Break the Cycle of Violence Act
- Bill Number
- H.R. 4103
- Origin Chamber
- House
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Crime and Law Enforcement
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-06-24: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Last Updated
- 2026-01-10T09:06:18Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose of the Legislation
The Break the Cycle of Violence Act (H.R. 4103) aims to reduce community violence—a public health crisis involving nonfatal firearm injuries, aggravated assaults, homicides, and other life-threatening interpersonal violence—by authorizing federal investments in evidence-based, community-led interventions. It emphasizes trauma-informed care, economic opportunities, and support for high-risk individuals (such as those likely to be victims or perpetrators) to interrupt violence cycles without increasing incarceration rates. The bill highlights disparities in violence affecting communities of color and seeks to build safer, thriving neighborhoods through coordinated strategies.
Key Provisions
- Findings Section: Documents the scale of community violence, including over 233,000 murders from 2010–2021, gun violence as the leading cause of death for U.S. youth, and disproportionate impacts on Black, Hispanic, and Native American youth. It underscores economic costs ($557 billion annually) and the effectiveness of community interventions like outreach, hospital-based programs, group violence interventions, and crisis management.
- Definitions:
- Community violence: Acts like shootings or assaults outside family/romantic contexts, excluding politically motivated violence.
- Eligible unit of local government: Areas with high homicide rates (e.g., 35+ per year or double the national average) or compelling needs as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).
- Opportunity youth: Individuals aged 16–24 not in school, training, or employment.
- Title I: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS):
- Grants for Community-Based Violence Intervention (Sec. 101): HHS awards 4-year grants to nonprofits, community-based organizations, hospitals, or eligible local governments in high-violence areas. Funds support culturally competent services like counseling, mediation, peer support, job training, and economic opportunities for high-risk individuals. Local governments must pass at least 75% of funds to nonprofits or non-law-enforcement agencies; hospitals must pass 90%. Applications require evidence of impact, coordination with partners, and community support. Prioritizes proposals likely to reduce violence; includes matching funds (90% federal share, waivable), reports on best practices, supplemental incentives for successful grantees (up to 10% of funds), and evaluation support (up to 8% of funds). Grants supplement, not replace, existing funds.
- Office of Community Violence Intervention (Sec. 102): Establishes an HHS office led by a director to oversee Title I implementation; up to 5% of funds for administration.
- Community Violence Intervention Advisory Committee (Sec. 103): Advises on grants, awareness, selections, and center formation; includes experts in interventions, workforce development, and representatives from impacted communities of color.
- National Community Violence Response Center (Sec. 104): HHS creates a center for assessing community readiness (via a four-tier system), providing technical assistance, data collection on safety/health/economics, research coordination (including a research advisory council with federal agencies), biennial conferences, capacity building, and annual reports to Congress on trends and recommendations.
- Sense of Congress on Victim Services (Sec. 105): Encourages states to use Crime Victims Fund for community interventions serving underserved victims, especially people of color at risk of reinjury or retaliation.
- Authorizations (Sec. 106): $300 million (FY 2026), $500 million (FY 2027), $700 million annually (FY 2028–2033).
- Title II: Department of Labor (DOL):
- Improving Approaches for Communities to Thrive (IMPACT) Grants (Sec. 201): DOL awards grants under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act for year-round job training, apprenticeships, and skill-building (e.g., technical/digital literacy, soft skills) targeting opportunity youth in gun-violence-affected areas. Eligible entities include nonprofits focused on communities of color, tribes, workforce agencies, apprenticeships, community colleges, or local governments. Grantees report on enrollment, unemployment, and earnings. Authorizes $1.5 billion for FY 2026–2033.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
This bill introduces new federal programs and structures not previously authorized at this scale:
- Creates dedicated HHS office, advisory committee, and national center for community violence interventions, shifting focus from law enforcement to public health and community-based approaches.
- Establishes specific grant programs under HHS and DOL with eligibility tied to high-violence areas and high-risk populations, including matching fund requirements and incentives for success.
- Builds on existing laws like the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act by earmarking funds for violence-impacted youth, without altering core provisions but adding violence-reduction criteria.
- Authorizes substantial new funding (totaling over $5.8 billion across titles) to support non-punitive strategies, contrasting with traditional crime-focused legislation.
Potential Impacts
- Government Agencies: HHS and DOL gain new administrative responsibilities, including grant management, technical assistance, data collection, and research coordination, potentially increasing workload but providing tools to address violence as a health issue. Local agencies and nonprofits receive funding to enhance services, with up to 15% of HHS grants limited to governments to prioritize community organizations.
- Citizens: High-risk individuals and communities (especially youth and people of color in underserved areas) could benefit from reduced violence, trauma care, job training, and economic stability, potentially lowering homicide rates, health issues (e.g., PTSD, chronic illness), and economic costs. Opportunity youth may access pathways to employment in growing sectors like healthcare and tech.
- International Relations: Minimal direct impact, as the bill focuses on domestic U.S. communities; however, it could indirectly enhance U.S. public health leadership by modeling community interventions.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Communities and Individuals: Residents in high-violence areas, particularly Black, Hispanic, and Native American youth and families disproportionately impacted by gun violence; survivors and high-risk individuals receiving counseling, mediation, and support.
- Organizations and Providers: Community-based nonprofits, hospitals (via hospital-based violence intervention programs), workforce development entities, tribes, apprenticeships, and community colleges implementing grants and services.
- Local Governments: Eligible municipalities partnering on initiatives, with requirements for community steering committees and fund distribution.
- Federal Agencies: HHS (leading violence interventions) and DOL (focusing on youth employment); advisory bodies involving researchers, experts, and federal research funders.
- Broader Society: Victims' service providers, law enforcement (coordinated but not primary), and taxpayers funding reductions in violence-related costs.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Promotes evidence-informed, non-incarceration strategies, potentially aligning with civil rights by addressing racial disparities in violence without expanding criminal justice systems. Grant conditions ensure cultural competence and trauma-informed care, which could face challenges if seen as mandating specific ideologies, but applications are flexible. Data collection raises privacy concerns under laws like HIPAA, though focused on aggregate trends.
- Constitutional: Supports equal protection by targeting inequities from historical discrimination (e.g., redlining), without infringing on rights; funds community partnerships, respecting federalism via local eligibility and waivers.
- Political: Represents a public health framing of violence, potentially bipartisan in emphasizing prevention over policing, but may spark debate on funding priorities amid budget constraints or views on "soft" vs. enforcement approaches. Authorizations through 2033 signal long-term commitment, influencing future appropriations and state victim fund uses.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Rep. Horsford, Steven [D-NV-4]
Cosponsors (119)
Rep. Thompson, Mike [D-CA-4], Rep. McBath, Lucy [D-GA-6], Rep. Kelly, Robin L. [D-IL-2], Rep. Amo, Gabe [D-RI-1], Rep. Barragán, Nanette Diaz [D-CA-44], Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3], Rep. Bell, Wesley [D-MO-1], Rep. Beyer, Donald S. [D-VA-8], Rep. Bonamici, Suzanne [D-OR-1], Rep. Boyle, Brendan F. [D-PA-2], Rep. Brown, Shontel M. [D-OH-11], Rep. Brownley, Julia [D-CA-26], Rep. Carbajal, Salud O. [D-CA-24], Rep. Carter, Troy A. [D-LA-2], Rep. Casar, Greg [D-TX-35], Rep. Casten, Sean [D-IL-6], Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28], Rep. Cleaver, Emanuel [D-MO-5], Rep. Costa, Jim [D-CA-21], Rep. Davis, Danny K. [D-IL-7], Rep. Dean, Madeleine [D-PA-4], Rep. DeGette, Diana [D-CO-1], Rep. DelBene, Suzan K. [D-WA-1], Rep. Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6], Rep. Fields, Cleo [D-LA-6], Rep. Figures, Shomari [D-AL-2], Rep. Foushee, Valerie P. [D-NC-4], Rep. Frost, Maxwell [D-FL-10], Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4], Rep. Garcia, Robert [D-CA-42], Rep. Garcia, Sylvia R. [D-TX-29], Rep. Goldman, Daniel S. [D-NY-10], Rep. Ivey, Glenn [D-MD-4], Rep. Jackson, Jonathan L. [D-IL-1], Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7], Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4], Rep. Kamlager-Dove, Sydney [D-CA-37], Rep. Kennedy, Timothy M. [D-NY-26], Rep. Khanna, Ro [D-CA-17], Rep. Krishnamoorthi, Raja [D-IL-8], Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12], Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36], Rep. Magaziner, Seth [D-RI-2], Rep. Matsui, Doris O. [D-CA-7], Rep. McClellan, Jennifer L. [D-VA-4], Rep. McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4], Rep. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ-8], Rep. Mfume, Kweisi [D-MD-7], Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4], Rep. Morelle, Joseph D. [D-NY-25] and 69 more
Recent Actions
- 2025-06-24: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- 2025-06-24: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- 2025-06-24: Introduced in House
- 2025-06-24: Introduced in House
Bill Versions
- Break the Cycle of Violence Act — issued 2025-06-24 — PDF (31 pages)