Mass violence action plan

Isakson introduces mass violence action plan

By MARIANNE LEVINE

Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) introduced legislation Thursday that would provide more money to public health officials to study mass violence.

Isakson's proposal comes as the White House has yet to release a proposal to address gun violence after mass shootings in August. Isakson's bill would provide $75 million for five years to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That money would go toward state pilot projects, research on the factors that contribute to mass violence, as well as research to identify ways to intervene and predict mass violence.

"We've seen an alarming increase in seemingly random mass violence," Isakson said in a statement. "This commonsense legislation aims to get to the root of the problem: what is causing the outbreak of mass violence, and what kinds of interventions will actually be effective in preventing these attacks."

The retiring senator in recent weeks has demonstrated an openness to moving forward on gun legislation. The White House has also been in talks about expanding background checks with Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.). Although Murphy called for the House to begin impeachment proceedings this week, Murphy said Wednesday that a White House official contacted him to reiterate that the Trump administration still wants to work with him on finding a solution to gun violence.