Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in support of H.R. 350, the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022. I thank the Speaker of the House and House leadership for their support in taking action to address the very real and present threat of domestic terrorism and, specifically, racially motivated violent extremism.

I am grateful for the leadership of my colleague and friend, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, in helping to bring forth this bill, and my fellow Illinoisan, Senator Dick Durbin, who has been my partner in shepherding this legislation since 2017.

Our Nation is reeling. Just this weekend, in California, a true hero, as well as being a father, husband, and physician, a true hero saved countless lives by sacrificing himself to wrestle down a hate-driven gunman inside a church. In Buffalo, 10 people were murdered by a deranged white supremacist whose hate was fueled by the racist, anti- Semitic great replacement conspiracy theory.

I can't go back in time and stop past events. There will be more Buffalos; there will be more El Pasos; and there will be more Tree of Life synagogue-type shootings. Though the shooters may have acted alone, these tragedies past are a harbinger of what is to follow.

As Amy Spitalnick with Integrity First for America has put it, each attack inspires the next one. Whether it is a live-streamed assault or a screed posted on the dark web, the goal is not just to kill fellow Americans but to inspire like-minded haters to act in kind.

We cannot sit idly by while domestic violence extremism spreads across our country. We must give Federal law enforcement the resources and the tools they need to actively identify threats and to preemptively act to stop violence before it happens.

To my colleagues considering voting against this bill, especially those who supported this very same legislation in the last Congress, I ask them: If not this bill, then what? And if not now, then when?

Their inaction only gives cover to the next domestic terrorist planning an attack.

Let me be clear: This legislation does not create any new statute or establish any new penalties. It doesn't threaten civil liberties. In fact, it further protects First Amendment rights, and it helps the FBI, DOJ, and DHS do their job.

In testimony this February before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, Seth Jones of CSIS noted there were 73 terrorist plots and attacks in the U.S. just last year, spanning 18 States and the District of Columbia. He stated: ``Government, military, and police locations and personnel were the most frequently targeted by domestic terrorist attacks regardless of perpetrator orientation.''

He continued: ``These perpetrators identified with a range of ideologies and movements, including the QAnon conspiracy, the sovereign citizen movement, militia groups, anarchism, antifascism, environmentalism, and other antigovernment and antiauthority philosophies.''

And he continued: ``In addition, white supremacists and other like- minded extremists have targeted individuals because of their racial, ethnic, religious, or political makeup, such as African Americans, immigrants, Muslims, and Jews.''

FBI Director Christopher Wray, in testimony before the Senate last year, stated that: ``The top threat we face from DVEs,'' domestic violent extremists, ``continues to be those we identify as racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists, RMVEs, specifically those who advocate for the superiority of the White race, and who were the primary source of ideologically motivated lethal incidents and violence in 2018 and 2019.''

Mr. Speaker, the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act we are voting on today is the right bill for this specific moment. The threat is real. It is growing, and if we don't act, more people--people praying in their houses of worship, children playing in their schoolyards, police officers serving in our communities--will die.

We must pass this bill because the American people deserve to feel secure in their schools, in their supermarkets, and in their churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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