E
ezkl2230
Guest
Yes, that's right, House dems have intro'd a bill to create the federal Dept. of Peacebuilding to promote peace around the world and host "Peace Days" here in the US. Read it carefully; this is truly one world government stuff.
Among the goals of the bill?
It would also establish an Office of Arms Control and Disarmament, among many others. It would represent a HUGE expansion of the fed, and a reading of the bill shows that the Sec. of this dept. will have tremendous influence on ALL other departments, including making recommendations to the military regarding potential and ongoing military operations/wars. You will notice that this bill is a congressional blank check; it designates no specific amount of money;it calls on Congress to spend any thumbs as shall be necessary to make this happen.
The bill is sponsored almost entirely by members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Here is the complete text of the bill, divided between three postings as the forum limitations will not permit me to publish the entire bill on one posting:
Among the goals of the bill?
"[…] a study on how firearms are contributing to violence. It would have the department employ “successful, field-tested programs, and developing new approaches for dealing with the tools of violence, including handguns, especially among youth.”
It would also establish an Office of Arms Control and Disarmament, among many others. It would represent a HUGE expansion of the fed, and a reading of the bill shows that the Sec. of this dept. will have tremendous influence on ALL other departments, including making recommendations to the military regarding potential and ongoing military operations/wars. You will notice that this bill is a congressional blank check; it designates no specific amount of money;it calls on Congress to spend any thumbs as shall be necessary to make this happen.
The bill is sponsored almost entirely by members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Here is the complete text of the bill, divided between three postings as the forum limitations will not permit me to publish the entire bill on one posting:
114th CONGRESS 1st Session
H. R. 1111
To establish a Department of Peacebuilding.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 26, 2015
Ms. Lee (for herself, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Conyers, Ms. Edwards, Mr.
Lewis, Ms. Norton, Mr. Ellison, Mr. Scott of Virginia, and Mrs. Watson
Coleman) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a Department of Peacebuilding.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Department of
Peacebuilding Act of 2015''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
TITLE I--ESTABLISHMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF PEACEBUILDING
Sec. 101. Establishment of Department of Peacebuilding.
Sec. 102. Responsibilities and powers.
Sec. 103. Principal officers.
Sec. 104. Office of Peace Education and Training.
Sec. 105. Office of Domestic Peacebuilding Activities.
Sec. 106. Office of International Peacebuilding Activities.
Sec. 107. Office of Technology for Peace.
Sec. 108. Office of Arms Control and Disarmament.
Sec. 109. Office of Peacebuilding Information and Research.
Sec. 110. Office of Human Rights and Economic Rights.
Sec. 111. Intergovernmental Advisory Council on Peace.
Sec. 112. Federal Interagency Committee on Peace.
Sec. 113. Staff.
Sec. 114. Consultation required.
Sec. 115. Collaboration.
TITLE II--OTHER MATTERS
Sec. 201. Legislative recommendations of the Secretary.
Sec. 202. Peace Days.
Sec. 203. Definitions.
Sec. 204. Authorization of appropriations.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress
unanimously declared the independence of the 13 colonies, and
the achievement of peace was recognized as one of the highest
duties of the new organization of free and independent States
by declaring, ``We hold these truths to be self-evident, that
all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.''
(2) The Constitution of the United States of America, in
its Preamble, further sets forth the insurance of the cause of
peace in stating: ``We the People of the United States, in
Order to Form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure
domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote
the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity''.
(3) During the course of the 20th century, more than
100,000,000 people perished in wars. The United States has been
at war over the past decade, with more than 6,600 members of
the Armed Forces and hundreds of thousands of civilians
estimated to have been killed in the conflicts in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
(4) Every year 300,000 people are killed by gun violence
around the world. In the United States, 100,000 people are shot
each year in murders, assaults, suicides and suicide attempts,
accidents, and police actions. Over 30,000 people die each year
of gunshot wounds, 12,000 of whom are murdered. Every day, 50
children are shot, and 8 of those children die.
(5) A 2004 World Health Organization report estimates that
interpersonal violence within the United States costs
approximately $300 billion annually, not including war-related
costs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states
that an average of 16 people age 10 to 24 were murdered each
day in the United States in 2005. The Pew Charitable Trust
calculates that child abuse and neglect in the United States
cost $103.8 billion in 2007.
(6) In 1999, the United Nations adopted a Programme of
Action on a Culture of Peace, stating that a culture of peace
is an integral approach to preventing violence and violent
conflicts, an alternative to the culture of war and violence,
and is based on education for peace, the promotion of
sustainable economic and social development, respect for human
rights, equality between women and men, democratic
participation, tolerance, and the free flow of information and
disarmament. The United Nations declared the years 2001 through
2010 an International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-
Violence for the Children of the World and the United Nations
supports a culture of peace going forward.
(7) On April 4, 2012, the Institute for Economics and Peace
released a United States Peace Index, which assessed
peacefulness at the State and city levels and analyzed the
costs associated with violence and the socio-economic measures
associated with peace. While violence within the United States
had declined over the year 2011, violence and violence
containment still cost the average taxpayer $3,257. The total
cost of violence to the United States--including lost
productivity from violence--was conservatively calculated to be
over $460 billion.
(8) A study by the Institute for Economics and Peace
released September 20, 2012, reports conservative estimates for
2010, that 15 percent of the gross domestic product of the
United States, or $15,000 per taxpayer, was spent on containing
violence. The study included government, corporate, and
individual expenditure, regardless of whether it was related to
international affairs such as offshore military activities, or
domestic spending such as dealing with crime and the
consequences of crime.
(9) Violence prevention is cost effective. For every dollar
spent in violence prevention and peacebuilding, many lives and
many dollars are saved. The philosophy and techniques of
nonviolence and the science of peacebuilding provide tools and
techniques that can be applied not only at the levels of
individual and community growth, but also within the Federal
Government and at national and international levels.
(10) Peacebuilding is defined by the United Nations as a
range of measures targeted to reduce the risk of lapsing or
relapsing into conflict by strengthening national capacities at
all levels for conflict management, and to lay the foundations
for sustainable peace and development. Peacebuilding is built
upon research into the root causes of violence in the United
States and the world, through promotion and promulgation of
effective policies and programs that ameliorate those root
causes of violence, and through providing all citizens,
organizations, and governmental bodies with opportunities to
learn about and practice the essential tools of nonviolent
conflict resolution and peacebuilding.
(11) In 2000, the Earth Charter Commission released the
Earth Charter, an international declaration of fundamental
values and principles created to build a just, sustainable, and
peaceful global society. The preamble of the Earth Charter
provides, ``To move forward we must recognize that in the midst
of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are
one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny.
We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global
society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights,
economic justice, and a culture of peace.'' Peacebuilding is
working together with all nations to protect both life and land
and hold the Earth in balance.
TITLE I--ESTABLISHMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF PEACEBUILDING
SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF PEACEBUILDING.
(a) Establishment.--There is hereby established a Department of
Peacebuilding, that shall--
(1) be a department in the executive branch of the Federal
Government; and
(2) be dedicated to peacebuilding, peacemaking, and the
study and promotion of conditions conducive to both domestic
and international peace and a culture of peace.
(b) Secretary of Peacebuilding.--There shall be at the head of the
Department a Secretary of Peacebuilding, who shall be appointed by the
President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(c) Mission.--The Department shall--
(1) cultivate peace and peacebuilding as a strategic
national policy objective;
(2) reduce and prevent violence in the United States and
internationally through peacebuilding and effective nonviolent
conflict resolution;
(3) strengthen nonmilitary means of peacemaking;
(4) take a proactive, strategic approach in the development
of field-tested, best practices and policies that promote
national and international conflict prevention, nonviolent
intervention, mediation, peaceful resolution of conflict, and
structured mediation of conflict;
(5) address matters both domestic and international in
scope;
(6) provide an institutional platform for the growing
wealth of expertise in peacebuilding to dramatically reduce the
national and global epidemic of violence;
(7) support local communities in finding, funding,
replicating, and expanding programs to reduce and prevent
violence;
(8) invest in nongovernmental organizations that have
implemented successful initiatives to reduce and prevent
violence, both internationally and domestically; and
(9) consult with other Federal agencies to apply and
practice the science of peacebuilding in their respective
fields of responsibility.
SEC. 102. RESPONSIBILITIES AND POWERS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall--
(1) work proactively and interactively with each branch of
the Federal Government on all policy matters relating to
conditions of peace;
(2) call on the experience and expertise of the people of
the United States and seek participation in the development of
policy from private, public, and nongovernmental organizations;
(3) monitor and analyze causative principles of conflict
and make policy recommendations for developing and maintaining
peaceful conduct;
(4) research effective violence reduction programs and
promote and promulgate such programs within Government and
society; and
(5) consult with private, public, and nongovernmental
organizations to develop a metric model that provides the means
to measure and report progress toward peace in the United
States to the President, Congress, and the people of the United
States, and issue reports on such progress annually.
(b) Domestic Responsibilities.--The Secretary shall collaborate
with governmental and nongovernmental entities and citizens to promote
personal and community security and peace by--
(1) developing new policies and supporting existing
policies that effectively address personal and family violence,
including suicide, domestic violence, spousal abuse, child
abuse, and mistreatment of the elderly;
(2) creating new policies and programs and expanding
existing policies and programs that effectively reduce drug and
alcohol abuse;
(3) developing new policies and programs and expanding
existing policies and programs that effectively address crime,
punishment, and rehabilitation, including--
(A) working to reduce prison recidivism rates;
(B) supporting the implementation of nonviolent
conflict resolution education and training for victims,
perpetrators, and those who work with them; and
(C) supporting effective police and community
relations;
(4) analyzing existing policies, employing successful,
field-tested programs, and developing new approaches for
dealing with the tools of violence, including handguns,
especially among youth;
(5) developing new and expanding effective programs that
relate to the societal challenges of school violence, gangs,
racial or ethnic violence, violence against gays and lesbians,
and police-community relations disputes;
(6) making policy recommendations to the Attorney General
regarding civil rights and labor law;
(7) assisting in the establishment and funding of
community-based violence prevention programs, including
violence prevention counseling and peer mediation in schools
and unarmed civilian peacekeeping at a local level;
(8) providing counseling and advocating on behalf of
individuals victimized by violence;
(9) providing for public education programs and counseling
strategies that promote tolerance and respect for the diversity
of the people of the United States with regard to race,
religion, creed, gender and gender identification, sexual
orientation, age, ethnicity, and other perceived difference;
and
(10) supporting local community initiatives that draw on
neighborhood resources to create peace projects that facilitate
the development of conflict resolution and thereby inform and
inspire national policy.
(c) International Responsibilities.--The Secretary shall--
(1) advise the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of
State on matters relating to national security, including the
protection of human rights and the prevention of, amelioration
of, and de-escalation of unarmed and armed international
conflict;
(2) contribute to and participate in the development of
training of all United States personnel who administer post-
conflict reconstruction and demobilization in war-torn
societies;
(3) sponsor country and regional conflict-prevention and
dispute-resolution initiatives, create special task forces, and
draw on local, regional, and national expertise to develop
plans and programs for addressing the root sources of conflict
in troubled areas;
(4) counsel and advocate on behalf of women victimized by
violence, including rape, leading up to conflict, during
conflict, and in post-conflict situations;
(5) provide for exchanges between the United States and
other nations of individuals who endeavor to develop domestic
and international peace-based initiatives;
(6) encourage the development of international sister city
programs, pairing United States cities with cities around the
globe for artistic, cultural, economic, educational, and faith-
based exchanges;
(7) establish and administer a budget designated for the
training and deployment of unarmed civilian peacekeepers to
participate in multinational nonviolent peacekeeping forces
that may be conducted by civilian, governmental, or
multilateral organizations;
(8) jointly with the Secretary of the Treasury, strengthen
peace enforcement through hiring and training monitors and
investigators to help with the enforcement of international
arms embargoes;
(9) bring together all stakeholders who are impacted by a
conflict by facilitating peace summits where such stakeholders
may gather under carefully prepared conditions to promote
nonviolent communication and mutually beneficial solutions;
(10) submit to the President recommendations for reductions
in weapons of mass destruction, and make annual reports to the
President on the sale of arms from the United States to other
nations, with analysis of the impact of such sales on the
defense of the United States and how such sales affect peace;
(11) in consultation with the Secretary of State, develop
strategies for sustainability and management of the
distribution of international funds;
(12) advise the Permanent Representative of the United
States to the United Nations on matters pertaining to the
United Nations Security Council; and
(13) support the implementation of international
peacebuilding strategies through a balanced use of
peacebuilding, diplomacy, development, and defense.
(d) Membership of the Secretary of Peacebuilding on the National
Security Council.--Section 101(a) of the National Security Act of 1947
(50 U.S.C. 402(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'';
(2) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph (7); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
``(6) the Secretary of Peacebuilding; and''.
(e) Human Security Responsibilities.--The Secretary shall address
and offer nonviolent conflict resolution strategies and suggest
resources for unarmed civilian peacekeepers to the appropriate relevant
parties on issues of human security if such security is threatened by
conflict, whether such conflict is geographic, religious, ethnic,
racial, or class-based in its origin, derives from economic concerns,
or is initiated through disputes concerning scarcity of natural
resources (such as water and energy resources), food, trade, or climate
and environmental concerns.
(f) Media-Related Responsibilities.--Respecting the First Amendment
to the Constitution of the United States and the requirement for free
and independent media, the Secretary shall--
(1) seek assistance in the design and implementation of
nonviolent policies from media professionals;
(2) study the role of the media in the escalation and de-
escalation of conflict at domestic and international levels,
including the role of fear-inducing and hate-inducing speech
and actions, and making the findings of such study public; and
(3) make recommendations to professional media
organizations in order to provide opportunities to increase
media awareness of peace-building initiatives.
(g) Educational Responsibilities.--The Secretary shall--
(1) with the support of, and in consultation with, the
United States Institute of Peace, develop a peace education
curriculum that includes studies of--
(A) the civil rights movement in the United States
and throughout the world, with special emphasis on the
role of nonviolence and how individual endeavor and
involvement have contributed to advancements in peace
and justice;
(B) peace agreements and circumstances in which
peaceful intervention has worked to stop conflict; and
(C) the patriarchal structure of society and the
inherent violence of such structure in the shaping of
relationships and institutions;
(2) in consultation with the Secretary of Education--
(A) commission the development of such curriculum
and make such curriculum available to local school
districts to enable the use of peace education
objectives at pre-kindergarten schools, elementary
schools, and secondary schools in the United States;
(B) support in early childhood, pre-kindergarten
schools, elementary schools, secondary schools, and
institutions of higher education a well-resourced,
balanced education that includes math, science,
English, history, ethnic studies, social studies,
health, physical education, foreign languages, the
arts, and music that will prepare students for success
in a globally interconnected world; and
(C) offer incentives in the form of grants and
training to encourage the development of State peace
curricula and assist schools in applying for such
curricula;
(3) work with educators to equip students to become skilled
in achieving peace through reflection, and facilitate
instruction in the ways of peaceful conflict resolution;
(4) ensure that schools are nonviolence zones that provide
a peaceful educational environment;
(5) create school and community cultures where students and
staff do not feel threatened and are free from bullying and
harassment by developing and implementing curricula in
nonviolent conflict resolution education for teachers,
students, parents, the school community, and the community at
large;
(6) maintain a public website to solicit and receive ideas
for the development of peace from the wealth of the
politically, socially, and culturally diverse public;
(7) proactively engage the critical thinking capabilities
of students and teachers of pre-kindergarten schools,
elementary schools, secondary schools, and institutions of
higher education through the Internet and other media and issue
periodic reports concerning any submissions from such students
and teachers;
(8) create and establish a Peace Academy that shall--
(A) be modeled after the military service
academies; and
(B) provide a 4-year course of instruction in peace
education, after which graduates will be required to
serve 5 years in public service in programs dedicated
to domestic or international nonviolent conflict
resolution; and
(9) provide grants for peace studies departments in
institutions of higher education throughout the United States…"
