Underwood's Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Communities From Domestic Terrorism Passes the House Homeland Security Committee

Statement

Yesterday, the House Homeland Security Committee passed Vice Chair Lauren Underwood's (IL-14) Safe Communities Act of 2020 (H.R. 5667). The Safe Communities Act would help target resources to rural and suburban communities, which have historically experienced funding gaps, to ensure that first responders, schools, nonprofits, and houses of worship can protect themselves against terrorist attacks. The legislation was introduced with Representative John Katko (NY-24).

"Rural and suburban communities, like mine in northern Illinois, are increasingly targets of terrorist acts, but too often don't have access to the federal resources they need to protect themselves," said Underwood. "As the Vice Chair of the Homeland Security Committee, I introduced the Safe Communities Act, to help better protect critical infrastructure and soft targets in communities like mine. The bill increases access to federal resources and grants to aid local law enforcement officers, schools, places of worship, and nonprofit organizations. The bill also creates a one-stop-shop for local officials to access the information they need, along with, new requirements for proactive outreach and engagement by government officials to perform security vulnerability and terrorism risk assessments.

The Safe Communities Acts has also gained endorsements from the Jewish Federations of North America and the Anti-Defamation League.

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