H.R. 1111 — Department of Peacebuilding Act of 2025

This section establishes a Department of Peacebuilding within the executive branch and places it under a Secretary of Peacebuilding appointed by the President with Senate confirmation. It directs the new department to promote peacebuilding and peacemaking as a national policy objective, reduce and prevent violence in the United States and abroad through nonviolent conflict resolution, strengthen nonmilitary peacemaking tools, support local communities and nongovernmental organizations with proven violence-reduction programs, and consult with other federal agencies to apply peacebuilding practices across areas of federal responsibility.

This section establishes the Secretary of Peacebuilding and assigns the Secretary ongoing domestic and international responsibilities to develop, coordinate, and evaluate peacebuilding policy across the Federal Government. It directs the Secretary to work with Federal agencies, private and nongovernmental organizations, and individuals to analyze the causes of conflict, promote violence-reduction programs, and develop a metric model to measure and report progress toward peace in the United States to the President, Congress, and the public, with annual reports posted on the Department’s website. As background, the provision would make the Secretary responsible for a broad set of domestic peace and violence-prevention activities, including policies addressing suicide, domestic violence, child abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, school violence, gangs, police violence, hate crimes, human trafficking, racial and ethnic violence, and violence against LGBTQ+ individuals. It also authorizes support for community-based violence prevention programs, including virtual programs, school counseling and peer mediation, and unarmed civilian peacekeeping and crisis mitigation at the local level. The section further directs the Secretary to advise the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State on national security matters, including human rights and conflict prevention, and to support international peacebuilding activities such as post-conflict reconstruction training, conflict-resolution initiatives, public violence-de-escalation training, exchanges with other nations, sister city programs, and the training and deployment of unarmed civilian peacekeepers. It also requires the Secretary, jointly with the Secretary of the Treasury, to strengthen peace enforcement related to international arms embargoes and to submit recommendations on reducing and eliminating weapons of mass destruction, along with annual reports on U.S. arms sales to other nations.

This section amends the Inspector General Act of 1978, as codified in 5 U.S.C. § 401, to add the Department of Peacebuilding to the list of covered establishments and to the list of establishment heads. (Thus, the new Department would be subject to the Act’s inspector general requirements, and its head would be treated as a “head of the establishment” for purposes of the chapter.)

This section establishes an Office of Peace Education and Training in the Department of Education, headed by an Assistant Secretary for Peace Education and Training, and directs the office to carry out Department functions related to peace education and training at the pre-kindergarten, elementary, secondary, university, and postgraduate levels in consultation with specified Department of Health and Human Services entities, including the Administration for Children and Families, the Administration on Aging, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health. It also directs the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, Indigenous communities, the United States Institute of Peace, nongovernmental organizations, public institutions, higher education peace and conflict studies programs, and relevant federal agencies, to develop and disseminate peace curricula and supporting materials for state educational agencies in each state and territory and other interested institutions. The curriculum must include: (1) communicative peace skills and nonviolent conflict resolution skills; (2) compassion, empathy, mindfulness, kindness, acceptance, understanding, respect, inclusion, and forgiveness; (3) instruction on historical and contemporary events using nonviolent and peacebuilding principles and on individuals and organizations that use those principles; (4) the economic, health, social, and scientific benefits of a peaceful society; and (5) other objectives to increase knowledge of peace processes. Finally, this section authorizes the Assistant Secretary to provide peace education grants to pre-kindergarten schools, elementary schools, secondary schools, and institutions of higher education for peace studies departments, teacher training, violence prevention, peacebuilding, community building, and nonviolent conflict resolution, and to establish the Community Peace Block Grant program for nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations to develop school and neighborhood nonviolent conflict resolution programs and local peacebuilding initiatives.

This section establishes within the Department an Office of Domestic Peacebuilding Activities headed by an Assistant Secretary for Domestic Peacebuilding Activities. It directs the Assistant Secretary to develop and disseminate policies and best practices related to domestic violence prevention, drug and alcohol abuse treatment, diversity and acceptance, restorative and conflict-resolution practices, hate and violence prevention, reentry services for formerly incarcerated individuals, family support, mental health, gang prevention, anti-bullying, animal cruelty prevention, substance abuse prevention, peaceful parenting, restorative justice across the criminal justice system, violence de-escalation training for the public, deployment of nonmilitary domestic conflict-prevention personnel, community-based policing, and local and State citizen review boards, in consultation with the Departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, State, and Education. It also establishes the Cultural Diplomacy for Peace grant program to award grants to pre-kindergarten schools, elementary schools, secondary schools, institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, and nongovernmental organizations to develop domestic cultural exchanges in the arts, sports, science, and other academic disciplines that promote diplomacy and cultural understanding between neighborhoods and their residents.

This section establishes an Office of International Peacebuilding Activities in the Department, headed by an Assistant Secretary for International Peacebuilding Activities, and directs that office to carry out Department functions affecting international peace activities. It requires the Assistant Secretary to develop new and existing programs to train and deploy graduates of the Peace Academy and other nonmilitary conflict-prevention personnel; support national and regional conflict-prevention, de-escalation, and peaceful dispute-resolution initiatives; develop community-building and violence-prevention training for the general public; provide training for post-conflict reconstruction and demobilization; and address root causes of violence, extreme hunger, infectious and other diseases, poverty, genocide, lack of universal primary education, violence against women and girls, human trafficking, and dehumanization and mistreatment of individuals. It also directs the office to support the creation of a multinational nonviolent peace force, provide exchanges between individuals in the United States and other nations developing peace-based initiatives, and disseminate policies and research in consultation with the Department of State, the Department of Labor, the Peace Corps, the United States Institute of Peace, and other applicable entities. In addition, this section establishes the International Cultural Diplomacy for Peace grant program to award grants to pre-kindergarten schools, elementary schools, secondary schools, institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, and nongovernmental organizations to develop international cultural exchanges, including exchanges related to the arts, sports, science, and other academic disciplines, that promote diplomacy and cultural understanding between the United States and other nations.

This section establishes in the Department of State an Office of Technology for Peace headed by an Assistant Secretary for Technology for Peace. The Assistant Secretary is directed to oversee Department functions related to the awareness, study, ethical implications, and impact of evolving and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, mobile technologies, social media, drones, and data science and information, on domestic and international peace, and to disseminate applicable policies and research in consultation with appropriate Department of State entities. This section also directs the Assistant Secretary to award grants for research and development of technologies in transportation, communications, agriculture, medicine, and energy that are nonviolent in application, conserve and sustain natural resources such as air, water, and land to help prevent conflicts over scarce resources caused by overuse or natural or human-caused disasters, including climate change and pandemics, and promote a green, peaceful economy.

This section establishes within the Department an Office of Arms Control and Disarmament, headed by an Assistant Secretary for Arms Control and Disarmament, and assigns that office responsibility for Department functions affecting arms control programs and arms limitation agreements. It directs the Assistant Secretary to advise the Secretary on interagency discussions and international negotiations concerning the increase, reduction, and elimination of weapons of mass destruction, including the dismantling and secure storage of related materials and efforts to limit or cease the development, testing, manufacture, possession, or deployment of nuclear weapons; assist nations, international agencies, and nongovernmental organizations in identifying nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction buildups; develop nonviolent strategies to prevent and deter testing or use of offensive or defensive nuclear weapons, weaponized drones, assault weapons, and other weapons of mass destruction across land, underground, air, sea, and space; serve as a depository for contracts, agreements, and treaties addressing the reduction and elimination of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction and the protection of space from militarization; provide technical support and legal assistance for implementing those agreements; disseminate applicable policies and research in consultation with the Department of State and the Department of Commerce; and support nuclear waste cleanup at nuclear test sites, research facilities, laboratories, Superfund sites, military bases, and adjacent lands, waters, and air.

This section establishes within the Department an Office of Peacebuilding Information and Research headed by an Assistant Secretary for Peacebuilding Information and Research and directs the office to conduct and disseminate research and analysis on peaceful coexistence and nonviolent conflict resolution on an ongoing basis. As background, the office would function as a research and information hub on violence prevention and peacebuilding. It would be required to (1) commission or compile studies on the impacts of war, mass shootings, police violence, and other violence, especially on children’s physical and mental health, including effects on the environment and public health; (2) study the effects of war and other violence on soldiers, veterans, and civilians; (3) study the effects of violence on the environment, public health, the economy, and national security; (4) study the effects of violence, racism, and inequality on health care, employment, education, economic equity, food security, voting rights, housing, justice, and the rule of law; (5) compile and disseminate information on effective community peacebuilding activities to local governments and nongovernmental organizations in the United States and abroad; (6) annually report on the effects of violence in the media, including untruths, misinformation, and false information; (7) annually report on deaths caused by law enforcement and deaths of law enforcement officials, as well as the effects of gun violence in the United States; (8) annually report on the effects of teaching nonviolent conflict resolution and social-emotional education in schools; (9) conduct other research on the root causes of violence and the conditions of peace; (10) publish a monthly journal of departmental activities; (11) sponsor conferences throughout the United States; (12) make public the reports, studies, and compiled research described in the section; and (13) coordinate, where applicable, with the United States Institute of Peace and the Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, and State, as well as other governmental and nongovernmental organizations.

This section establishes in the Department an Office of Human Rights and Economic Rights headed by an Assistant Secretary for Human Rights and Economic Rights, and directs that office to support the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted on December 10, 1948. It assigns the Assistant Secretary responsibilities to: (1) assist the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, in incorporating human rights principles into agreements between the United States and other nations to help prevent and reduce violence; (2) consult with the Secretary of State, the United Nations, the White House Atrocities Prevention Board, the Department of Justice, and other governmental and nongovernmental organizations to document domestic and international human rights abuses, including genocide, torture, state executions, police brutality, detention for profit, caging of children and other individuals, murder of unarmed civilians, solitary confinement, human trafficking, child soldiers, child labor, and slave labor, and recommend nonviolent responses; (3) share such information with other organizations to facilitate nonviolent conflict resolution; (4) provide trained observers to nongovernmental organizations to promote respect for human rights; (5) conduct economic analyses of scarcity of human and natural resources as a source of conflict and recommend nonviolent prevention, intervention, and assistance programs; (6) conduct economic analyses of violence as a source of displacement and mistreatment of people fleeing their homes and recommend nonviolent solutions and assistance programs; (7) assist the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretaries of State and the Treasury, in developing strategies for the sustainability and distribution of funds from international agencies, the conditions for receiving those funds, and the impact of those conditions on peace and stability in recipient nations; (8) assist the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretaries of State and Labor, in developing strategies to promote full compliance with domestic and international labor rights law; (9) conduct policy analysis to ensure that U.S. international development investments positively affect peace and stability in recipient countries; and (10) disseminate policies and research in consultation with appropriate Department of State entities.

This section establishes the Intergovernmental Advisory Council on Peace within the Department and directs it to advise the President and the Secretary on intergovernmental policies relating to peace and nonviolent conflict resolution. As background, the Council would serve as a forum for representatives of international bodies, the Federal Government, Tribal governments, and State and local governments to discuss peacebuilding, crisis, and wellness issues; promote intergovernmental relations and provide mediation services to resolve intergovernmental and intragovernmental conflict, including efforts to eliminate inflammatory rhetoric; and submit a report to the President, the Secretary, and Congress every 2 years, or more frequently if the Council determines necessary, on the impact of Federal peace activities on the Federal Government and on State and local governments. The section also provides that the Secretary appoints the Council’s members.

This section establishes a Federal Interagency Committee on Peace and directs it to assist the Secretary in coordinating the procedures and actions of the Department and other Federal agencies. It also requires the Committee to study and make recommendations on effective coordination of Federal programs, policies, and administrative practices affecting peace, peacebuilding and violence prevention, and wellness. The Secretary must appoint the Committee’s members.

This section authorizes the Secretary to appoint and set the compensation of employees necessary to carry out the functions of the Secretary and the Department, subject to applicable laws and title 5 of the United States Code.

This section establishes consultation requirements for the Secretary of Peacebuilding in cases of foreseeable, imminent, or ongoing conflict involving the United States and another government or entity. It requires the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State to consult with the Secretary of Peacebuilding on violence prevention, nonviolent conflict resolution, and peacebuilding, and directs the Secretary to conduct an independent study of diplomatic initiatives in ongoing or recently concluded conflicts and to assess the effectiveness of initiatives that ended recently concluded conflicts. This section also requires the Secretary to establish a formal, timely consultation process with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council before policies or withdrawals of resources that may lead to violence or armed conflict, and for matters involving the use of Department of Defense personnel within the United States or the distribution of Department of Defense equipment to State or local law enforcement or other individuals or entities. Finally, it requires the head of each appropriate Federal agency to consult with the Secretary in drafting treaties and peace agreements.

This section directs the Secretary to collaborate with other Federal agencies, applicable experts, nongovernmental organization stakeholders, appropriate nonprofit organization stakeholders, and State, Tribal, and local leaders and stakeholders on all related peace and peacebuilding programs across the Federal Government. It requires the Secretary to prioritize input from those most impacted by the programs when implementing or updating them and when evaluating their effectiveness and impacts.

This section directs the Secretary to submit proposed legislation to Congress not later than 1 year after the appointment of the first Secretary, containing any necessary and appropriate amendments to U.S. law to carry out the purposes of this Act.

This section establishes Peace Days and directs the Secretary to encourage citizens to observe and celebrate peace and to promote efforts to create peace on those days. It also provides that Peace Days shall include discussions of the professional activities and life achievements of peacemakers.

This section defines “institution of higher education” by cross-reference to section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001), which means the term covers institutions that admit only high school graduates or equivalent students, are authorized by the State, offer qualifying degree or 1-year vocational programs, are public or nonprofit, and are accredited or preaccredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency.

This section authorizes such sums as may be necessary to carry out the Act and requires that at least 85 percent of those appropriated amounts be used for domestic peace programs, including associated administrative costs. (Thus, no more than 15 percent of the appropriated funds could be used for other purposes under the Act.)