Senate Republicans block bill to prevent and respond to domestic terrorism, including violent white supremacists
Senator Murray: “This is a chance to stand united against hatred and violence of all kinds.”
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), voted in favor of the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act (DTPA), critical House-passed legislation that aims to prevent and respond to domestic terrorism. The DTPA would dedicate more of the federal government’s resources towards prevent domestic terrorism by requiring federal law enforcement agencies to regularly assess the threat posed by white supremacists and other violent domestic extremists and take concrete steps to address this threat. A Republican filibuster blocked this bill 47-47 in the Senate.
“Homegrown extremism—and white supremacists in particular—poses a real deadly threat that we need to confront,” said Senator Murray. “No one should ever have to endure the pain these communities are facing. Passing this legislation was a chance to stand united against hatred and violence of all kinds, and Republicans failed to do the bare minimum. I am ready to get to work with any one of my Senate colleagues and do whatever it takes to enact common sense legislation that will keep families safe.”
The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act would:
- Require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Justice (DOJ), and Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI) offices responsible for monitoring, analyzing, investigating, and prosecuting domestic terrorism to issue joint annual reports that assess the domestic terrorism threat posed by white supremacists and neo-Nazis
- Analyze domestic terrorism incidents that occurred in the previous six months
- Provide transparency through a public quantitative analysis of domestic terrorism-related assessments, investigations, incidents, arrests, indictments, prosecutions, convictions, and weapons recoveries
- Require DHS, DOJ, and FBI offices to focus their limited resources on the most significant domestic terrorism threats, as determined by the joint report.
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