Hudson Continues Strong Leadership to Stop School Violence
June 19, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 19, 2019
Hudson Continues Strong Leadership to Stop School Violence
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08) spoke on the House floor urging his colleagues to support his amendment to a government spending bill (H.R. 3055) to increase funding to study the root causes of school violence. The appropriations bill calls for $1 million “for research to study the root causes of school violence to include the impact and effectiveness of grants made under the STOP School Violence Act.”
Rep. Hudson’s amendment, which was adopted by voice and was added to the appropriations bill, would double that with an additional $1 million for this purpose. The House is expected to continue consideration of the appropriations bill this week.
To watch Rep. Hudson’s remarks, click here. The transcript of Rep. Hudson’s floor speech is below.
“I thank the Gentlelady for yielding. I also want to thank Chairman Lowey and Ranking Member Granger for their leadership and for working with me on this important amendment.
As we experienced in April at my alma mater UNC Charlotte, no community is immune from gun violence. The despicable violence and hatred we saw in our community has no place in our schools and our society.
When I think back to my days when as a student at Myers Park High School, I remember studying humanities in Dave Layton’s class, having lunch with my friends, and looking forward to Friday night football games. I don’t remember feeling scared or anxious. And I don’t remember worrying about my safety. I want my son and all of America’s children to have that same experience. If there is any place our children should feel safe, it’ s in our schools.
That's why I – and so many of us here in this Congress – have been working for years to address this issue and tackle the root causes of violence. I led efforts to pass the STOP School Violence Act last year, and under Republican leadership, Congress passed many bipartisan measures to prevent mass violence including legislation to strengthen the background check system, improve mental health care, and give schools the tools they need to protect our students.
And we’ve made some progress, but our work is not nearly done. What can we do to better identify and intervene with young people in emotional crisis before they reach the breaking point? What causes these emotional crises and what can we do to prevent them? Which of our efforts to make our schools safer are actually working? These, and many more questions, deserve to be explored, and I hope my amendment will lead to answers that will protect our students and our educators.
My amendment would double the money available for research to study the root causes of gun violence, including the impact and effectiveness of grants authorized under the STOP School Violence Act. This money would go to grant programs at the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security dedicated to ending violence in our communities.
I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and I yield back the balance of my time.”
Rep. Hudson continues to work to tackle the root causes of gun violence. Last year, Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law the Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act of 2018as part of the omnibus bill. This law seeks to make our schools safer by providing resources to train students, teachers, and local law enforcement so they can help stop school violence before it happens. It also encourages state and local officials to share best practices for preventing school violence with federal law enforcement and their counterparts in other states. In addition, it provides funding for technology and equipment to improve school security and stop attacks. This funding may be used for metal detectors, locks, lighting, and other technologies to keep schools safe. Included in the omnibus was also policy to improve compliance with the federal background check system.
This action builds off of House Republicans’ ongoing efforts to address violence and improve mental health – particularly in our schools. In the 21st Century Cures Act which was signed into law in December 2016, Congress permanently authorized the VALOR initiative at the Department of Justice, which trains law enforcement on appropriate actions to take in an active shooter scenario.
The law also improved the National Violent Death Reporting System at the CDC to help track violent deaths and illuminate ways they can be prevented. Other aspects were aimed at preventing an individual from reaching a point of crisis including:
- Allowing more compassionate communication under HIPAA so family members can help individuals going through severe mental illness and facilitate treatment;
- Providing increased grant funding for training so teachers, EMS and other professionals can appropriately intervene before someone with mental illness experiences a crisis; and
- Reauthorizing programs that focus on helping treat children early on with severe emotional disturbances.
Rep. Hudson offered his amendment to H.R. 3055, a composite, or so-called minibus, of five of the traditional 12 appropriations bills to provide funding for the FY 2020 federal discretionary budget. H.R. 3055 totals $383.3 billion in discretionary budget authority and would provide appropriations for the following traditional appropriations bills: Commerce-Justice-Science, Agriculture-Rural Development-FDA, Interior-Environment, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development.
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Issues:Education