Expanding Research on Mass Violence Prevention Act

“393E. Mass violence research

“(a) In general—The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall engage in activities to address mass violence. Such activities shall include—

“(1) pilot projects in States participating in the National Violent Death Reporting System that focus on improving the collection, completeness, and sharing of information;

“(2) research on the nature of mass violence and factors that contribute to mass violence, including psychological and sociological factors;

“(3) research on methods and instruments for identifying and predicting perpetrators of mass violence;

“(4) research on methods of intervention with respect to, and prevention of, mass violence;

“(5) the development and dissemination of standardized assessment tools for mass violence risk; and

“(6) research into copycat and contagion phenomena with respect to mass violence.

“(b) Mass violence defined—For purposes of this section, the term mass violence means a physical assault carried out with implements (which may include knives, clubs, motor vehicles, firearms, or explosives) resulting in injury or death to three or more victims, not including the perpetrator. Such term does not include identifiably gang-related, drug-related, or organized crime-related incidents.

“(c) Authorization of appropriations—To carry out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024.

“(d) Rule of construction—No activity conducted under this section shall be construed as advocating or promoting gun control within the meaning of section 210 of division B of Public Law 115–245.”