) the office of each State attor-
ney general, for dissemination to local 
prosecutor’s offices. 
(3) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Advisory 
Council shall— 
(A) prepare a report that— 
(i) includes the best and promising 
practices, resources, and other useful infor-
mation for victims of gun violence identi-
fied under paragraph (2); 
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(ii) identifies any gaps in items de-
scribed in clause (i); and 
(iii) if applicable, identifies any addi-
tional Federal or State legislative authority 
necessary to implement the activities de-
scribed in clause (i) or address the gaps 
described in clause (ii); 
(B) submit the report prepared under sub-
paragraph (A) to— 
(i) the appropriate committees; 
(ii) each State agency that is respon-
sible for administering health and human 
services; 
(iii) each State agency that is respon-
sible for administering education pro-
grams; and 
(iv) the office of each State attorney 
general; and 
(C) make the report prepared under sub-
paragraph (A) available to the public online in 
an accessible format. 
(4) FOLLOW-UP
REPORT.—Not later than 2 
years after the date on which the Advisory Council 
prepares the report under paragraph (3), the Advi-
sory Council shall— 
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(A) submit to the entities described in sub-
paragraph (B) of that paragraph a follow-up re-
port that includes the information identified in 
subparagraph (A) of that paragraph; and 
(B) make the follow-up report described in 
subparagraph (A) available to the public online 
in an accessible format. 
(5) PUBLIC INPUT.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Council 
shall establish a process to collect public input 
to inform the development of, and provide up-
dates to, the best and promising practices, re-
sources, and other information described in 
paragraph (2), including by conducting out-
reach to entities and individuals described in 
subparagraph (B) of this paragraph that— 
(i) have a range of experience with the 
types of gun violence described in section 
3(3); and 
(ii) include representation from com-
munities disproportionately affected by gun 
violence. 
(B) ENTITIES AND INDIVIDUALS.—The en-
tities and individuals described in this subpara-
graph are— 
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(i) States, local governments, and or-
ganizations that provide information to, or 
support for, victims of gun violence; 
(ii) victims of gun violence; and 
(iii) victim assistance professionals. 
(C) NATURE
OF
OUTREACH.—In con-
ducting outreach under subparagraph (A), the 
Advisory Council shall ask for input on— 
(i) information, resources, and best 
and promising practices available, includ-
ing identification of any gaps and unmet 
needs; 
(ii) recommendations that would help 
victims of gun violence— 
(I) better meet their medical, fi-
nancial, educational, workplace, hous-
ing, transportation, assistive tech-
nology, and accessibility needs; 
(II) maintain their mental health 
and emotional well-being; 
(III) seek legal redress for their 
injuries and protection against any 
ongoing threats to their safety; and 
(IV) 
access 
government 
pro-
grams, services, and benefits for 
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which the victims may be eligible or to 
which the victims may be entitled; and 
(iii) any other subject areas discovered 
during the process that would help victims 
of gun violence. 
(d) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 
U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Advisory Council. 
(e) FUNDING.—No additional funds are authorized to 
be appropriated to carry out this Act. 
(f) SUNSET.—The Advisory Council shall terminate 
on the date that is 5 years after the date of establishment 
of the Advisory Council. 
Æ 
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