CLASS Act of 2019

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, school shootings are dreadful atrocities that are plaguing our Nation. Nearly 20 years have passed since the horrendous shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, where 13 people lost their lives, yet schools and universities continue to be soft targets for deadly attacks.

Last year, between the months of January and May 2018, there was the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting that claimed the lives of 17 individuals, but there were also shootings nearly every week at our Nation's schools.

As history has shown us, there is no profile for a school likely to be targeted. This tragedy can happen at any school.

In 2012, after the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the Department of Homeland Security conducted an internal review of actions that its components were taking to help improve school security. Today, I understand that multiple DHS components currently have programs underway to address school security, but the degree to which there is coordination is unclear.

The Coordinating and Leveraging Activities for School Security, or CLASS, Act will establish a standing council within the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate school security activities, plans, and policies. The coordinating council would include all the key players in school security at the Department. They include the DHS Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans; the Director of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection; the FEMA Administrator; the Secret Service Director; and the heads of DHS' Offices of Academic Engagement and Public Affairs.

This legislation was not developed in a vacuum. Inspiration for this legislation came directly from experiences of those impacted by school violence and from the input of New Jerseyans.

Last July, my subcommittee held a school security field hearing in Newark. At the hearing, the subcommittee heard from the New Jersey State Police, the New Jersey Department of Education, the New Jersey Association of School Resource Officers, and the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security about the security risks the schools face and how Congress can provide support.

At the hearing and subsequently through our outreach and oversight, we came to understand there needs to be better coordination of school security activities within DHS to bolster coordination and minimize fragmentation.

As a leader in developing school security best practices and policies, it is important for DHS to have a formal school security body so that it can provide an example to those on the State and local levels on how to coordinate the protection of schools.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my House colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1593, Class Act of 2019, which addresses the increasing risks of security in schools.

As a senior member of the Homeland Security Committee, I ensure you that this bill will improve the safety plans and policies within our schools as well as the communication between the homeland security and the Homeland Security Committee.

This Class Act will ensure a council within the Department of Homeland Security that coordinates with school security departments of their policies, plans, and activities in regards to security, and require the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit a report to Congress on the council's effort.

Between January and May 2018, school shootings averaged one per week.

Schools need to be buildings of safety where children can gain an education in peace.

During Homeland Security Committee markups of H.R. 1593, the ``Coordinating and Leveraging Activities for School Security Act.''

I want to thank and recognize Chairman Payne for his tireless work to improve the Department of Homeland Security's capability and capacity to provide services to our youngest citizens.

His dedication to meeting the homeland security needs of children is greatly appreciated.

The amendment I offer to H.R. 1593, the ``Coordinating and Leveraging Activities for School Security Act,'' directs that any engagement with stakeholders should be reflected in the final report provided by this bill.

There are many factors that contribute to school security that we should acknowledge in the bill's report.

I am particularly interested in the work of school architects who design schools and, for decades, have worked successfully to address difficult safety challenges in school design.

As a direct result of school architects, schools are engineered to be resilient against fires, and high winds caused by tornadoes.

School architects are taking on the challenge of addressing the threat of active shooters in schools by developing designs that create visual blind spots in classrooms and hall-ways as well as engineering features that would delay an active shooter long enough to allow first responders to arrive.

It is my hope that stakeholders will also include students and teachers who can provide different perspectives on what constitutes school safety.

For these reasons, I urge all my colleagues to join me in voting for

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1593) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish a school security coordinating council, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1593, the Coordinating and Leveraging Activities for School Security Act.

Mr. Speaker, school violence continues to devastate communities and take the lives of so many young people. In 2018, we saw a record number of school shootings across the country. In response, Congressman Donald Payne, Jr., introduced H.R. 1593, the Coordinating and Leveraging Activities for School Security Act, known as the CLASS Act.

H.R. 1593 seeks to ensure that the Department of Homeland Security organizes itself to help bolster school security. Specifically, the CLASS Act establishes a standing body within DHS to coordinate the Department's school security initiatives, activities, plans, and policies. Additionally, to help ensure that DHS gives school security adequate attention, H.R. 1593 requires the Department to report to Congress on the work of the council.

Mr. Speaker, this is an important bill. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1593, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne), who is the author of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, school shootings have claimed the lives of too many young people. Passage of the CLASS Act would ensure that the Department of Homeland Security is positioned to be impactful in its efforts to address the escalating risk to school security.

I commend the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) for his leadership on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I ask for my colleagues' support, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Today I rise in support of H.R. 1593, the CLASS Act.

While the Department of Homeland Security already coordinates its policies relating to school security and safety across the Department, codifying this council into law will ensure important channels for information sharing and coordination are maintained during changes in administration.

Currently, DHS utilizes a number of tools to assist in the protection of our Nation's children. For example, the United States Secret Service National

Threat Assessment Center has created an operational guide to provide actionable steps that schools can take to develop specific violence prevention plans for their students.

Additionally, DHS' Office of Academic Engagement, or OAE, supports the Department's mission by building, improving, and leveraging relationships with the academic community. OAE's work focuses on outreach, engagement, and resiliency by supporting institutions of higher learning and the K-12 community in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk.

OAE offers a Campus Resilience Program Resource Library, which provides the academic community with access to guidelines, strategies, and resources to address the risks and vulnerabilities on their campus. The library is organized into categories according to a specific threat or hazard as outlined in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Preparedness Goal.

While numerous DHS components and agencies provide resources and recommendations with regard to school security, it is imperative that the work be done in unison and there is coordination across all relevant agencies within DHS.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to join me in supporting this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I urge adoption of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I was unavoidably detained on April 1 during roll call no. 137, on the motion to suspend the rules and pass, as amended, H.R. 1593. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.'' I was also unavoidably detained during roll call no. 138, on the motion to suspend the rules and pass, as amended, H.R. 1590. Had I been present, I would have votes ``yea.'' I was also unavoidably detained during roll call no. 139, on approving the Journal. Had I been present, I would have voted, ``aye.''

The descriptions would be, respectively:

137--``On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended, H.R. 1593, the Coordinating and Leveraging Activities for School Security Act'';

138--``On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended, H.R. 1590, the Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act''; and

139--``on approving the Journal''