California Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee has introduced legislation to create a federal Department of Peacebuilding that would cultivate peace and take on the causes of violence and conflict.

Lee’s legislation H.R. 808 “Department of Peacebuilding Act of 2013″ also would create a Cabinet-level Secretary of Peacebuilding focused on creating peace and preventing violence.

“This culture of violence that we live in is unacceptable,” Lee said in a statement her office distributed earlier this month. “On our streets and across the globe, the pervasive presence of violence has infected the lives of millions, and it is far past time we address it as a nation. We invest hundreds of billions each year in the Pentagon, in war colleges, military academies, and our national defense universities all to develop war tactics and strategies.” …

The legislation would require the department to develop national strategies and programs to encourage violence prevention, and dispute resolution to reduce problems such as gun violence, racial and ethnic violence and violence against LGBT Americans and women.