Underwood, Katko Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Communities from Domestic Terrorism

WASHINGTON— Today, Representatives Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Vice Chair of the Homeland Security Committee, and John Katko (NY-24) introduced new bipartisan legislation to help protect communities from domestic terrorist threats. 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.

"Rural and suburban communities are increasingly targets of terrorist acts, but too often don't have access to the federal funding and resources they need to protect themselves," said Rep. Underwood. "If our schools aren't secure, students and teachers can't perform to their full capability; if our places of worship aren't safe, we can't practice our faith free from fear. The Safe Communities Act will increase access to federal resources for local law enforcement officers, schools, places of worship, andnonprofit organizations.

"I am pleased to join Representative Underwood in introducing the Safe Communities Act – bipartisan legislation that aims to bolster protections for our nation's critical infrastructure by equipping owners and operators with the necessary guidance and training to be prepared for, respond to, and recover from cyber and physical attacks," said Rep. Katko. "As we have seen in recent years, many state and non-state actors are poised to launch attacks that would cripple key sectors including energy, communications, and water systems. In my role as the Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security's Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection, I believe it is imperative we take the necessary steps to secure our nation's critical infrastructure before we fall victim to a major attack. By directing the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to develop a guide of best practices for owners and operators, this legislation will take a meaningful step toward minimizing our nation's vulnerabilities. I am proud to introduce this bipartisan measure with Representative Underwood and look forward to continuing our work to bolster our national security."

The legislation assesses the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's (CISA) current ability to deploy Protective Security Advisors (PSA) to effectively serve rural and suburban areas and ensures that PSAs are communicating and delivering federal resources to these communities to help bolster security and terrorism resilience. The bill also establishes a pilot program to provide training and support to state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement officers to improve their capability to carry out vulnerability or terrorism risk assessments of critical infrastructure facilities and nonprofit organizations. Additionally, the bill directs the CISA to help communities protect themselves from domestic terrorist threats by maintaining a clearinghouse of security guidance, best practices, and additional content from trusted sources for owners and operators in all 16 critical infrastructure sectors.

In Congress as Vice Chair of the Homeland Security Committee, Underwood has worked to improve rural and suburban communities' access to federal resources. Last year, Underwood met with Illinois's PSAs to learn about their work in advising and assisting communities across the state. In their meeting, Underwood learned that suburban and rural communities, located outside of urban areas, are often under resourced by PSAs and often unaware of grants available to smaller communities to prepare for potential domestic terrorism threats. Earlier this month, in a Homeland Security hearing, Underwood asked national security experts how suburban and rural communities can defend themselves against threats of terrorism when they lack federal funding. Witnesses stated there needs to be enhanced resourcing to the Department of Homeland Security to allow for more protective security advisors to help suburban and rural communities. Witnesses noted that current protective security advisors are overtasked and under-resourced. Additionally, Underwood is a cosponsor of the Securing American Nonprofit Organizations Against Terrorism Act of 2019 (H.R. 2476). This legislation recently signed into law by the President as a part of the bipartisan appropriations package for Fiscal Year 2020 to enact $90 million in federal resources to help nonprofit organizations pay for security equipment, personnel, and training to prevent terrorist attacks.