PARKLAND, FL – Today, Congressman Jared Moskowitz (D-Florida) released the following statement after he joined Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Florida) to introduce the EAGLES Act, legislation that will create a national program on targeted school violence prevention.

“Five years ago, our community was rocked to its core by school violence. We must do everything in our power to leverage our best resources to keeping our kids safe. By building on the Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center model, schools and community leaders can receive trainings on how to prevent and respond to violence. By naming the legislation the Eagles Act, we will always remember the 17 lives lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and the importance of preventing future school tragedies.”

The bill, named after the mascot at Moskowitz’s alma mater, creates a national program on targeted school violence prevention and expands the Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) research and training on school violence. Since 2002, the Secret Service has conducted hundreds of training operations for more than 198,000 school administrators, teachers, counselors, mental health professionals, school resource officers, and other public safety partners. The EAGLES Act reauthorizes and expands NTAC, allowing it to scale its threat assessment operations, with a particular focus on school safety.

Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Florida), who joined Moskowitz in co-sponsoring the EAGLES Act, said, “On the fifth anniversary of the tragic, senseless act of violence at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, that took the lives of 17 innocent individuals, I continue to pray for all those that experienced that horrific attack. Sadly, after Parkland, these targeted attacks have become more common. As we have learned, threat assessments and early intervention are proven and effective ways to prevent violent conduct, and Congress must ensure that all communities are equipped with the tools to identify and respond to any and all threats. The EAGLES Act is a crucial step toward protecting our communities, schools, workplaces, and houses of worship by ensuring that they have the knowledge and resources to identify and respond to potential acts of targeted violence. I am proud to reintroduce this crucial bill and remain optimistic that it can soon become law.”

In the Senate, the same legislation is led by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida), Senator Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nevada), Senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia), Senator Angus King (I-Maine), and Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine).

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