Donald M. Payne: “I want to thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, school shootings are dreadful atrocities that are plaguing our…”

“I want to thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, school shootings are dreadful atrocities that are plaguing our Nation. Nearly 20 years have passed since the horrendous shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, where 13 people lost their lives, yet schools and universities continue to be soft targets for deadly attacks. Last year, between the months of January and May 2018, there was the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting that claimed the lives of 17 individuals, but there were also shootings nearly every week at our Nation's schools. As history has shown us, there is no profile for a school likely to be targeted. This tragedy can happen at any school. In 2012, after the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the Department of Homeland Security conducted an internal review of actions that its components were taking to help improve school security. Today, I understand that multiple DHS components currently have programs underway to address school security, but the degree to which there is coordination is unclear. The Coordinating and Leveraging Activities for School Security, or CLASS, Act will establish a standing council within the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate school security activities, plans, and policies. The coordinating council would include all the key players in school security at the Department.…”