Peters Joins Calls for Increase in Federal Security Funds in Wake of Recent Threats against Religious Institutions

Press Release

U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) joined 18 of his colleagues in a bipartisan letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) urging Secretary John Kelly to increase federal funds for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) for Fiscal Year 2018 and fully fund the program at $50 million. The funds would help support physical security enhancements and other prevention, response and recovery efforts to protect nonprofit organizations that are at high risk of a violent attack. The Senators stated the funding is needed to protect against recent threats to cultural and religious institutions across the country facing increasing levels of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, bigotry, and hate.

"At a time when children are being evacuated from daycare centers in response to repeated bomb threats and Mosques are deliberately being set on fire, we must ensure that all organizations that face these threats have the support they need. It is simply unacceptable to not act," the Senators wrote in their joint letter. "Since the beginning of 2017 there have been over 100 threats made against Jewish centers and schools. The recent increase in religiously motivated threats and attacks have shown the importance of providing institutions with the tools to meet these threats."

Earlier this week, Senator Peters also led a bipartisan letter signed by all 100 Senators calling on the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to take action in response to the numerous recent bomb threats made against JCCs, Jewish Day Schools and Synagogues.

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