H.R. 4103: Break the Cycle of Violence Act

H.R. 4103 creates a new federal funding stream for community violence intervention through the Department of Health and Human Services, paired with workforce grants through the Labor Department. The basic idea is to pay for outreach workers, hospital-linked intervention programs, support services, and job pathways for young people in communities where lethal violence is concentrated.

The bill is tightly targeted. A city generally qualifies only if it had at least 35 homicides in a year for 2 of the last 3 years, or at least 20 homicides plus a homicide rate at least double the national average. The HHS secretary could also include places the department decides have a compelling need compared with other localities in the same state.

The structure matters as much as the money. No more than 15% of the HHS grant funding can go straight to local governments, and cities that do get grants would have to pass at least 75% to community nonprofits or non-law-enforcement public agencies. Hospitals would face an even stricter rule, sending at least 90% to community nonprofits, direct program staff, or individual subcontractors.

The Labor side focuses on people ages 16 to 25 the bill calls opportunity youth — young people not in school or training and not working. Those grants would support year-round job training and workforce programs, with grantees required to report results like employment, education enrollment, unemployment, and weekly earnings.

On the money, the bill authorizes $300 million for HHS in 2026, $500 million in 2027, and $700 million a year from 2028 through 2033. That's $5 billion for the HHS side over eight years, plus $1.5 billion for Labor grants — about $6.5 billion total if Congress funds the full authorization.