Brady Celebrates Inclusion of $5 Billion for Community Violence Intervention Programs in Latest Build Back Better Framework Agreement

THIS HISTORIC FUNDING — WHICH IS PERHAPS THE LARGEST FEDERAL INVESTMENT IN GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION EVER — WOULD ENSURE BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY GUN VIOLENCE HAVE ACCESS TO EVIDENCE-BASED RESOURCES THAT ARE PROVEN TO BREAK CYCLES OF VIOLENCE.

Washington, D.C., October 28, 2021 - Today, Brady applauds the Biden-Harris administration for including their pledged funding for community violence intervention programs in its announced Build Back Better framework. The inclusion of this funding demonstrates once again the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to addressing gun violence as a public health epidemic and investing in the communities and people most affected by gun violence.

Brady President Kris Brown shared:

“The ongoing commitment from the Biden Administration for $5 billion to support community violence intervention programs is a historic investment in gun violence prevention in an already historic bill. This will arguably be the largest investment in gun violence prevention in our nation’s history, a testament to President Biden’s commitment to addressing our nation’s gun violence prevention in all of its forms and to the work of Black and Brown activists and communities who have called for this funding for years. That this funding was included after many rounds of negotiations on the Build Back Better agenda and bill demonstrates the importance of this funding and the Senate and House majorities’ dedication to keeping all Americans safe. This is a heartening sign; but, this funding must be included in the final bill. Investing in communities is necessary to prevent gun violence and address its root causes. This bill does just that. We need this investment.”

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About the Build Back Better Agenda's Community Violence Intervention Funding Proposals

President Biden included a historic call for the inclusion of $5 billion to be spent over eight years in his American Jobs Plan, arguably the largest investment in gun violence prevention in our nation’s history. Community violence prevention models have proven effective and work by implementing public safety measures that are informed by data and carried out by local organizations on the ground in the communities most impacted.

President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget included new funding and funding increases to combat our nation’s gun violence epidemic as the public health crisis that it is. The proposed budget included $2.1 billion, an increase of $232 million above the 2021 enacted level, for the DOJ to address the gun violence public health crisis plaguing communities across the Nation. This level supports existing programs to improve background check systems and invests in new programs to incentivize state adoption of gun licensing laws and establish voluntary gun buyback pilot programs. Combined, the requests for the DOJ and for HHS included $200 million to support a new Community Violence Intervention initiative to implement evidence-based community violence interventions locally. This funding is an addition to those that President Biden included and called for in his American Jobs Plan.