H.R. 2837 — Resources for Victims of Gun Violence Act of 2025

This section defines terms for purposes of the Act, including: (1) Advisory Council, meaning the Advisory Council to Support Victims of Gun Violence established under section 3; (2) appropriate committees, meaning the Senate Committees on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Judiciary; the House Committees on Education and Workforce, Energy and Commerce, and the Judiciary; and any other relevant congressional committee with jurisdiction over gun violence victim matters; (3) gun violence, meaning suicide, homicide, domestic violence, hate crimes, youth violence, mass shootings, unintentional shootings, non-fatal shootings, and threats or exposure to violent acts involving firearms; (4) victim assistance professional, meaning a professional who assists gun violence victims, including medical professionals (including emergency medical professionals), social workers, long-term services or care providers, and victim advocates; and (5) victim of gun violence, meaning an individual wounded or threatened by gun violence, an individual who witnessed gun violence, or a relative, classmate, coworker, or other associate of an individual killed or wounded by gun violence.

This section establishes an Advisory Council to Support Victims of Gun Violence, with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as the lead agency. The council comprises specified federal officials or designees (i.e., the Secretaries of HHS, Justice, Education, Housing and Urban Development, and Veterans Affairs; the Attorney General; the Commissioner of Social Security; the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use; the Directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, Office on Violence Against Women, and Office for Victims of Crime; the Administrator of the Administration for Community Living; and the Chairman of the Legal Services Corporation, plus additional agency heads as appropriate), as well as 2 to 5 victims of gun violence and 2 to 5 victim assistance professionals appointed by the HHS Secretary. The council must (1) assess victims' needs through surveys, literature reviews of assistance programs, and evaluations of mass shooting compensation funds; (2) identify, promote, coordinate, and disseminate information, resources, and best practices to address victims' medical, financial, educational, housing, transportation, mental health, legal, and benefit-access needs, including via a public website and hard copies distributed to Congress, Social Security Administration field offices, state health/education agencies, and state attorneys general; (3) submit an initial report within 180 days of enactment identifying best practices, gaps, and needed legislative authority to specified congressional committees, state agencies, attorneys general, and the public online; (4) submit a follow-up report two years later to the same recipients and online; and (5) establish a public input process with outreach to states, localities, and communities disproportionately affected by gun violence.