Active Shooter Alert Act of 2022
Floor Speech
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Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1224, I call up the bill (H.R. 6538) to create an Active Shooter Alert Communications Network, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
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Mr. NADLER. 6538.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 6538, the Active Shooter Alert Act, is bipartisan legislation that would improve the tools available to law enforcement as they respond to the disturbingly frequent threat of active shooters faced by our communities.
Far too many of our cities have experienced the threat of an active shooter situation. Since we last voted on this very bill--only a few weeks ago--Highland Park became the most recent city to face the terror of a mass shooting, following Buffalo, Uvalde, and so many others.
In 2021, the FBI designated 61 situations as active shooter incidents, a more than 50 percent increase compared to 2020, and nearly double the number of such incidents just 4 years ago.
These incidents require law enforcement to make challenging decisions about how best to keep the public safe, including when and how to inform the public as a situation unfolds. FEMA, the FCC, and wireless providers already have a system in place to send time-sensitive, location-targeted alerts for weather emergencies, AMBER Alerts for child abduction cases, and other public safety emergencies.
This bill simply enables law enforcement to use this system for active shooter alerts, giving them an additional tool to save lives. It is bipartisan legislation and should be completely uncontroversial.
Indeed, our colleagues overwhelmingly supported this legislation when we last voted on it, but the opposition of a few Members prevented it from garnering the two-thirds support it needed to pass under suspension of the rules. Those Members in opposition have made absurd claims about the bill--instead of examining what it actually does--but we won't take the bait.
Instead, we are listening to our law enforcement and first responders who have called for this legislation. Today, we are taking action to save lives when tragedy strikes. We will continue to do much more to actually prevent these tragedies, but the least we can do is to improve the tools we give law enforcement to respond to a crisis. That is what this bill does.
H.R. 6538, the Active Shooter Alert Act, directs the attorney general to appoint a coordinator to work with Federal, State, local, and Tribal Governments to better use our existing emergency alert system for active shooter situations.
It directs the coordinator to establish an advisory panel, comprised of law enforcement officers who have responded to active shooter incidents, along with other public safety and emergency response experts.
The coordinator is also directed to establish best practices for using emergency alerts for active shooter incidents, to promote the adoption of those best practices, and to report to Congress on the effectiveness of these alerts. This bipartisan legislation is endorsed by a broad range of Federal, State, and local law enforcement organizations.
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Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me say that if the theater across street were on fire, I would like to know about it. Fires spread.
Jackson Lee), who is a member of the Judiciary Committee.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the chair very much for yielding.
Let me acknowledge both my good friend, Mr. Cicilline, and my good friend, Mr. Upton, for their thoughtfulness.
Let me provide a response and relief to my good friend from Florida. First of all, I champion the heroes who run into burning buildings, law enforcement that save persons who are under attack, and the outstanding heroes of natural disasters and manmade disasters. They are valuable.
But I do want to answer the question that we have seen, i.e., Uvalde a lot of good guys with guns and nothing happened. And so this active shooter legislation is common sense. Let me dispel your fears. There is modern-day technology that experts run by FEMA under the DOJ will, in fact, be able in this active shooter legislation pinpoint where the active shooter may be.
I have here a list of shootings that have gone on in Uvalde; Buffalo; Boulder, Colorado; Atlanta; Dayton; El Paso; Virginia Beach; Thousand Oaks; Pittsburgh; Parkland; Sutherland; Las Vegas; Orlando; Oregon; Rosenberg; and Oak Creek.
I can assure you that the active shooter legislation would have been effective.
Individuals had gotten the guns legally, allegedly, but no one gave notice to those people that a shooting was going on.
In recent weeks and months and years, we have mourned the loss of life resulting from an ever-increasing number of active shooters. Communities in every corner of this country are suffering.
For instance, eight people were killed roughly 30 miles apart in three spas. No active shooter alert. If that had been done, someone could have been prepared that an active shooter that had a propensity to go into spas was killing people. He ran around creating havoc.
We know what happened in Uvalde, Texas--no notice that there was havoc going on in Robb Elementary School. Tell that to the parents.
Highland Park, Illinois, a Fourth of July parade ended abruptly as the shooting came. If we had had that, there might have been relief.
Please realize that we are here trying to save lives. In saving lives, yes, we want a ban on the assault weapons, but we would hope that you would join us on a bipartisan bill that will simply notify people what is happening, not deny them their due process rights.
H.R. 6538 is an important bill that would authorize the Department of Justice to coordinate an active shooter alert network. We will be listening to law enforcement and those with technology to ensure that the system works.
AMBER Alerts, for those of us in disaster territory and storm territory, work.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I will not leave the floor without trying my best to give the names from Uvalde: Makenna, Layla, Maranda, Nevaeh, Jose, Xavier, Tess, Rojelio, Eliahna, Eliahna, Annabell, Jackie, Uziyah, Jayce, Maite, Jailah, Irma, Eva, Amerie, Alexandria, and Alithia; and those of this great community of Buffalo: Roberta, Margus, Andre, Aaron, Geraldine, Celestine, Heyward, Katherine, Pearl, and Ruth. These are people who have died. Highland will have their list of names added to this.
Support the AMBER Alert that makes the difference in an active shooting so that even though there are good guys out there, you can tell the people to save their lives. For the little 2-year-old that we will hear about soon, support the legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6538, the ``Active Shooter Alert Act of 2022.''
In recent weeks, months, and years, we have mourned the loss of life resulting from an ever-increasing number of active shooter incidents where perpetrators committed mass shootings in multiple locations.
Communities in every corner of this country have been subjected to the fear and uncertainty created by active shooters in their midst.
Last year, there were 61 active shooter incidents in the United States. Approximately 27 of those incidents involved an active shooter moving from one location to another.
For instance, 8 people were killed roughly 30 miles apart at three spas in the metro Atlanta area last year. The gunman was later apprehended some 150 miles south of Atlanta.
In May this year, as we all know, 19 fourth graders and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas were slaughtered in a mass shooting that began when the perpetrator shot his grandmother in the home they shared, drove away, and crashed his vehicle outside Robb Elementary, where he entered and committed unspeakable acts.
And just a week ago in Highland Park, Illinois, a Fourth of July parade ended abruptly when a shooter opened fire on spectators, then fled the scene, prompting a citywide search.
While the actions of these individuals and other active shooters are unacceptable and require Congress to enact measures to put an end to such evil acts, we must also be prepared if these situations occur, and do all we can to help law enforcement save more lives.
Law enforcement's response to an active shooter is a dynamic situation--oftentimes chaotic--that involves many variables, requires swift, consequential decision-making, and places great strain on law enforcement command staff and their officers on the ground.
Their goal is to save the lives of victims and prevent others from unknowingly entering the area or walking into the line of fire--at all times focusing on containing, neutralizing, and apprehending the shooter.
We all saw the video of the band members in Highland Park who continued to march along the parade route as shots rang out above their heads. We saw the confused looks on the faces of the spectators as they tried to determine if the loud bangs were gunshots or fireworks.
An Active Shooter Alert could have helped those people fully ascertain the danger they were in and get to safety faster. An Alert might have saved the life of the woman who unknowingly walked directly into the line of fire of the Buffalo Shooter in the Tops parking lot.
Centers of higher learning and primary education, businesses, local jurisdictions, and law enforcement agencies have already implemented some systems to alert students, employees, patrons, and community members of the presence of an active shooter, and to help manage the response, and provide updates about the ongoing crisis via text message and/or social media.
Many of these systems face low enrollment and messaging delays that sometimes contribute to confusion around the incident. In the case of social media--insufficient account visibility means fewer people are made aware of an existing threat to their safety.
Law enforcement needs a reliable method of communication to rapidly notify as many people as possible within the vicinity of an ongoing active shooter incident; provide instructions to avoid the area or shelter in place; and announce when the area has been restored to safety.
H.R. 6538, the Active Shooter Alert Act of 2022, would authorize the Department of Justice to coordinate the creation of an Active Shooter Alert Network, enabling law enforcement to send active shooter alerts to mobile devices within their communities using the same system that issues AMBER Alerts, severe storm and extreme weather events warnings, and other emergency situations.
This legislation would ensure that an advisory panel--comprised of law enforcement officers, public safety experts, and emergency response officials experienced in responding to active shooter situations--has input in the development of best practices for issuing alerts effectively.
DOJ would oversee establishment of the advisory panel; establish and promote adoption of the best practices; and coordinate with FEMA, the Department of Transportation, and the FCC to issue alerts for the network and to provide a report to Congress on the effectiveness of the network.
Although this system would be available to law enforcement agencies to use on a voluntary basis, I expect many agencies will elect to participate based on the many endorsements received from law enforcement agencies.
I thank ACAL Subcommittee Chairman Cicilline for his leadership on this lifesaving, bipartisan legislation that I am proud to cosponsor along with Representatives Deutch, Spartz, Upton, Thompson, Meijer, and Mace. Uvalde Shooting Victims
Makenna Lee Elrod, 10
Layla Salazar, 11
Maranda Mathis, 11
Nevaeh Bravo, 10
Jose Manuel Flores Jr., 10
Xavier Lopez, 10
Tess Marie Mata, 10
Rojelio Torres, 10
Eliahna ``Ellie'' Amyah Garcia, 9; who was just days from turning 10 years old
Eliahna A. Torres, 10
Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, 10; cousin and best friend to Jackie Cazares, 9, another victim
Uziyah Garcia
Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, 10
Maite Yuleana Rodriguez, 10
Jailah Nicole Silguero, 10
Irma Garcia, 48; a teacher of over two decades
Eva Mireles, 44
Amerie Jo Garza, 10
Alexandria ``Lexi'' Aniyah Rubio, 10
Alithia Ramirez, 10 Buffalo Shooting Victims
Roberta A. Drury of Buffalo, N.Y.--age 32
Margus D. Morrison of Buffalo, N.Y.--age 52
Andre Mackneil of Auburn, N.Y.--age 53
Aaron Salter of Lockport, N.Y.--age 55
Geraldine Talley of Buffalo, N.Y.--age 62
Celestine Chaney of Buffalo, N.Y.--age 65
Heyward Patterson of Buffalo, N.Y.--age 67
Katherine Massey of Buffalo, N.Y.--age 72
Pearl Young of Buffalo, N.Y.--age 77
Ruth Whitfield of Buffalo, N.Y.--age 86
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Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton), one of the sponsors of the bill.
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Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Michigan.
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Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schneider).
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Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green).
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Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from South Carolina (Ms. Mace).
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Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
There is a reason that this bipartisan legislation is endorsed by the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the National Association of Police Organizations, the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Policing Institute, the National Sheriffs' Association, the National District Attorneys Association, and several State and local law enforcement organizations.
When tragedy strikes--and unfortunately we know that it will strike again--we want our law enforcement and first responders to have all the tools they need to keep our communities safe. We want our people to have the warnings that they need, just as with the AMBER Alert system.
I urge my colleagues to stand with law enforcement and to support this important legislation.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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