Sponsors (44)
This is not an official government website.
Copyright © 2026 PLEJ LC. All rights reserved.
Creates a Cabinet-level Department of Peacebuilding led by a Senate‑confirmed Secretary of Peacebuilding to coordinate and lead federal efforts to prevent and reduce violence, promote nonmilitary peacemaking, support peace education and research, administer grants, and engage in disarmament and arms-control work. The Secretary would join national security decisionmaking, produce public metrics and annual reports, and stand up offices for domestic and international peacebuilding, education and training, technology for peace, arms control, research, and human and economic rights. Requires interagency and public consultation, creates a Peace Academy with a multi-year service obligation for graduates, funds community and international peace grants, and directs that at least 85% of appropriated funds be used for domestic peace programs; the Secretary must submit implementing legislation to Congress within one year of appointment and may encourage observance of "Peace Days."
The bill would create a new federal infrastructure and funding pathway to expand peace education, community violence‑prevention, and peacebuilding—potentially improving public safety, jobs, and evidence‑based programs—but does so with substantial new bureaucracy, open‑ended cost commitments, implementation complexity, and risks to interagency decisionmaking and local control.
Students and schools (pre-K through higher ed) would receive federal support, curricular definitions, and program access for peace education and restorative practices, expanding conflict‑resolution training in classrooms.
Local nonprofits, community groups, and school districts would gain access to Community Peace Block Grants and other federal support to run local violence‑prevention and nonviolent conflict resolution programs.
The bill integrates peacebuilding into U.S. national security and diplomacy (grants, exchanges, consultative requirements), which could reduce reliance on armed interventions and lower risks of escalatory actions.
Taxpayers face increased federal spending because the bill authorizes open‑ended funds ('such sums as may be necessary') to create and run new domestic and international peace programs.
Establishing a new Cabinet‑level department, a Peace Academy, and multiple grant programs will raise ongoing administrative and staffing costs and add a significant new federal bureaucracy.
Placing a new Secretary on the National Security Council and requiring consultations with State/Defense could complicate interagency decision‑making and delay urgent diplomatic or operational actions.
Introduced February 7, 2025 by Ilhan Omar · Last progress February 7, 2025