[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4387 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4387
To establish within the Department of Health and Human Services a
Division on Community Safety, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 15, 2025
Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania (for herself, Ms. Pressley, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr.
McGarvey, and Ms. Jayapal) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the
Committees on Energy and Commerce, Education and Workforce,
Transportation and Infrastructure, and Financial Services, 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 within the Department of Health and Human Services a
Division on Community Safety, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; PURPOSES.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``People's Response
Act''.
(b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to--
(1) catalyze, coordinate, and disseminate research on
approaches to community safety that reduce criminal legal
contact while expanding opportunity, including a particular
focus on groups that have been disproportionately harmed by the
criminal legal system;
(2) support State governments, local governments, and
community-based organizations in implementing qualified
approaches to community safety;
(3) mobilize and coordinate Federal resources to advance
qualified approaches to community safety;
(4) expand resources to holistically support survivors of
mass incarceration, police violence, rape and other forms of
sexual assault, harm resulting from detention or deportation,
and other forms of violence and abuse; and
(5) expand resources to holistically support marginalized
communities, including Black communities, Latine/x communities,
Indigenous communities, communities of color, poor and working
class communities, and LGBTQIA+ communities, to implement
qualified approaches to community safety, with an emphasis on
culturally and linguistically appropriate approaches.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Community-based organization.--The term ``community-
based organization'' means a public or private nonprofit
organization of demonstrated effectiveness that--
(A) is representative of a community or significant
segments of a community; and
(B) provides educational or related services to
individuals in the community.
(2) Community health worker.--The term ``community health
worker'' means a frontline public health worker who--
(A) is a trusted member of, or has a close
understanding of, the community served, enabling the
worker to serve as a link between health and social
services and the community, so as to facilitate access
to services and improve the quality and cultural
competence of service delivery; and
(B) builds individual and community capacity by
increasing health knowledge and self-sufficiency
through a range of activities such as outreach,
community education, counseling (as allowed under State
licensing requirements), social support, and advocacy.
(3) Community land trust.--The term ``community land
trust'' means a community-based organization that is designed
to ensure community stewardship of land and--
(A) is not sponsored by a for-profit organization;
(B) has a membership open to any adult who resides
in the particular geographic area in which the
organization operates; and
(C) provides low-cost land and housing while
maintaining community control over neighborhood
resources, including by acquiring land that will be
held in perpetuity so as to provide permanently
affordable homeownership to those who might not
otherwise be able to afford a home.
(4) First responder.--The term ``first responder'' means an
individual with relevant experience who responds to crises in a
way that meets the definition of qualified approaches to
community safety.
(5) Qualified approach to community safety.--The term
``qualified approach to community safety'' means evidence-
informed, nonpunitive approaches to prevent, address, and
respond to violence and otherwise enhance public safety using
programs, services, and infrastructure investments that provide
alternatives to law enforcement, criminal courts, prosecution,
probation, child welfare services, involuntary treatment, and
immigration enforcement.
(6) Participatory budgeting.--The term ``participatory
budgeting'' means a democratic engagement process in which
community members deliberate and decide directly how to
allocate a portion of a public budget.
(7) Rural area.--The term ``rural area'' means an area that
is not classified by the Census Bureau as urban.
(8) Safety needs assessment.--The term ``safety needs
assessment'' means a systematic, participatory process for
identifying the safety needs in the local community. Such
process shall include--
(A) soliciting input from persons who represent the
broad interests of the local community, including those
who have been harmed by arrest, incarceration, criminal
supervision, immigration detention, or other criminal
legal system involvement;
(B) identifying the structural, systemic factors
that may lead community members to feel unsafe or may
increase the risk that community members may become
involved with the criminal legal system;
(C) identifying existing resources that are
potentially available to address those safety needs as
well as any other gaps in necessary resources; and
(D) providing opportunities that allow people
meaningful opportunities to review, comment on, and
provide suggested modifications to the draft
assessment, such as through public hearings, online
publication, and a comment period that allows
sufficient time for community feedback.
(9) State.--The term ``State'' means any State of the
United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the
Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands,
the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.
(10) Unit of local government.--The term ``unit of local
government'' means any city, county, township, town, borough,
parish, village, or other general purpose political subdivision
of a State.
TITLE I--DIVISION ON COMMUNITY SAFETY
SEC. 101. DIVISION ON COMMUNITY SAFETY.
(a) In General.--There is established within the Department of
Health and Human Services a Division on Community Safety (referred to
in this Act as the ``Division''). The Division shall be headed by an
Assistant Secretary for Community Safety (referred to in this Act as
the ``Assistant Secretary'') who shall be designated by and report
directly to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
(b) Responsibilities.--The Division shall have responsibility for
overseeing activities that promote qualified approaches to community
safety, including--
(1) coordinating and carrying out other oversight
activities with respect to the grant programs established under
title II;
(2) funding, conducting, coordinating, and publicly
disseminating the findings of, research into policies,
programs, infrastructure, and other investments that serve to
increase qualified approaches to community safety, including
through interdisciplinary collaborations involving scholars,
nonprofits, and other nongovernmental actors;
(3) providing and funding technical assistance to State and
local governments to implement qualified approaches to
community safety;
(4) establishing--
(A) the National Advisory Committee under section
102;
(B) the Interagency Task Force under section 103;
(C) the Community Safety Grant for community-led
organizations under section 201;
(D) the Community Safety Grant for Local
Governments under section 202;
(E) the Community Safety Grant for States under
section 203; and
(F) the First Responder Hiring Grants under section
204;
(5) coordinating, streamlining, and implementing qualified
approaches to community safety in collaboration with the
Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and
Families, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, Administrator of the Health Resources and Services
Administration, Director of the Indian Health Service, the
Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substances Use, and
other relevant agencies within the Department of Health and
Human Services;
(6) supporting and helping to coordinate interagency
initiatives that advance, streamline, and otherwise implement
qualified approaches to community safety;
(7) administering grant programs that support State
governments, local governments, and community-based
organizations in implementing qualified approaches to
increasing community safety;
(8) developing data systems and processes for evaluating
the impact of grants made under title II, including through the
use of data matching and other tools to inform target
populations and geographic areas;
(9) providing to the public updates, findings, and
recommendations on qualified approaches to community safety
collected from the reports made by recipients of grants under
title II; and
(10) establishing and maintaining a complaint system
responsible for the resolution of complaints from members of
the general public regarding grant funding for programs not
compliant with the qualified approaches to community safety
standards.
SEC. 102. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
(a) In General.--The Division shall establish a national advisory
committee to advise and make recommendations to the Assistant Secretary
about the activities of the Division established under section 101 and
grant programs under title II, to be known as the National Advisory
Committee (referred to in this Act as the ``Advisory Committee'').
(b) Composition.--
(1) In general.--The Advisory Committee shall be composed
of individuals to be selected by the Secretary.
(2) Representation.--The Assistant Secretary shall ensure
that individuals selected to serve as members of the Advisory
Committee--
(A) have personal experience with the criminal
legal system, including--
(i) individuals who have been detained or
incarcerated;
(ii) individuals who are currently on
community supervision (such as probation or
parole) or who have been on community
supervision;
(iii) individuals who have been arrested or
cited by law enforcement;
(iv) individuals who have been harmed by
police violence or other forms of violence,
including domestic violence, sexual assault,
rape, and other forms of sexual or intimate
partner violence; and
(v) immediate family members of individuals
who have been harmed by police violence; and
(B) are advocates or grassroots practitioners
working to advance educational equity, health equity,
housing equity, environmental justice, racial justice,
gender justice, disability justice, or Indigenous
justice.
(3) Pay.--Members of the Advisory Committee shall serve at
a rate of pay to be determined by the Secretary.
(4) Responsibilities.--The duties of the Advisory Committee
are as follows:
(A) Making recommendations regarding annual
priorities and funding for research and technical
assistance and evaluating, on an annual basis, research
conducted or supported by the Division and technical
assistance provided by the Division.
(B) Based on the evaluations conducted under
subparagraph (A), producing, and submitting to the
Administrator, annual recommendations on the following:
(i) Whether activities conducted by the
Division adequately reflect the specific needs
and interests of all individuals, including
Black individuals, Asian-American individuals,
Latinx individuals, Indigenous individuals,
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
individuals, disabled individuals, and other
individuals who are members of communities that
have been disproportionately impacted by the
immigration and criminal legal system.
(ii) Whether funding made available to the
Division is sufficiently flowing to
organizations that are led by individuals who
represent communities that have been
disproportionately impacted by the criminal-
legal system, such as those referred to in
clause (i).
(iii) Changes that the Division could make
to address any issues uncovered during such
evaluations, including ways to ensure that
grants awarded under this title are serving to
enhance racial equity and benefit community-
based organizations that have diverse
leadership and composition.
(5) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date on which
the Division receives the recommendations under paragraph
(4)(B), the Division shall submit a report to Congress, which
details--
(A) steps the Division has taken or will take to
implement the Advisory Committee's recommendations; or
(B) for any recommendations not implemented or
planned to be implemented, an explanation as to why
such recommendation was infeasible or conflicted with
the Division's statutory obligations.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the duties of
the Advisory Committee.
SEC. 103. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services
shall establish an interagency task force (referred to in this Act as
the ``Task Force'') to coordinate and promote holistic, qualified
approaches to community safety.
(b) Members.--The Task Force shall be composed of the following
members:
(1) The Secretary of Health and Human Services, or the
designee of the Secretary.
(2) The Attorney General, or the designee of the Attorney
General.
(3) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, or the
designee of the Secretary.
(4) The Secretary of Education, or the designee of the
Secretary.
(5) The Secretary of Labor, or the designee of the
Secretary.
(6) The Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency, or the designee of the Administrator.
(7) Other agencies, as determined necessary by the
Secretary of Health and Human Services.
(c) Duties.--The Task Force shall carry out the following:
(1) Conduct a comprehensive audit of all funds allocated
and programs supported by the Department of Justice and other
Federal agencies that fund law enforcement, jails, prisons, and
other detention facilities, and other coercive or carceral
approaches to public safety.
(2) Conduct a comprehensive audit that assesses all Federal
funds allocated to, as well as Federal programs supporting,
initiatives that are intended to enhance qualified approaches
to community safety, disaggregated by jurisdiction.
(3) Facilitate ongoing efforts to streamline the
application, monitoring, and reporting processes to make
Federal funds provided pursuant to any grant made under this
Act maximally accessible to small, grassroots organizations
that work to develop, implement, or evaluate qualified
approaches to community safety.
(d) Meetings.--For the purpose of carrying out this section, the
Task Force may hold such meetings, and sit and act at such times and
places, as the Task Force considers appropriate.
(e) Information.--The Task Force may secure directly from any
Federal agency such information as may be necessary to enable the Task
Force to carry out this section. Upon request of the Chairperson of the
Task Force, the head of such agency shall furnish such information to
the Task Force.
(f) Report to Congress.--Not later than 90 days after the date on
which the Task Force completes the audits described in subsection (c),
the Task Force shall submit a report to Congress, which summarizes--
(1) the contents of such audits; and
(2) any recommendatio