Sponsors (47)
Introduced February 7, 2025 by Ilhan Omar · Last progress February 7, 2025
The bill directs substantial federal support toward domestic and diplomatic peacebuilding—boosting community services, victim support, education, and evidence‑based policymaking—while creating a new federal bureaucracy and fiscal and national‑security trade‑offs that could provoke political resistance and implementation challenges.
Nonprofits, local governments, and community organizations receive new federal grants and support to implement and expand domestic violence‑prevention and peacebuilding programs, increasing local capacity and services.
Survivors of intimate partner violence, sexual violence, trafficking, and people with trauma gain expanded counseling, advocacy, and trauma‑informed services, improving access to support and recovery.
Students, teachers, and schools get increased access to peace education curricula, school counseling, peer mediation, and Peace Days aimed at reducing bullying and school violence and promoting conflict resolution skills.
Taxpayers and federal budgets will likely face increased costs because the bill authorizes new departments, offices, staff, and open-ended funding (“such sums as may be necessary”) for programs.
Creating a new Department/Secretary and expanding offices risks increasing federal administrative overhead, overlapping authorities, interagency duplication, and implementation friction across State, Defense, DOJ, HHS, and others.
Shifting emphasis and funds toward domestic peacebuilding (and mandating at least 85% of funds go domestic) and adding consultation requirements could reduce flexibility, constrain international programs, and raise concerns about defense readiness or timely military/diplomatic action.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Creates a Department of Peacebuilding to coordinate, fund, and advance domestic and international peacebuilding, violence prevention, and nonviolent conflict resolution.
Creates a Cabinet-level Department of Peacebuilding led by a Senate-confirmed Secretary to develop, coordinate, and fund federal efforts in peacebuilding, nonviolent conflict prevention and resolution, and violence reduction both domestically and internationally. The Department would run programs and grants for community violence prevention, victim services, school- and peer-based prevention, research and metrics, interagency coordination, and consulting on policies that might lead to violence; it would also stand up advisory bodies, require reporting and studies, and request legislative recommendations within one year of the Secretary’s appointment.