[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                    HBCUs AT RISK: EXAMINING FEDERAL
                     SUPPORT FOR HISTORICALLY BLACK
                       COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                              COMMITTEE ON
                          OVERSIGHT AND REFORM
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                               __________

                             MARCH 17, 2022

                               __________

                           Serial No. 117-72

                               __________

      Printed for the use of the Committee on Oversight and Reform
      
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]      


                       Available on: govinfo.gov,
                         oversight.house.gov or
                             docs.house.gov
                             
                               __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
47-164 PDF                 WASHINGTON : 2022                     
          
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
                            
                   COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND REFORM

                CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York, Chairwoman

Eleanor Holmes Norton, District of   James Comer, Kentucky, Ranking 
    Columbia                             Minority Member
Stephen F. Lynch, Massachusetts      Jim Jordan, Ohio
Jim Cooper, Tennessee                Virginia Foxx, North Carolina
Gerald E. Connolly, Virginia         Jody B. Hice, Georgia
Raja Krishnamoorthi, Illinois        Glenn Grothman, Wisconsin
Jamie Raskin, Maryland               Michael Cloud, Texas
Ro Khanna, California                Bob Gibbs, Ohio
Kweisi Mfume, Maryland               Clay Higgins, Louisiana
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York   Ralph Norman, South Carolina
Rashida Tlaib, Michigan              Pete Sessions, Texas
Katie Porter, California             Fred Keller, Pennsylvania
Cori Bush, Missouri                  Andy Biggs, Arizona
Shontel M. Brown, Ohio               Andrew Clyde, Georgia
Danny K. Davis, Illinois             Nancy Mace, South Carolina
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Florida    Scott Franklin, Florida
Peter Welch, Vermont                 Jake LaTurner, Kansas
Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr.,      Pat Fallon, Texas
    Georgia                          Yvette Herrell, New Mexico
John P. Sarbanes, Maryland           Byron Donalds, Florida
Jackie Speier, California            Vacancy
Robin L. Kelly, Illinois
Brenda L. Lawrence, Michigan
Mark DeSaulnier, California
Jimmy Gomez, California
Ayanna Pressley, Massachusetts

                      Russ Anello, Staff Director
                      Jordan Blumenthal, Team Lead
                    Amy Stratton, Deputy Chief Clerk

                      Contact Number: 202-225-5051

                  Mark Marin, Minority Staff Director
                               ------                                
                               
                         C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page
                                                                   
Hearing held on March 17, 2022...................................     1

                               Witnesses

Panel 1

Ms. Kylie Burke, President, Student Association, Howard 
  University
    Oral Statement...............................................     8
Mr. Emmanuel Ukot, President, Student Government Association, 
  Xavier University of Louisiana
    Oral Statement...............................................     9
Mr. Devan M. Vilfrard, Associate Chief Justice, Student Supreme 
  Court, Florida A&M University
    Oral Statement...............................................    12

Panel 2

Mr. Ryan T. Young, Executive Assistant Director, Intelligence 
  Branch, 
  Federal Bureau of Investigation
    Oral Statement...............................................    14
Mr. Sean Haglund, Associate Director, Office for Bombing 
  Prevention, 
  Department of Homeland Security
    Oral Statement...............................................    15
Dr. Michelle Asha Cooper, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Higher 
  Education Programs, Delegated the Authority to Perform the 
  Functions and Duties of the Assistant Secretary, Office of 
  Postsecondary Education Department of Education
    Oral Statement...............................................    17

 Opening statements and the prepared statements for the witnesses 
  are available in the U.S. House of Representatives Repository 
  at: docs.house.gov.

                           INDEX OF DOCUMENTS

                              ----------                              

The documents listed below are available at: docs.house.gov.

  * President Larry Robinson Testimony; submitted by Rep. 
  Donalds.

  * Interim President Powell Testimony; submitted by Rep. 
  Donalds.

  * Dr. David Wilson Testimony; submitted by Rep. Mfume.


 
                    HBCUs AT RISK: EXAMINING FEDERAL
                     SUPPORT FOR HISTORICALLY BLACK
                       COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

                              ----------                              


                        Thursday, March 17, 2022

                  House of Representatives,
                 Committee on Oversight and Reform,
                                                   Washington, D.C.

    The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:06 a.m., in 
room 2154, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Carolyn Maloney 
[chairwoman of the committee] presiding.
    Present: Representatives Maloney, Norton, Raskin, Khanna, 
Mfume, Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, Porter, Bush, Brown, Davis, 
Wasserman Schultz, Sarbanes, Kelly, Lawrence, DeSaulnier, 
Pressley, Comer, Jordan, Hice, Grothman, Cloud, Higgins, 
Sessions, Keller, Clyde, Mace, LaTurner, Fallon, and Donalds.
    Also present: Representative Adams.
    Chairwoman Maloney. [Presiding.] The committee will come to 
order.
    Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare a 
recess of the committee at any time.
    I now recognize myself for an opening statement.
    The Oversight Committee is holding today's bipartisan 
hearing to examine how the Federal Government can support 
historically Black colleges and universities in the face of 
threats to student safety. I want to thank Congressman Byron 
Donalds for requesting this hearing. Congressman Donalds, I 
look forward to continuing to work with you to support HBCUs.
    Since the beginning of the year, at least 36 historically 
Black colleges and universities, more than one-third of all 
HBCUs, have been targeted by bomb threats. At least 18 HBCUs 
were targeted on February 1, the first day of Black History 
Month. Just this week, a threat targeting Morehouse College in 
Atlanta forced students to shelter in place. The threats of 
violence and intimidation have halted classes across the 
country and caused campuses to go into lockdown. These threats 
have also negatively impacted the well-being of students 
attending HBCUs, causing them to fear for their safety and 
placing a significant strain on their mental health. In one 
threatening call targeting Spelman College, an HBCU for women 
in Atlanta, a caller claimed they had singled out that school 
for one reason: ``There are too many Black students in it.''
    These reprehensible threats against Black institutions echo 
the tactics employed by the Ku Klux Klan and others decades ago 
as they tried to instill terror in the Black community and 
prevent Black Americans from gaining their civil rights. And 
today's threats come amid a rise in hate crimes and violent 
white supremacy across the country that have targeted the Black 
community and other racial, ethnic, and religious minorities.
    HBCUs play a critical role in promoting equity through 
economic and educational opportunities for Black Americans. 
They also provide Black students with a safe space to explore 
their collective identities and cultures. Our beloved former 
chairman, Elijah Cummings, was a proud alumnus of Howard 
University and a member of the board of regents at Morgan State 
University. He explained that HBCUs were created because other 
schools' racist admission policies had refused to admit 
African-American students. And he warned, and I quote, ``While 
segregation has ended, structural racism still exists in 
society today. That is why HBCUs still matter.'' HBCUs matter 
and every HBCU student matters. That is why we must do 
everything possible to support them, especially when they are 
threatened or attacked. It is imperative that law enforcement 
agencies prioritize holding perpetrators accountable and 
working to keep campuses safe, while also pursuing a broader 
strategy to address the rising tide of violent white supremacy 
in this country.
    President Biden has rightly described the threats of 
violence against HBCUs as cowardly and un-American, and the 
Biden-Harris Administration has led a strong multi-agency 
response to support HBCUs in the face of these threats. Just 
yesterday, I was proud to join Vice President Harris, a proud 
HBCU alumna, as she announced the Administration is making new 
grant funds available for HBCUs targeted by bomb threats. The 
FBI is actively investigating the bomb threats to HBCUs, which 
it has called its ``highest priority.'' The Department of 
Education and Department of Homeland Security have expanded 
coordination with HBCUs that are providing guidance and tools 
to help them keep their campuses safe.
    I appreciate that all three of these agencies are 
participating in today's hearing. And I want to remind members 
that these threats are being actively investigated, so our 
witnesses will not be able to answer any questions that could 
compromise ongoing investigations.
    Congress also has an important role to play. Last week, I 
proudly voted for a resolution condemning these bomb threats, 
led by Representative Adams and Representative Hill, which 
unanimously passed the House, and Representative Adams has 
waived on to join us for this meeting today. But we must do 
more. We need to pass the IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act to 
increase investments in HBCUs and provide funds that can be 
used to strengthen campus security. Congress also must pass the 
Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act, which would enhance the 
government's ability to counter terrorism. Both of these bills 
are bipartisan.
    I also want to recognize Congressman Jamie Raskin for his 
leadership on these issues as chairman of the Subcommittee on 
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Chairman Raskin has worked 
tirelessly to confront violent white supremacy and expose its 
connection to the recent surge of domestic violent extremists. 
He has also pushed for a national strategy to combat domestic 
violent extremism which the Biden Administration adopted this 
year, so I thank him for his partnership in this hearing. And I 
now yield to him for an opening statement before I recognize 
the distinguished ranking member, Mr. Comer, for an opening 
statement and Mr. Donalds also.
    Mr. Raskin. Sorry about that. Again, thank you, Madam 
Chair, for calling the important hearing, and thanks to 
Congressman Donalds for urging us to call the hearing and for 
his assistance in putting it together.
    On January 31 and February 1 of this year, at the beginning 
of Black History Month, 24 historically Black colleges and 
universities received threats that bombs were going to explode 
on campus. Since the beginning of the year, at least 36 
historically Black colleges and universities have received 54 
different bomb threats. On Tuesday of this week, Morehouse, the 
famous college in Atlanta, received a bomb threat causing 
students to have to shelter in place.
    The perpetrators behind these acts obviously are targeting 
Black colleges and universities, seeking to disrupt and 
terrorize the students, the faculty, the staff, and all of 
their families. No other colleges or universities have been 
targeted and disrupted in the same fashion. The FBI announced 
that the threats made on February 1 are being investigated as 
racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism and hate 
crimes. No arrests have yet been made, but we can assume at 
least some of the threats were animated by hatred of Black 
Americans and the deliberate intent to terrorize them.
    For example, Bethune-Cookman University in Florida got a 
20-minute threatening call from a person stating that they were 
a member of the Atomwaffen Division, a right-wing extremist and 
neo-Nazi terrorist network, and had planted multiple bombs 
around the university, and were orchestrating an active 
shooting. Howard University, which is, of course, just minutes 
from where we sit, has received four different bomb threats 
this year alone, something which, I am sure, has terrified not 
just the students, and faculty, and staff, but their families 
given the fact that we saw here in Washington at the Capitol 
itself shocking white nationalist-led violence that engulfed 
the Capitol on January 6 of last year, and ended up not just in 
multiple deaths, but in 150 of our police officers being 
injured, wounded, and hospitalized with broken necks, jaws, 
vertebrae, lost fingers, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic 
stress syndrome, and so on.
    The violent threats against the HBCUs are part of a trend, 
of rising hate crimes against African Americans. Between 2019 
and 2020, there was a nearly 50-percent increase in hate crimes 
committed against Black people in the country. Now there are 
spiking threats against what have traditionally been safe 
spaces for African Americans in the country. We can be thankful 
that none of these threats have yet materialized in a bomb 
exploding on campus like the ones we saw at Florida A&M in 
1999, but that, of course, does not diminish the emotional and 
psychological trauma inflicted on students and the disruption 
to university life.
    I very much appreciate that the FBI has deemed its active 
investigation of these bomb threats the highest priority. As 
the investigation unfolds, I know the FBI cannot answer 
questions about the status of specific cases, but I would like 
to know how the FBI is coordinating with the HBCUs and 
communities of color to address the rise in hate crimes across 
the country. I look forward to hearing answers from the FBI as 
well as from our witnesses, from the Department of Education, 
and Homeland Security as to how they are working to ensure the 
safety and security of our students.
    Most importantly, I want to thank the student leaders who 
are testifying before us today: Kylie Burke of Howard, Emmanuel 
Ukot of Xavier University in New Orleans, and Devan Vilfrard of 
Florida A&M. We recognize how tough these past few years have 
been between COVID and now these bomb threats to these 
formative and critical years in your young lives. We appreciate 
your strength, your resiliency, and your leadership that you 
have been showing throughout this crisis.
    Madam Chair, I yield back to you.
    Chairwoman Maloney. The gentleman yields back, and I now 
recognize Congressman Donalds. Mr. Comer, excuse me. Mr. Comer, 
the distinguished ranking member of this committee.
    Mr. Comer. Well, thank you, Chairwoman Maloney. I want to 
thank you for holding today's hearing, which Mr. Donalds 
requested, on the importance of historically Black college and 
universities and what the Federal Government is doing to 
respond to a string of recent bomb threats to many of their 
campuses. HBCUs were established during a dark period of 
segregation in the United States to provide access to higher 
education for Black Americans, who were excluded from other 
institutions. Higher education has historically been an 
important avenue in this country for Americans to be able to 
achieve their American Dream, and America's HBCUs have been 
graduating many of our country's leaders for over 150 years.
    These institutions have provided avenues to undergraduate 
and graduate programs for well over a century, and their alumni 
have gone on to do great things in both the public and private 
sectors. All Americans who attend institutions of higher 
education should be able to pursue their studies in a safe 
environment. Unfortunately, HBCUs have recently been the 
subject of a number of bomb threats to their campuses. More 
than half of the 107 HBCUs in this country have been targeted 
for bomb threats since the beginning of this year. On top of 
all the disruptions to campuses caused by COVID-19, these bomb 
threats have added to the strain on students, faculty, and 
administrators as yet another hurdle to overcome.
    Fortunately, no one has been hurt, and the Federal 
Government reports that, so far, no viable explosive devices 
have been found. Nevertheless, these threats must be taken 
seriously by the government and university administration 
officials. These threats are incredibly disruptive to campuses, 
requiring lockdowns, campus closures, and canceled classes 
while law enforcement clears that potential threat. I look 
forward to hearing from the lay witness panel today about the 
impact of these threats to campuses and especially the student 
body. And I also look forward to hearing from the government 
panel about what authorities Federal agencies are leveraging to 
respond to these threats, what they are doing to track down and 
arrest the individual or individuals responsible, and how the 
Federal Government is ensuring HBCUs have the resources they 
need to secure their campuses.
    We all deserve to live in a society that affords Americans 
of all backgrounds an equal opportunity to achieve our American 
Dream. HBCUs are a crucial thread running through the fabric of 
the American experiment. I hope this hearing will demonstrate 
the importance of HBCUs in providing equal opportunities for 
higher education as well as the Federal Government's role in 
protecting Americans from the specter of rising violence across 
this country.
    Thank you, Madam Chair, and I yield back.
    Chairwoman Maloney. OK. I now recognize Congressman Byron 
Donalds for an opening statement and thank him for requesting 
this hearing.
    Mr. Donalds. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. I would ask 
unanimous consent to enter the following documents into the 
record. The first document is testimony from President Larry 
Robinson of Florida A&M University outlining the severe impacts 
of bomb threats on the educational environment at FAMU and 
HBCUs around the country. The second document is testimony from 
Interim President Powell of Bethune-Cookman University, which 
illustrates the unfortunate implications of bomb threats at 
Bethune-Cookman and other HBCUs around the country as well.
    Chairwoman Maloney. Without objection.
    Mr. Donalds. Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to convey my 
sincerest appreciation to you and your staff for agreeing to 
hold this hearing today. To begin, over a dozen HBCUs received 
bomb threats on the first day of Black History Month. In 
response, I immediately requested this hearing to conduct 
oversight over the Federal Government's response to these 
significant threats. Since that time, more than half of the 
Nation's HBCUs have received bomb threats. Florida is home to 
four HBCUs. As someone who attended one of those institutions--
FAMU, Florida A&M University, I attended from 1996 to 1999, and 
we are aware of the history of FAMU with a pipe bomb incident 
that was exploded on FAMU's campus in August 1999--I understand 
the importance of America's HBCUs and the value they add to the 
landscape of higher education in the United States.
    Every year, more than 250,000 Americans attend an HBCU. 
These institutions are critical to providing high-quality 
education to those who attend these institutions. Any attempt 
to threaten, intimidate, or inflict harm on innocent college 
students and staff, particularly students and staff at HBCUs, 
impedes the right to access high-quality educational 
opportunities. And these threats also prevent students and 
faculty members from securing their fundamental right to safety 
while their well-being is being touched.
    While I requested this hearing, I hope that this hearing 
will not display partisan politics, but, instead, that we would 
be on a fact-finding mission to explore the extent of these 
threats and how to hold the perpetrators accountable, and how 
to prevent these from happening again in the future. I am 
pleased that the chairwoman has worked with my staff and the 
Oversight Republicans to make this a possibility, and I hope 
that this hearing today will be fruitful and will shine light 
on the severity of bomb threats at HBCUs across the country.
    I want to thank the chairwoman and her staff for preparing 
this hearing and ensuring that the perspective of the students 
who are here with us in panel one are heard, and that we do 
everything that we can to get down to the bottom of these 
threats against these institutions, is heard openly, and that 
us, not only as the Oversight Committee but also as a Federal 
Government overall, do everything we can to make sure that 
these threats are stopped and are not perpetrated any further.
    With that, I yield back. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you. The gentleman yields back.
    I now recognize Ms. Mace, who is the Ranking Member of the 
Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, for her 
important opening statement, and she is joining us right now.
    Ms. Mace. Right now. There we go. Thank you, Chairwoman 
Maloney, and thank you, Congressman Donalds, for your testimony 
today.
    South Carolina is proud of its citizens who choose to 
obtain higher education degrees, particularly at our 
historically Black colleges and universities. And in the state 
of South Carolina, we have several, including Allen University, 
Benedict College, Claflin University, Clinton College, Denmark 
Technical College, Morris College, South Carolina State 
University, and Voorhees College. We have a proud and rich 
history of graduates from South Carolina's historically Black 
colleges universities. They are made up of both two-and four-
year degree granting institutions and campuses that also offer 
graduate studies programs. Six of these HBCUs were founded in 
the late 1800's, others in the 60's during the Civil Rights 
Movement in this country, and seven of them have been around 
for more than 100 years.
    And our Nation's history includes regrettable chapters of 
exclusion and segregation. During that period, HBCUs were 
established, mostly in southern states, to ensure that Black 
Americans had access to higher education opportunities like 
white students. Even after the passage of the Civil Rights Act 
of 1964, these institutions of higher education continue to 
serve critical roles in ensuring access to educational 
opportunities, and degrees, and access for all Americans who 
seek them.
    HBCUs are an important piece of the overall fabric of 
higher education in this country just like our military 
colleges, like the Citadel where I am a proud graduate from. So 
it saddens me that today we are having a hearing and we find 
ourselves having a hearing on a situation where a series of 
targeted bomb threats are disrupting campus life at HBCUs 
across the country. They are putting students, faculty, and 
administrations in fear for their lives, and this is something 
I know all too well about. When I was the first woman to 
graduate from The Citadel, the military college of South 
Carolina, I had threats. I had people threatening to shoot me. 
I had people threatening to shoot my family. And on my 
graduation day, there were actually bomb threats at my 
graduation.
    And so I think back to my time in my early 20's when I was 
going through this process and how a series of targeted bomb 
threats really disrupted and affected my life and the campus 
where I was at, at the Citadel. And I think about the added 
stress of dealing with these kinds of threats, the pressure on 
our law enforcement to keep these communities safe, the 
pressures on the students, the concerns and stress on their 
families and the faculty, especially after students, and 
faculty, and the administrative employees of different 
universities had so much disruption with COVID-19 pandemic 
closures, et cetera. These threats are entirely and wholly 
unacceptable. No one should have to live life in fear, 
especially students who are pursuing their studies and 
opportunities and seeking to achieve their American Dream.
    The FBI has prioritized this investigation, but I am 
concerned that these threats have been going on for over a 
month now and there has yet to be an arrest. Those responsible 
for these crimes deserve swift justice. The penalties for a 
coordinated campaign of bomb threats designed to instill fear 
in our students should be severe in this case to send a message 
that we will not tolerate these kinds of threats, or this kind 
of conduct, or these kinds of crime in our country. The impact 
that these threats have on our HBCU communities, it is 
devastating, and we have got to respond with the full force of 
the law and the Federal Government to mitigate such threats.
    I look forward to hearing from the student witnesses today 
about their own higher education experiences and how these 
threats are affecting them and the student bodies that they 
serve. I also look forward to hearing from the government panel 
about what they are doing to bring those responsible to justice 
and hold them accountable to prevent these threats from 
happening all across the country. Our students and our citizens 
deserve nothing less.
    Thank you, Madam Chair, and I yield back.
    Chairwoman Maloney. The gentlelady yields back. I request 
unanimous consent that Alma Adams be allowed to participate in 
this hearing.
    Without objection, so ordered.
    Now I would like to introduce our first panel of witnesses 
who are all students at HBCUs. They will be testifying but not 
answering questions. First, we will have Kylie Burke who is the 
president of the Student Association at Howard University. Then 
we will hear from Emmanuel Ukot, who is the president of the 
Student Government Association at Xavier University of 
Louisiana. Finally, we will hear from Devan Vilfrard, who is 
the associate chief justice on the Student Supreme Court at 
Florida A&M University.
    The witnesses will be unmuted so we can swear them in. 
Please raise your right hands.
    Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to 
give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, 
so help you God?
    [A chorus of ayes.]
    Chairwoman Maloney. Let the record show that the witnesses 
answered in the affirmative. Thank you.
    Without objection, your written statements will be made 
part of our permanent record.
    With that, Ms. Burke, you are now recognized for your 
testimony. It is very good to see you again. She was at the 
White House yesterday for this very important ceremony.
    Ms. Burke. Thank you, Chairwoman.

   STATEMENT OF KYLIE BURKE, PRESIDENT, STUDENT ASSOCIATION, 
                       HOWARD UNIVERSITY

    Ms. Burke. Good morning, and thank you to the committee for 
providing this platform for HBCU students to share their 
personal experiences. I would like to first begin by 
introducing myself and sharing a campus tradition we call the 
Howard Intro. My name is Kylie Burke. I am a graduating senior, 
honors political science major, psychology minor, from the Bay 
Area of California. And while I was born in Hayward, I believe 
my journey to Howard and sitting in this room here today began 
in rural Frederica, Delaware.
    My mother moved me and my sister back to her childhood 
hometown just before I started kindergarten. I grew up watching 
the many sacrifices required of her while she worked to rebuild 
our lives. She managed multiple jobs, put herself through 
university as a single mother, and stretched food stamps every 
week. I have vivid memories of routinely sneaking into her room 
at night while she was studying and asking to sleep on the far 
side of her bed, which was more covered with an assortment of 
highlighters, books, and note cards than decorative pillows. 
She would occasionally indulge me by letting me attempt to quiz 
her, but even when she didn't, I always watched in amazement 
and dreamed of the day I'd be in college myself. However, in 
all those nights I spent curled by her side dreaming of my 
future, I would've never imagined the incredible purpose, 
community, and opportunities waiting for me at Howard 
University, and the opportunity to contribute to the lasting 
legacy of our university was simply priceless.
    My eagerness to contribute, while powerful, is not unique. 
Across the country, there are over 100 historically Black 
colleges and universities developing great minds of a similar 
fortitude. My family story of resilience, growth, and the 
important emphasis placed on education is also familiar on HBCU 
campuses. This spring, many of us walking across the stage will 
be the first in our families to graduate, the first to pursue 
graduate degrees and carrying the advance of our family's 
economic futures. And I understand that everyone does not have 
the firsthand experience of walking across the yard or speaking 
with brilliant HBCU students in a classroom. Fortunately, 
though, the numbers speak for themselves.
    While historically Black colleges and universities 
represent a small fraction of all four-year higher education 
options for students, we are the embodiment of doing more with 
less. Eighty percent of the country's African-American judges, 
50 percent of lawyers, and 40 percent of engineers are HBCU 
graduates. Additionally, the Howard Medical School alone 
produces 50 percent of the country's Black medical doctors, 
many of whom go on to start their careers in underserved 
communities where care is needed the most. These institutions 
yield a societal impact that simply cannot be quantified.
    So when bigoted cowardice actors began to issue violent 
bomb threats to Howard University and dozens of HBCUs at the 
start of 2022, it was clear that their intentions were to 
dismantle sacred pinnacles of Black excellence. Unmistakably, 
the highest concentration of these threats were delivered on 
the first day of Black History Month. Since February 1, more 
than half of all HBCUs in the country have received similar 
threats. However, I am here today to inform the committee that 
not only do we condemn all perpetrators attempting to induce 
fear in our campuses but to also emphasize that our resilience 
stands as a testament to the fact that no threat, either real 
or fictitious, could ever stand against our legacy, our 
community, and our commitment to supporting each other.
    Yet and still, the added stress and, in some cases, 
paranoia students, faculty, and staff have subsequently 
experienced cannot be understated and has caused universities 
to react in real time by balancing two crucial approaches: 
first, the need to protect and secure our campuses, and second, 
addressing the mental health needs of our communities. As 
president of the Howard University Student Association, it was 
my responsibility to aid those efforts as well. Immediately, 
our team began working to connect students to the information 
and resources they needed. We coordinated a series of 
leadership briefings, inviting students and senior leadership 
overseeing the university's response, including the chief of 
police, COO, and vice president of student affairs together.
    We worked to establish Healing at Howard, a counselor-led 
session providing a much-needed safe space for students and 
staff to share their anxieties and experiences with each other. 
Howard and many other HBCUs also made the important decision to 
provide mental health days following the threat as well, 
acknowledging the weight of anxiety that fell on campuses after 
students were repeatedly woken up with safety alerts, sometimes 
as late as 2 and 3 a.m. in the morning, constantly leaving us 
on edge and feeling as if the next threat was all but imminent.
    I am both proud and grateful for the attention, unity, and 
support the HBCU community has demonstrated this year, and at 
the very same time I recognize that Howard University has a 
unique privilege of being housed in the Nation's capital with 
proximal access to Federal agency support and assistance, 
unlike many of our peers. I share all this today in hopes that 
this context provides you all with a better, more tangible 
understanding of what it means to attend an HBCU, what 
resources are and are not available commonly to our 
communities.
    I also hope that I have been exceedingly clear in defining 
what is at stake if these institutions are to be neglected, 
either financially or physically, because when you support 
historically Black colleges and universities, what you are 
really supporting is the next generation of Black lawyers, 
filmmakers, engineers, artists, doctors, and even politicians. 
You are supporting a better future, one where Black students 
know there is a safeguarded intellectual and cultural community 
waiting for them that is protected. And if that is not worth 
defending, funding, and championing, I am not sure what it is.
    Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you. The gentlelady yields back.
    I now recognize Mr. Ukot. You are now recognized for your 
testimony.

   STATEMENT OF EMMANUEL UKOT, PRESIDENT, STUDENT GOVERNMENT 
               ASSOCIATION, XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF 
                           LOUISIANA

    Mr. Ukot. Thank you, and good morning. Chairwoman Maloney, 
Ranking Member Comer, and the other distinguished members of 
the committee, thank you very much for the opportunity to 
testify today. My name is Emmanuel Ukot, and I serve as the 
president of the Student Government Association at Xavier 
University of Louisiana. As the only institution in the country 
that is both Catholic and an HBCU, it was founded in 1925 by 
Saint Katharine Drexel and the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament 
with a mission of contributing to a more just and humane 
society by positioning students like me to assume roles of 
leadership and service across the world.
    As you are aware, HBCUs were established in 1837, as early 
as that, to provide a supportive and stimulating environment 
for African Americans to pursue higher education. With the 
designation ``HBCU'' defined in the Higher Education Act of 
1965, Xavier is one of the Nation's 101 HBCUs across the 
country that seek to cultivate mission-driven and socially 
responsible students that are prepared to make an impact in our 
communities. And I hope to share just how important our HBCUs 
are to students like me across this country. I was asked to 
testify before the committee today on the importance of our 
country's HBCUs, share how the recent racially motivated bomb 
threats made against over 30 HBCUs in the beginning of February 
2022 have directly impacted our students thus far, and share a 
student's perspective on the need for continued Federal 
support.
    When I was in high school preparing for college, I applied 
to a number of institutions, but it wasn't until a friend of 
mine got accepted to an HBCU, and she said you have to go. You 
have to go. She strongly encouraged me. That is when I began to 
seriously inquire about also attending an HBCU. Soon after, I 
enrolled at Xavier University of Louisiana. Not only did Xavier 
help me pivot in my career path, but the faculty, the staff, 
the administrators, and the students challenged me to identify 
with the University's mission and its purpose and align my 
aspirations with it. I realized over time that Xavier is more 
than academics. It is a very rigorous academic program. Xavier 
is more than its strong student life experience. Xavier is even 
more than its great athletics program as well. Xavier is a 
lifestyle. By educating students like me on the mission of this 
university and curating experiences for us to practice it, we 
are truly living out the mission and are further developing 
ourselves to make a positive impact in our communities in the 
long run, and the same is true for so many other HBCU students 
across this country.
    This is why it is especially painful when dozens of HBCUs 
across the country, uniquely important environments for 
students like me, received bomb threats at the start of 
February 2022, the beginning of Black History Month. And as the 
news spread and law enforcement began to investigate, the FBI 
labeled these acts as racially and ethnically motivated violent 
extremism and hate crimes. On Xavier's campus alone, students 
were concerned and shared just how anxious they were, 
especially given the significance of the month we were in. 
Students approached the SGA regarding the university's 
counseling and wellness services, and I personally know a 
number of students who were too nervous and paranoid to attend 
classes for the remainder of the week.
    While this brazen, racially motivated act had an immediate 
effect on our students, I also saw the potential for a larger 
issue at hand. In a society where racial tensions have reached 
boiling points over and over again in the past two years, acts 
of aggression like this further feed into the racial discord 
and friction that can affect the future generation even more 
than the current one. As many of us work to allow room for 
difficult discussions concerning race and we strive to bring 
our communities together, hateful acts like this further push 
people away from such hard, but necessary, discussions and the 
work that needs to be done. As our HBCUs strive to develop the 
next socially responsible leaders, these acts are antithetical 
to that same mission. This is why the support of individuals, 
organizations, and the Federal Government is necessary to 
protect our HBCUs.
    So with this information, Madam Chairwoman, I would 
appreciate if you and the committee would consider the 
following recommendations. First, the FBI needs to bring those 
who have perpetrated these terroristic calls, instant messages, 
and online posts to justice. Second, HBCUs need more funding 
for security to set up a real apparatus. Three, if Congress 
reauthorizes programs which will seek to harden HBCU campuses 
and prepare them for these kinds of threats, then Congress 
should name our HBCUs in that authorizing law and provide 
report language in the annual appropriations process each year 
to ensure the departments and agencies make sure funding goes 
where it is necessary. Also, the mental health impacts, which 
we have already discussed today, of our student body should be 
of paramount concern. Our institutions have been approached by 
the executives from the American Psychological Association, 
noting that the triple impact of COVID-19, the ongoing racial 
reckoning in the country, and the bomb threats on HBCU campuses 
are having real and lasting impacts on our students.
    Last, I would like to thank the Senate for passing Senate 
Resolution 534, a simple resolution co-sponsored by Senators 
Tim Scott and Chris Coons, and I appreciate the House for 
addressing this matter as well. The Senate's and the House's 
response sends a bipartisan and bicameral message that these 
types of threats against our HBCUs will not be tolerated, and 
we appreciate you for that.
    I hope I have been able to share an intimate perspective of 
how my university and HBCUs across the Nation cultivate leaders 
and the change agents of tomorrow. HBCUs have a history of 
contributing to society and developing civically engaged and 
responsible leaders. Racially charged acts like the bomb 
threats are not only an attack on our campus, but they are an 
attack on the ideals and values of HBCUs and their collective 
mission. My goal is that my testimony encourages the committee 
to continue supporting our HBCUs in the face of these threats 
to our safety and our core values.
    It is an honor to present this testimony. I hope the 
members of the committee will support these recommendations, 
and I thank the committee for addressing this important issue. 
For more information and details regarding my remarks, I ask 
that you read my written testimony submitted for your review. 
Thank you.
    Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you for your testimony and your 
recommendations.
    We now identify and call upon Mr. Vilfrard. You are 
recognized for your testimony remotely.

        STATEMENT OF DEVAN M. VILFRARD, ASSOCIATE CHIEF 
          JUSTICE, STUDENT SUPREME COURT, FLORIDA A&M 
                           UNIVERSITY

    Mr. Vilfrard. Thank you very much. Good morning, everyone. 
My name is Devan Michael Vilfrard. I am from Fort Lauderdale, 
Florida. I am a graduating senior from Fort Lauderdale, 
Florida, studying political science with a minor in pre-law, 
and I serve as the associate chief justice of the Student 
Supreme Court of Florida A&M University as well as the state 
president of the NAACP Youth and College Division of Florida.
    To Chairman Carolyn B. Maloney, Subcommittee Chairman Jamie 
Raskin, Ranking Member James Comer, and Congressman Byron 
Donalds, thank you for the opportunity to provide public 
testimony for today's hearing, ``HBCUs at Risk: Examining 
Federal Support for Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities.'' Thank you for hearing perspectives of a student 
at Florida Agriculture and Mechanical University, otherwise 
known as FAMU, and perspectives of other agency 
representatives.
    While our modern-day perspectives are essential, I would 
also like to emphasize that racial violence at HBCUs is a 
multi-generational occurrence that profoundly impacts the Black 
community. My family and I are living examples of this multi-
generational trauma as two of my cousins have lived experiences 
of the 1999 pipe bombs that took place at FAMU while they were 
students from 1998 until 2001 and 2002, respectively.
    Historically Black colleges and universities have been a 
longstanding symbol of support and a path toward success for 
Black communities across our Nation for generations and will 
continue to provide this for generations to come. However, bomb 
threats toward the Black community are, unfortunately, an 
experience that has shown its face as if it were a generational 
tradition. Many generations can recount their own experiences 
of bomb threats and bombs being dropped or detonated on their 
communities. Despite these foul, yet all too common occurrences 
of racism traditionally taking place in the United States, 
HBCUs provide a path toward success and pursuing the American 
Dream for Black Americans that each and every American longs 
for.
    As a son and grandson of immigrants, I had no clue what 
opportunities lay ahead of me before I began college. However, 
if it were not for an HBCU like FAMU, I know for certain that I 
would not be who I am today. Although I am the first in my 
immediate family to attend and graduate college, as I will be 
crossing the stage wearing a cap and gown on April 29, 2022, I 
have two extended family members who attended FAMU during the 
pipe bombs in 1999. My cousins, William Sainvil and Wadson 
Sainvil, were both criminal justice scholars during the 
bombings. William Sainvil served 10 years under the Broward 
Sheriff's Office immediately following his graduation in 2001. 
Wadson Sainvil still serves today in his 19th year on the force 
as a police sergeant of the Hollywood Police Department in 
Hollywood, Florida. Both William and Wadson are examples of 
HBCU excellence. They both graduated with honors and serve the 
community to make lives around them better through law 
enforcement, despite facing racial violence in the form of pipe 
bombs detonated during their time at FAMU.
    My cousins, who are children of immigrants like I am, never 
expected to endure pipe bombs on their campus classes by a 
racist who did not want Black people to engage in higher 
education. Instead, they expected to excel on a campus meant 
for academic excellence and to chase their aspirations of 
becoming educated and well-rounded Americans. More than 20 
years later, my cousins also did not expect their younger 
cousin to attend the same illustrious university while HBCUs 
across the Nation, including fellow HBCUs, Florida Memorial 
University, Bethune-Cookman University, and Edward Waters 
University, who are experiencing their own round of pipe bomb 
threats. I, too, now have anxiety about the safety of my three 
goddaughters, my younger siblings, and my future children as 
they enroll in HBCUs once their time comes to earn a formal 
education.
    William Sainvil, Wadson Sainvil, and I are all products of 
success that historically Black colleges and universities 
produce at every graduation ceremony. HBCUs continue to be 
federally supported and protected as we endeavor to remove this 
ongoing tradition of bombing and bomb threats for HBCU students 
of the future. Racism has impacted minorities for generations, 
but institutions like Florida A&M University, and those of my 
fellow panelists at Howard University and Xavier University, 
and many more, are all ready and willing to propel minorities 
like us into our Nation so we can make the change that we wish 
to see.
    Thank you again for the opportunity to testify and provide 
the perspective of an HBCU student on this important topic.
    Chairwoman Maloney. Thank all of you for your very powerful 
testimony, and I want to note that there are other student 
leaders that have accompanied them. I would like you to stand 
so we can all recognize your participation, too. And with that, 
you are excused, and we will welcome the next panel. Thank you.
    The entire second panel is remote, so I would now like to 
introduce our second panel of witnesses. First, we have Ryan 
Young, who is the executive assistant director in the 
Intelligence Branch of the FBI. Then we will hear from Sean 
Haglund, who is the associate director in the Office of Bombing 
Prevention at the Department of Homeland Security. Last but not 
least, we will hear from Dr. Michelle Asha Cooper, who is the 
deputy assistant secretary for higher education and has been 
delegated the authority to perform the functions and duties of 
the assistant secretary in the Office of Post-Secondary 
Education at the Department of Education.
    The witnesses will be unmuted so we can swear them in. 
Please raise your right hands. Please raise your right hands. 
OK.
    Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to 
give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, 
so help me God?
    [A chorus of ayes.]
    Chairwoman Maloney. Let the record show the witnesses 
answered in the affirmative. Thank you.
    Without objection, your written statements will be made 
part of the record.
    With that, Mr. Young, you are now recognized for your 
testimony.

        STATEMENT OF RYAN T. YOUNG, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT 
 DIRECTOR, INTELLIGENCE BRANCH, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

    Mr. Young. Good morning, Chairman Maloney, Ranking Member 
Comer, and members of the committee. Thank you for the 
opportunity to appear before you today to discuss current 
threats to houses of worship and other public spaces in the 
United States. In these uncertain times, the FBI needs the 
support and confidence of the American people to secure public 
spaces where Americans gather every day. The FBI's partnerships 
with affected communities are both critical to receive threat 
information and provide training and preventative measures.
    The FBI directly reaches out to various groups to hear 
their concerns, build cultural understanding, and foster trust. 
FBI headquarters divisions and field offices across the Nation 
have strong community outreach and work with minority groups, 
academic institutions, religious, civic, and nonprofit 
organizations toward crime prevention. The FBI also recognizes 
that hate crimes remain a concern for communities across the 
country and collects mandatory reporting from Federal law 
enforcement agencies. Reporting remains voluntary for state, 
local, and tribal law enforcement agencies. The FBI has hate 
crime statistics from 2020. However, reporting from 2021 will 
not be available until the fall. Additionally, the FBI created 
a Multicultural Engagement Council composed of ethnic, 
religious, and minority leaders to better understand and devise 
solutions to support these communities.
    The FBI's outreach efforts are dedicated to helping 
individuals and families stay safe, protect houses of worship, 
fortify academic institutions and workplaces against violent 
rampages, and raise public awareness to potential acts of 
terrorism and extremism. Another area the FBI is focusing in on 
is transnational repression. If our immigrant population are 
victims of harassment, stalked, assaulted, or coerced in any 
way, especially by foreign governments, this is a violation of 
their individual rights and freedoms. The FBI has more 
information about transnational repression on our FBI.gov site, 
which also houses the threat intimidation guide that is 
translated into 28 languages.
    Our Office of Private Sector's essential function is to 
strengthen the FBI's relationships with the private industry 
and academia to protect the Nation's economy and national 
security. OPS builds trust among FBI and its partnerships by 
facilitating one FBI voice and providing a consistent point of 
contact to promote meaningful dialog. OPS works closely with 
the operational divisions to communicate threats across 
different industries, sectors, companies, and public spaces. 
The past month, in the response to the numerous bomb threats 
targeting historically Black colleges and universities, OPS 
partnered with our Office of Partner Engagement and DHS to host 
the first of several calls to HBCUs across the country. 
Approximately 1,400 participants were on the first call where 
we provided a situational update, points of contact to report 
additional threats, and resources available to the academic 
institutions.
    Although outreach with houses of worship and faith-based 
communities falls under the purview of the Office of Public 
Affairs, our Office of Partner Engagement maintains 
relationships with security elements in those faith-based 
communities. OPE works with our faith-based communities on 
safety initiatives and in order to ensure coordination on 
matters pertaining to houses of worship. The FBI created an 
Internal Working group consisting of OPA, our Criminal 
Investigative Division, and others. The creation of this 
working group directly led to Director Wray hosting two calls 
with approximately 30 faith-based community leaders.
    The recent incidents involving the Colleyville hostage 
crisis and the threats to HBCUs underscore the importance of 
having strong relationships before a crisis. As part of the 
FBI's response, OPA was able to quickly contact local faith 
leaders, minority and academic HBCU connections because the FBI 
had preexisting patterns of engagement and established by our 
community outreach specialists. In January 2022, OPA met with 
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and also conducted partner 
calls with Congregation Beth Israel to discuss issues related 
to their protection and security. In these discussions, the FBI 
shared information about resources developed along with DHS, 
including detailed guidance and plans to respond to crises, 
such as active shooter or bomb threats. In February 2022, OPA 
and OPS hosted a partner call about bomb threats to HBCUs with 
our national faith-based minority partners. OPA provided FBI 
resources and active shooter training to protect academic 
institutions. OPA also held a large webinar planned with the 
Church of God in Christ to discuss protection of houses of 
worship.
    In closing, houses of worship and HBCUs, along with other 
public spaces where people gather, require robust protection 
efforts. These efforts require effective partnerships, and the 
FBI places a strong emphasis on partnering with community 
leaders to build trust and share relevant information to 
protect public spaces and fulfill our obligation to the 
American people.
    Chairman Maloney, Ranking Member Comer, members of the 
committee, thank you again for this opportunity to discuss the 
FBI's efforts to protect HBCUs and houses of worship. I 
appreciate your continued support and look forward to answering 
any questions you may have.
    Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you. Mr. Haglund, you are now 
recognized for your testimony. Mr. Haglund?

        STATEMENT OF SEAN HAGLUND, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, 
  OFFICE FOR BOMBING PREVENTION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 
                            SECURITY

    Mr. Haglund. Good morning, Chairwoman Maloney, Ranking 
Member Comer, members of the committee. I appreciate the 
opportunity to speak with you today on the efforts of the 
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security's Office for Bombing 
Prevention in response to the recent spike in bomb threats to 
historically Black colleges and universities as well as the 
broader community.
    Public gatherings and crowded places are increasingly 
vulnerable to acts of terrorism and targeted violence because 
of their relative accessibility and large numbers of potential 
targets. Organizations of all types and sizes, including 
businesses, critical infrastructure, owners and operators, 
schools, and houses of worship, face a variety of security 
risks. DHS is specifically concerned about increasing targeting 
of the African-American community, houses of worship, and 
educational institutions.
    Since early January 2022, U.S. law enforcement agencies 
witnessed a marked escalation in the number of bomb threats 
directed against historically Black colleges and universities 
across the country, resulting in campus evacuations and 
lockdowns. These recent incidents reflect the use of bombs and 
other explosive devices as an enduring tactic intended to 
threaten and intimidate a specific population or group, and 
recent data reveals that improvised explosive device-related 
incidents in the U.S. are increasing. This escalation has also 
served as a stark reminder that even the threatened use of 
bombs poses a serious risk to our local communities.
    Beyond disrupting lives and creating fear, bomb threats 
cause harm to commerce and draw on precious law enforcement and 
first responder resources. Additionally, unsubstantiated bomb 
threats can create complacency that can lead to increased 
vulnerability. The Department's Cybersecurity and 
Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, partners with HBCUs 
and the local community, collectively, to protect HBCUs and 
prepare them to respond to bomb threats. CISA's Office for 
Bombing Prevention helps leverage the collective resources and 
expertise of DHS to accomplish this critical mission objective.
    To reduce risk to the Nation's critical infrastructure, OBP 
develops and delivers a diverse array of services to enhance 
awareness of threats from IEDs and to build nationwide counter-
IED capabilities. Our efforts focus on engaging these 
institutions to ensure that they have the information, 
training, and tools necessary to mitigate risk and to respond 
to the threat. OBP has initiated outreach in coordination with 
CISA's protective security advisors to all HBCU institutions 
targeted by the recent bomb threats to assist with enhancing 
their security posture and highlight available CISA resources. 
With a specific emphasis on bombing prevention, this outreach 
and offer of assistance is being expanded to all HBCUs.
    In response to the current threat, OBP has conducted 
numerous virtual bomb threat management trainings for HBCUs and 
other stakeholders over the course of the last few weeks, 
including two customized training sessions in early February, 
reaching a combined 461 participants. We have also fielded 
special requests for training through CISA's regional offices. 
In the coming days, OBP will deliver a customized bomb threat 
management session followed by a meeting and panel discussion 
in conjunction with the Atlanta University Center Consortium 
composed of four member institutions: Clark Atlanta University, 
Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Spelman 
College. This event will be broadcast live and made available 
to all HBCUs nationally. We strongly encourage other 
stakeholders across the community to utilize our training 
sessions either virtually or in person and have personnel ready 
to respond to additional requests as they come in.
    Though the dramatic spike of threats to HBCUs is very 
concerning, the unfortunate reality is that it is not a novel 
concept. HBCUs and minority communities receive bomb threats 
each year. I want to assure the committee and the community 
that responding to threats to HBCUs is a DHS-wide effort. The 
Department will continue to ensure security officials from each 
HBCU have access to the latest threat information through our 
suite of information-sharing platforms. We will continue to 
work with each HBCU to ensure their security officials not only 
have access to that information but are able to operationalize 
this information in their training, assessment, and security 
planning efforts. The Administration understands that enhanced 
information sharing and preparedness is the foundation of our 
approach to prevent, detect, and mitigate acts of violence.
    Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you 
today and for this committee's continued support of the 
Department. I look forward to continuing to work closely with 
you and other Members of Congress to keep our community safe 
and secure. Thank you.
    Chairwoman Maloney. OK. Thank you. Dr. Cooper, you are now 
recognized for your testimony.

       STATEMENT OF MICHELLE ASHA COOPER, PH.D., ACTING 
     ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, U.S. 
                    DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

    Ms. Cooper. Thank you and good morning. Good morning, Chair 
Maloney, Ranking Member Comer, Chair Raskin, Ranking Member 
Mace, Representative Donalds, and other distinguished members 
of the committee. Thank you for this opportunity to provide 
testimony on the Department of Education's response to the 
ongoing bomb threats to historically Black colleges and 
universities. Let me begin by stating that we at the Department 
condemn these acts and believe that these and other forms of 
violence have absolutely no place in any of our educational 
institutions.
    As you have already heard, since January, more than one-
third of our country's HBCUs have received one or more bomb 
threats. While thankfully no explosive devices have been found, 
significant trauma and disruption has been done by threatening 
the safety and security of these campuses. These feelings are 
not just felt by those on campus but also extend to parents, 
family members, alumni, and the broader community.
    Because of these ongoing threats, including the one that 
just occurred this week, learning has been disrupted, critical 
resources have been diverted to the emergency response, and 
there has been an increased burden on campus mental health 
systems. These threats have occurred since January, but the 
majority were concentrated in February, which, as you know, is 
Black History Month, and Black History Month experienced at 
least one threat per week at an HBCU. We believe that this 
timing may be an attempt to exploit tensions in our country and 
to remind the HBCU community and, by extension, Black people to 
not take our assumed safety for granted.
    It is the responsibility of the government to protect its 
citizens, which includes those studying and working at HBCUs. 
At the Department of Education, we have worked in partnership 
with the other Federal agencies, including the ones who are 
joining on this panel today, to provide a whole-of-government, 
multi-agency response. Immediately after the initial threats in 
January, Education Secretary Cardona and Homeland Security 
Secretary Mayorkas hosted a briefing with more than 40 
presidents of HBCUs to share information on grant programs, 
training resources, and other tools available to strengthen 
campus safety and security. The White House Initiative on HBCUs 
is also coordinating a governmentwide response through its 
Campus Safety and Resilience Cluster led by the Departments of 
Justice and Homeland Security. In February, the cluster hosted 
an event that was attended by more than 300 HBCU faculty, 
staff, and administrators. Leaders and staff from the 
Department of Education have contacted all targeted campuses.
    Secretary Cardona and I have had one-on-one conversations 
with some students and campus presidents. We also visited 
several HBCUs to learn firsthand about what is being done to 
support students and what needs remain unmet. I have also 
spoken directly with HBCU alumni and community leaders about 
the effects of these bomb threats. Every college student and 
every president said that they will not be deterred from 
providing or receiving an education. We also heard that campus 
leaders do not have all the resources at their disposal to 
respond appropriately to the ongoing threats and are not fully 
aware of the resources available through the Federal Government 
to assist.
    In direct response to these needs, just yesterday, Vice 
President Kamala Harris, alongside Secretary Cardona, announced 
that targeted institutions are eligible for Project SERV grants 
from the Department of Education. These grants provide short-
term funding to educational institutions that have experienced 
a violent or traumatic event, and can be used to help to 
restore the learning environment. The Vice President also 
announced a resource compendium that describes a range of 
services and various roles of different Federal agencies in 
responding to these threats.
    In closing, let me reiterate we condemn these threats and 
will do our part to support HBCUs and their students. We 
recognize that there is tension in our larger society that can 
sometimes spill over into our educational institutions. Whether 
it is a school shooting, a bomb threat, or other form of 
intimidation, they have no place in our schools or colleges and 
will not be tolerated. We are committed to working with each of 
you and our colleagues from other Federal agencies to protect 
our campuses and keep our schools safe.
    Thank you, and I am pleased to answer any questions that 
you may have.
    Chairwoman Maloney. The gentlelady yields back, and I thank 
all of the participants for their testimony today.
    I now recognize myself for five minutes for questions.
    There is a long history of threats of violence against 
Black institutions, including churches, schools, and communal 
spaces. These threats are intended to intimidate and terrorize 
the people who attend these institutions. So it is critical 
that the Federal Government does everything, absolutely 
everything, in its power to respond to these threats and to 
prevent new ones. I would like to ask Mr. Young, in addition to 
investigating the threats, the FBI builds partnerships with 
public and private sector institutions to increase information 
sharing and collaboration. How can this effort benefit HBCUs 
that have been or may be targeted by threats?
    Mr. Young. Good morning, Congresswoman. Again, thank you 
for this question. For us, and I wanted to rely on my comments, 
this is our highest priority right now. This is run by our 
Counterterrorism Division. It is being led by the Joint 
Terrorism Task Force in those offices. The investigation is 
spread across 31 field offices. And because of challenges with 
the investigation, we have added on other divisions from the 
Criminal Investigative Division to our Operation Technology 
Division, to our Cyber Division, as well as our Weapons of Mass 
Destruction. To ensure that we can manage the information flow, 
within two days of the notification of these bomb threats, we 
hosted our first call with presidents and the security of those 
institutions to make sure that we could share exactly what was 
happening, understanding, make sure that they were prepared, 
understood that their safety was our highest priority, and we 
wanted to make sure that they remain vigilant. And as we say in 
our business a lot, if they see something, say something 
because it is tips from these universities, from people, from 
bystanders that are our most prominent leads.
    One of the other things we have been asked is, is 
encryption effective. Some of these threats have come in 
through encrypted platforms, which is challenging for 
attribution. When it comes to sharing information, it is 
absolutely vital that we have brought all of our state, and 
local, and Federal partners into these calls so that they could 
be aware of any of these issues in their territories. We also 
directed, by Director Wray, for field office leaders to reach 
out to those institutions, meet with those presidents, and keep 
those lines of communication. And us in partnership and 
lockstep with DHS, we have continued to host calls with our law 
enforcement partners and make sure that we continue to give 
adequate updates.
    With that, we share intelligence. We share intelligence 
through not only our 56 field offices, but as well as our 
fusion centers to make sure that, like I say, going back, that 
these institutions remain vigilant. We do not want anything to 
lull into complacency. As my colleague in DHS said, we have not 
found bombing devices at any of these locations, but we have to 
treat these the exact same way as the highest priority, and 
make sure that we got our subject matter experts and bomb 
technicians responding and conducting a thorough investigation 
the same way every time.
    Chairwoman Maloney. Well, thank you. I understand we can't 
ask you anything about your investigations, the progress of 
them or how you are progressing. So I do want to know, if these 
threats aren't addressed by law enforcement, is there a risk 
that these students may be intimidated from attending HBCUs? 
There could be dire consequences. I guess that is a better 
question to an educator, so let me ask you this. There has been 
a lot of allegations of foreign influence in our country. Do 
you see or suspect any foreign influence in this type of attack 
that is taking place, and what does the FBI think is causing 
it? I have been an educator my whole life. I have never seen 
this ever, ever, ever before. Why is it emerging now? Do you 
have any sense of what is causing this?
    Mr. Young. To the first part of your question, ma'am, we do 
not see any foreign influence. We do see foreign influence on a 
lot of our other matters, and that is a very high priority, 
especially when it comes to elections. The challenge of this, 
what we have seen, the rise of this has been common with what 
we have seen in the number of investigations. There is divisive 
capability. I think there is an understanding that people are 
online and are radicalizing a lot more, and I think that there 
is a sense of they want to target and intimidate this 
community, and that is why this is our highest priority. We do 
not want to diminish any aspirations of students that are 
attending those schools, and that is why this remains, as our 
director said, our highest priority.
    Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you, and we look to future 
updates. I would like to turn to Dr. Cooper. What steps is the 
Board of Education taking to ensure that HBCU students, 
parents, and school administrators understand their security is 
a top priority of the Federal Government, that the FBI and 
every other body that has responsibility is turning their 
attention to helping them?
    Ms. Cooper. Thank you for your question. At the Department 
of Education, we do not tolerate any form of hatred, bias, or 
discrimination. We, too, are prioritizing our support to 
historically Black colleges and universities and working 
alongside other government agencies to do a multi-agency 
response, to make sure that we are all doing our part to ensure 
the safety and well-being of these campuses. Earlier this year, 
actually right immediately after the initial threats came, 
Secretary Cardona, our Education Secretary, alongside Secretary 
Mayorkas from Homeland Security, hosted a webinar and briefing 
where they brought together HBCU leaders to talk about the 
response and to really hear and listen to what their needs were 
in contending and dealing with these threats, and to make sure 
that they were aware that there were government services and 
supports available to them.
    There was also a subsequent briefing that was co-
facilitated through our White House Initiative on HBCUs. It was 
hosted through their Campus Safety and Security Cluster, which 
is coordinated by the Department of Homeland Security and the 
Department of Justice. And the cluster brought together well 
over 300 participants from HBCU campuses to talk more about 
what to do in a bomb threat, what the resources are, and things 
of that nature.
    In addition to that, we have done direct outreach to these 
campuses. Our goal has been to listen to and engage with HBCU 
leaders and students, and there has been a representative, a 
leader from the Department of Education who has reached out to 
each and every campus. In addition to that, Secretary Cardona, 
our undersecretary, and I have visited several of these 
campuses to see firsthand how they are contending with the 
response and to get a sense of what additional resources, what 
else we would be able to do to support them. In doing that, we 
heard several things. We heard consistently, just as we heard 
from the students on the prior panel, that these threats were 
clearly intended to invoke fear and intimidation. But among the 
students, among the administrators, among faculty, there is the 
spirit of strength and resilience, and that was consistent at 
each and every campus.
    We also heard that the mental health needs of students and 
the campus community have been exacerbated. You have to 
remember, as you know, we are all living through this pandemic, 
and the Black and brown communities have been hit really hard 
by the pandemic. And that was talked about a great deal, 
especially in our visit we made to North Carolina Central where 
Secretary Cardona hosted a roundtable on mental health.
    Chairwoman Maloney. The time----
    Mr. Comer. Madam Chair?
    Chairwoman Maloney. I know. They are pointing out that my 
time has long expired.
    Ms. Cooper. Oh, OK.
    Chairwoman Maloney. Everything you are saying is very 
important, but my time has long expired, so I now recognize the 
gentleman from Florida. I went tremendously over with my time, 
so I yield as much time as he may need to express and ask the 
questions that are deeply concerning to him. And thank you for 
bringing this important issue to our attention. I yield.
    Mr. Donalds. Thank you so much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, 
first, what I would like to do, Ms. Cooper, I probably want to 
give you another 30 seconds to finish your thoughts. I think 
you are on an important line there. I want to just give you the 
opportunity to finish your thoughts there.
    Ms. Cooper. Sure. I will definitely talk about how we heard 
about mental health, and also it is really important to know 
that we heard from campus leaders that the threats highlighted 
the vulnerabilities in their security infrastructure. They all 
had emergency plans, but these threats have been helped them to 
see that they need to modernize, and that all of the resources 
that they needed at their disposal were not yet available to 
respond appropriately to these threats.
    Mr. Donalds. Thank you so much. Dr. Cooper, my apologies. I 
want to obviously recognize your credentials. My next question 
is actually to Mr. Young and Mr. Haglund. It is kind of a joint 
question. Obviously, we know that the FBI is still in the 
process of doing their investigations on these threats. Can you 
both kind of speak to what is the response time to HBCUs when 
these threats are issued? How long does it take for your team 
to get on the ground, do the initial investigations, and kind 
of give an all clear so that students and faculty can return 
back to normal operating procedures on campus?
    Mr. Young. Congressman, I can start, then I can turn it 
over to my colleague at DHS. One of the things that we have 
asked on our calls, and one of the things that we have asked 
our leaders that are engaging with these, you know, HBCU 
presidents, is, you know, time is of the essence. The faster 
they can get that notification of the hateful message, as fast 
as they can get it to us, time is of an urgency. One, we treat 
these as they are absolutely a bomb threat with the 
understanding that there could be a bomb on the other end. 
These are run by our Joint Terrorism Task Force, but they are 
run parallel with the state and local law enforcement in those 
areas. Because it is a bomb threat, we are going to respond 
with bomb technicians, and there will be bomb technicians with 
the state and locals, the FBI. The Hazardous Device School 
trains all bomb technicians across the United States so that we 
understand and we look at these threats the same way, and we 
are interchangeable on the scene.
    Once we get to those different locations, it depends on the 
size of the location if there is any specificity to where the 
bomb could be or where that threat came in. Because they come 
in from different measures, we will also be looking to our 
folks looking at cyber to look to see if we can serve 
immediately legal process to identify attribution that gives us 
additional leads. I can't give you an exact timeframe because 
every situation is going to be a little bit different, but, 
again, you know, we are treating these as the highest priority, 
and we are responding with our best assets.
    Mr. Donalds. Mr. Haglund, I don't know if you want to add 
to that or----
    Mr. Haglund. Yes, sir, Congressman, if I could please. So 
through the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's 
regional field course, we do have the ability to follow that 
initial response by law enforcement personnel at a very rapid 
pace. So those regional staff members would come in after the 
resolution of that immediate crisis to then be able to offer 
the types of products and services that we develop out of the 
Office for Bombing Prevention. And so, optimally, we would like 
to come in prior to an event and provide those training and 
awareness resources, but certainly after an event, we can come 
in. We have a range of awareness products, learning 
instructional type videos, one-on-one, in-person courses where 
we can deliver onsite. And those courses really serve to then 
build that preparedness, and resilience, and just awareness of 
the threat.
    And so we have courses that allow folks to identify the 
difference between unattended and suspicious packages or items, 
bomb threat search procedures, bomb threat management plan 
development. And so those regional staff members can follow in 
very quickly to provide those amplifying resources to build 
that preparedness for future events. Thank you.
    Mr. Donalds. No. Thank you. I will wrap up here. I just 
want to really thank, obviously, the witnesses, FBI, CISA, OBP, 
and, obviously, the Department of Education in your response to 
HBCUs and these threats. I think it is important. I think it 
goes without, frankly, saying that we take all of these threats 
against any university seriously, specifically with what 
appears to be systematic threats against HBCUs. And we would 
just implore you guys to continue your investigative efforts to 
bring those responsible to justice as quickly as possible.
    With that, I yield back to the chair.
    Chairwoman Maloney. The gentleman yields back. The 
gentlelady from the District of Columbia, Ms. Norton, is 
recognized.
    Ms. Norton. I thank you, Madam Chair, for this important 
hearing, and it is very timely. It comes right when it should. 
I want to thank all of the witnesses and to especially 
acknowledge Kylie Burke who attends Howard University here in 
my district, the District of Columbia.
    Among the, at least it looks like, 36 HBCUs that have 
received bomb threats since the beginning of the year, two of 
them, Howard University and the University of the District of 
Columbia, have been among those who have received threats, and 
some HBCUs have received multiple threats. Now, we are 
fortunate that there have been no actual bombings, but every 
one of these threats have significantly disrupted the lives of 
students and, of course, of the entire educational institution. 
Mr. Haglund, is there any way to approach these threats with 
fewer disruptions?
    Mr. Haglund. Thank you, Congresswoman. So the resources 
that we provide out of the Office for Bombing Prevention in 
many ways specifically look to do that. That consequence 
mitigation or consequence management is woven throughout those 
resources, and the resources are really intended to cover the 
spectrum, from students to faculty to security staff, and weave 
that common methodology of bomb threat management throughout 
that entire community. And so in terms of being able to restore 
activities more quickly if the bomb threat management plan is 
in effect and people are aware of the steps to take through 
that plan that can certainly be a key factor, a key tool in 
minimizing that type of consequence.
    And just in general terms, more awareness of the nature of 
the threat, how these threats can be categorized and responded 
to, our partnership with law enforcement, that sharing of 
information, all those elements through the various resources 
that the Office for Bombing Prevention provides, I think helps 
restore those services more quickly, alleviate some of the 
tension involved that you would normally, you know, obviously 
experience in a bomb threat situation, and meet those needs 
that you are referring to.
    Ms. Norton. Thank you. Well, we recognize that it takes 
working together, that the FBI and law enforcement can't do 
this by themselves. So this question is for Mr. Young. Mr. 
Young, how can HBCU administrators work with law enforcement to 
minimize the distraction these bomb threats cause?
    Mr. Young. Thank you, Congresswoman. I would say we have 
reached out, I think, through those HBCUs. We have worked with 
the IT departments in those institutions to make sure that we 
get information as quickly as possible. As you may be aware, 
the majority of these threats have come in by phone, you know, 
unfortunately. We are trying to minimize disruption. You know, 
the students' safety, the safety of those schools is our utmost 
and highest priority. So, you know, us getting time on target, 
sharing, you know, our procedures, our requests, making sure 
that we continue to engage with the presidents at all levels of 
the school, and the security of that school is vitally 
important to, you know, minimize as much disruption as 
possible.
    Ms. Norton. Dr. Cooper, these students have been through a 
lot with coronavirus, entirely new ways of attending school. 
Are students missing out because of these disruptions? How 
detrimental are these shutdowns and class cancellations on the 
student experience or the educational experience?
    Ms. Cooper. Thank you for your question. In terms of are 
the students missing out, I would say no because the campus 
communities, they are rallying to support one another. The 
broader HBCU community, which includes alumni, are doubling 
down on their efforts to make sure that the students stay 
supported and that campus leaders are supported. But I do think 
that we cannot underestimate the dual trauma that has occurred, 
the trauma that has been brought forward by the pandemic and 
now with these bomb threats. And mental health is a serious 
issue, and I think that we are doing our best to make sure that 
these institutions have the resources to respond appropriately.
    Ms. Norton. Thank you. My time has expired.
    Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you. We now recognize the 
gentleman from Wisconsin. Mr. Grothman is recognized.
    Mr. Grothman. Thank you. Just, you know, playing around on 
the internet as we do when a new topic comes up, I wasn't aware 
this was so common. I see that Harvard in their stuff say that 
they get a several bomb threats a year, and I guess my own alma 
mater, the University of Wisconsin, had to empty two buildings 
last year because of bomb threats. I would think that sometimes 
when threats are called in, they are investigated by local 
police. Sometimes it comes through the FBI. This is for Ryan 
Young. How many bomb threats a year do you guys investigate?
    Mr. Young. I don't have that data at this moment, sir, but 
we can give it to you. I will say for us, we have seen, you 
know, targeted efforts and hate crimes rising over the past 
couple years. But, again, you know, the American people, their 
safety, you know, our commitment to their safety is always 
going to be the highest priority. Going back, I mean, this----
    Mr. Grothman. You must have some idea, don't you? A 
thousand, 50? Are most of them----
    Mr. Young. I don't have that, sir. I don't have that number 
right at this time, sir, but I will get it to you and your 
staff.
    Mr. Grothman. OK. I was asked to help out with a bomb 
threat a while ago in my district. There was a threat to a 
grade school, several grade schools around the country 
actually, and it turned out it was just one person actually 
issuing the threats from another country. But it was amazing 
the damage and fear that one person could do, and in that case 
they did track down someone. You haven't tracked down anybody 
on these threats yet. So we can kind of understand what is 
going on here, just guess at the number of threats you have 
actually tracked down, or give us some examples of people who 
make bomb threats in the background that the FBI has succeeded 
in tracking down.
    Mr. Young. In regards to this, you know, we are over 59 
threats, as has been said earlier. Some of these institutions 
have received multiple threats. Most of them, the majority, 
overwhelming majority, are coming by phone. Some of these have 
come in by encrypted platforms. It is across 31 field offices, 
but we do have this narrowed down to a group.
    Mr. Grothman. I mean, in the country as a whole. I am not 
talking about separation of these guys yet. How many people a 
year does the FBI, about, arrest or identify as making bomb 
threats, and then we can maybe talk about what motivates these 
people.
    Mr. Young. I can get you that. I can get you that number, 
sir.
    Mr. Grothman. You don't know? About 50, 100? You don't 
know.
    Mr. Young. I will say, sir, it is well more than 100.
    Mr. Grothman. That you catch. That you catch.
    Mr. Young. I can get you the numbers that we catch, but 
there are a number of bomb threats, and some of them, you know, 
are never caught, unfortunately.
    Mr. Grothman. So you catch about over 100 people a year 
phoning in bomb threats or emailing in bomb threats.
    Mr. Young. I will get you that number, sir. I was prepared 
for this matter and places of worship and our procedures.
    Mr. Grothman. OK. I mean, the one I dealt with, I think it 
took them about three weeks, and it was a pretty good job when 
they caught him because it was somebody from another country, 
which kind of amazed me they were able to catch him, and he 
made lots of calls or emails. I can't remember what he was 
doing. But how long does it usually take between the time the 
threat is called in and you guys do identify somebody?
    Mr. Young. A lot of it depends on how it comes in. I would 
say we get 5,000 tips a day. If we had a bomb threat come in, 
we would treat that as a threat to life, so it requires an 
immediate response. We run about 10 to 15 threat to lives a 
day, and depending on if we can find attribution, if we can 
find the video, if we have a prosecutor that we understand the, 
you know----
    Mr. Grothman. Right. What I am saying is, you must have 
participated in some of these in the past.
    Mr. Young. Yes.
    Mr. Grothman. When somebody calls in a bomb threat and you 
find somebody using phone records or whatever, how long is it 
between when it is called in usually--just think of the ones in 
your mind that you have dealt with personally--and the person 
is eventually identified?
    Mr. Young. Some we have identified that day. Some have 
taken much longer because of the complications of how those 
were called in.
    Mr. Grothman. Percentage-wise, how often you find somebody? 
I mean, do usually expect to find somebody? You must----
    Mr. Young. Sir, we are going to treat these things 
seriously. We are going to give them all high priority, our 
best resources. I can get you the numbers of----
    Mr. Grothman. You have no idea. If I say I got a bomb 
threat at University of Wisconsin in Madison and we call the 
FBI, what are the chances you can identify this person? You 
have no idea. You catch them 10 percent of the time, 60 percent 
of the time, you have no idea.
    Mr. Young. I don't have that information at this time.
    Mr. Grothman. OK. Well, thanks.
    Chairwoman Maloney. The gentleman yields back.
    The gentleman from Maryland, Mr. Raskin, is now recognized.
    Mr. Raskin. Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Haglund, does the 
fact that none of these bomb threat suspects have been 
identified yet suggest that it is of a common origin, that 
there is one person or one group working together and that they 
are professionals, if you will? Would you expect out of a group 
of 59 bomb threats, at least for one or two, a handful, to be 
solved?
    Mr. Haglund. Congressman, thank you for your question. I 
would respectfully just suggest that that is more of a law 
enforcement perspective.
    Mr. Raskin. OK. Mr. Young, can ask you to opine on that?
    Mr. Young. Could you repeat the question, sir?
    Mr. Raskin. Well, my question is, if there were 59 bomb 
threats leveled at the HBCUs and none of the cases have been 
solved, does that suggest that that somebody is working 
together, or maybe it is one person, or it is one group of 
people, and that they have been able to, you know, conceal 
themselves? Would you expect out of a group of 59 bomb threats, 
if they were all from different sources, that at least a few of 
them would have been identified, the culprits?
    Mr. Young. Like I say, at present, sir, we believe we have, 
you know, the majority selected down to one person and a small 
group. Our concern after that is some maybe copycats, and that 
is where our investigation is at.
    Mr. Raskin. Got you. You know, there were pipe bombs left 
at the Republican National Committee and the Democratic 
National Committee on January 6th as part of the violence that 
was targeting the Capitol. And I remember talking to one 
Capitol officer who said the ones who threaten don't bomb and 
the ones who bomb don't threaten. Is that your experience, that 
the threats generally are not followed up with actual bombing, 
but when there is going to be a violent attack, they don't give 
notice?
    Mr. Young. I think consistently with, you know, where the 
bombs have either, you know, been put together as we saw with, 
like, the package bombs that targeted a number of Congress, you 
know, there was not the same warning. And I think that is 
consistent with what you saw with the devices that were placed 
at the RNC and DNC.
    Mr. Raskin. Mr. Young, Ms. Mace spoke of the fact when she 
was at the Citadel and she was the first woman graduating, or 
among the first women graduating, that there were, I can't 
remember if she said a bomb threat or certain kind of violent 
threats, leveled there. Do you find that these threats come at 
occasions of public prominence like Black History Month, like 
the first woman graduate from an institution, and so on?
    Mr. Young. I don't have that exact data, sir, but I think 
for us, we do think with the bomb threats, you know, at the 
beginning of February at Black History Month, we believe this, 
and we have treated this as domestic terrorism. We believe that 
this is, you know, meant to inflict harm, you know, with the 
African-American population attending those schools. And I 
would like to add that there was also a number of historically 
Black churches that have been included in these bomb threats as 
well.
    Mr. Raskin. Right, and, of course, there has been a history 
of actual bombs and fires at historically Black churches. OK 
that is all I have got, and, Madam Chair, again, thanks to you 
for calling the hearing, and I yield back to you.
    Chairwoman Maloney. The gentleman yields back.
    The gentleman from Louisiana, Mr. Higgins, is recognized. 
Mr. Higgins.
    Mr. Higgins. Thank you, Madam Chair, for holding this 
hearing, and I thank the ranking member and my colleagues here 
today, and the witnesses. Madam Chair, there should be no 
systemic fear at our colleges and churches in America. That 
should not be a dynamic that Americans should have to consider 
on a regular basis. The fear of a terrorist act should just not 
be a regular condition that Americans have to consider in our 
universities, our churches, or anywhere else. So it is 
completely appropriate that we investigate this, and I very 
much appreciate that this hearing has been called and that our 
panelists have come forward.
    I would like to dig into the statistics a little bit so 
that we can put this in perspective. And, Agent Young, I am 
going to be asking you some specific questions, sir, from your 
law enforcement perspective. As a police officer myself, I 
personally responded to bomb threats. Generally, the suspects 
that you ultimately identify there, if you are able to, are 
generally more mischievous actors than perhaps should be 
considered with actual violent intent. But the impact of the 
bomb threats, especially when we look from a historical 
perspective within our historically Black colleges, and 
churches, and universities, you know, that is a disruption. 
That is the level of fear that we should absolutely investigate 
in the most aggressive manner possible, and arrests should be 
made.
    So I am going to jump into the numbers here, Agent Young. 
My own research shows that there is a great swing in reported 
cases of bomb threats annually: 1,693 in 2014 to 1,670 in 2015, 
drops to 1,536 in 2016, down to 1,228 in 2017, back up to 1,627 
in 2018, and the 2020 numbers are half of that, down to 818. So 
I suspect that if you dig into the raw data of those 
statistics, the FBI would reveal that there was a couple of 
very active suspects that were identified and stopped.
    So this year, 59 historically Black colleges and 
universities have been targeted with bomb threats. That is 
absolutely unacceptable, and this committee is looking for 
guarantees from the FBI that there are going to be arrests 
made. Now, you say that you have identified one particular 
suspect, a juvenile that you believe is responsible for the 
majority of these threats, Agent Young. Is that correct?
    Mr. Young. Thank you, Congressman. That is consistent with 
the messages that we have shared with both law enforcement and 
with the historically Black colleges----
    Mr. Higgins. OK. So we have identified one disturbed and 
troubled youngster that is allegedly likely responsible for the 
majority of this steep increase in threats. So can we expect 
that the March numbers will be more in line with the 4-, 5-, 6-
year trends that we can look at from FBI statistics, because 
that would help America to be reassured that the FBI has 
responded effectively and professionally. If you have 
identified a young man, and surely you have interaction with 
him, which means he has stopped. So can we expect the March 
numbers to be back in line with regular annual numbers?
    Mr. Young. I can't give you that commitment at this time, 
sir. I mean, in the end, it is going to----
    Mr. Higgins. Has the juvenile suspect been interviewed by 
the FBI?
    Mr. Young. I can't give you any updates on that.
    Mr. Higgins. Well, you say he has been identified. I 
imagine he has been interviewed. So, Madam Chair, let me just 
say that we expect guarantees from the FBI that arrests will be 
made and there should be consequences because we will just not 
sit idly by and allow American citizens to consider terrorist 
threats a regular condition of their daily life, whether it is 
at universities, churches, work, or anywhere else. We expect 
the FBI to perform. Thank you, Madam Chair, for holding this 
hearing, and I yield.
    Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you. The gentleman from Maryland, 
Mr. Mfume, is recognized.
    Mr. Mfume. Thank you so much, Madam Chair. Good morning. I 
want to thank you and the ranking member for convening us on 
what everybody clearly agrees is a very, very important and 
timely topic. My thanks also to Chair Raskin, who chairs the 
Subcommittee on Civil Rights, and to Mr. Donalds for bringing 
this matter to the committee's attention immediately, and for 
Representative Adams, who joins us today as a non-committee 
member, but someone who has spent her entire life in South 
Carolina and around the country fighting for and advocating on 
behalf of historically Black colleges and universities.
    And may I just say also, even though their presence is not 
noted here on the program, the organizations that have worked 
to service historically Black colleges and universities through 
the good times and the bad times are the United Negro College 
Fund, NAFEO, and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. We 
appreciate their work. It has been ongoing and not just 
evidenced as a result of this issue. And this issue, quite 
frankly, is one of racial hatred, and I don't know any other 
way to put that. Hate radio, hate speech, hate crimes, and hate 
acts have manifested themselves over time and, today, have 
brought us into the convening of this meeting because it is, 
again, affecting historically Black colleges and universities. 
And I say ``again'' because this is not a new phenomenon, but 
it is racial hatred, and it doesn't bode well with us, and it 
doesn't say much, I think, about the country that we love.
    It continues to dominate too many aspects of American life, 
both at home and sometimes even abroad. And it particularly 
affects, in this case, a race of people who have suffered, 
endured, and survived two centuries of slavery, oppression, 
deprivation, degradation, denial, and dis-privilege. And so the 
fact that we are talking about this says that while we may have 
come a long, long way, we clearly as a Nation have a long, long 
way to go.
    I want to say to the students, who I hope are still with 
us, that you gave excellent testimoneys and should be proud of 
the way you represented your respective colleges and 
universities. Most of us, Madam Chair, would have never 
imagined being asked to give testimony before a congressional 
committee at the age of 23 or 24. And so I hope for these 
students that the service that they provide today and have 
provided will serve as a precursor of what I hope will be a 
life of service and a life of activism that lies before each of 
them. They are our best and our brightest, and their 
testimoneys were very much appreciated.
    Madam Chair, like several other members of this committee 
have expressed, I, too, am a graduate of a historically Black 
college and university. It is Morgan State University, just 40 
miles from the capital in Baltimore, founded four years after 
Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. And for 
the last 155 years, Morgan State University has been turning 
out men and women who have contributed to our society, like so 
many other historically Black colleges and universities. In my 
instance, not only was I a graduate, but after I finished 
completing my graduate work elsewhere, came back, and I have 
served on the board of regents at that university. I have been 
on that board for over 32 years now, and for the last 10 years, 
I have actively served as chairman of the board of regents. So 
my view on this, my perch, my perspective is one that I think 
is close enough to be able to, with some level of assuredness, 
articulate what I think the issue is here in a way that draws 
me right back to what I said before: it really is about racial 
hatred.
    Dr. David Wilson is the president of Morgan State 
University. He has given a number of testimoneys on panels like 
this and on the national media networks. I would like to ask 
with unanimous consent to have his last official testimony 
representing this particular issue of these threats at HBCUs 
entered into the formal record of these proceedings.
    Chairwoman Maloney. Without objection.
    Mr. Mfume. Thank you very much. I am running out of time, 
but I want to underscore what I said earlier. This is not a new 
phenomenon. For the last 150, 160 years, Black colleges and 
universities have continued to face an inordinate amount of 
threats against their operation. And to the extent that this 
hearing helps to underscore that and publicize it, again, I 
want to commend you and the other members of this committee for 
convening us this day. And I yield back any time I have 
remaining.
    Chairwoman Maloney. The gentleman yields back, and the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Keller, is now recognized. Mr. 
Keller.
    Mr. Keller. Thank you, Madam Chair, and Ranking Member 
Comer, and to our witnesses for being here today.
    Violence on any level is unacceptable. This topic is 
especially pertinent now as the conflict in Ukraine continues. 
However, we here in the United States cannot advocate for peace 
internationally without also addressing violence within our own 
borders. In many cities across the United States, violent crime 
rates are at an all-time high. Murders increased by 25 percent 
in 2020, disproportionately affecting minorities. Black 
Americans were 10 times more likely to be homicide victims than 
their white counterparts. Mr. Young, as a member of law 
enforcement, what effect do you think defunding and decreasing 
police forces would have on the already high crime rates?
    Mr. Young. I would say we stand with our law enforcement 
partners. We find them essential to addressing crime. We have 
seen a number of crimes that have come up over the last couple 
years. One of those things that we are talking about today, 
hate crimes, hate crimes with victims, we have a 55-percent 
increase with African-American-targeted crimes. I can't say 
that the problem would get any easier with less law enforcement 
on the streets. We find them absolutely vital to sharing 
information, ensuring that we get what is happening in their 
areas, and being able to paint that national threat picture 
across many of our programs.
    Mr. Keller. And so, again, I guess I would just sort of 
ask, which sectors of our population would experience the 
greatest impact from these kind of policies?
    Mr. Young. I would say based upon our current statistics, I 
would say it is, you know, definitely, you know, inner city, 
high-population areas, areas of low income, you know, areas 
that have different minorities and diaspora communities that 
may not understand the threat intimidation, that they have 
their civil rights, and I think this would be a continued 
challenge. And I think, you know, with hate crimes, we have 
mandatory federally required reporting, but we do not have that 
with the state and locals, and we believe that is a gap. The 
more accurate data we have, the better conclusions and better 
decisions we can make with our money, our resources, and our 
engagement with our law enforcement partners.
    Mr. Keller. So basically, it would be those sectors of our 
country, those people, those that have advocated for defunding 
police and so on. It would be those people they profess to care 
so much about. I guess I just want to go on to the next thing. 
Threats against any American should not be tolerated, but 
threats against our students are especially intolerable. 
Schools should be an environment in which students can grow, 
learn, and develop their skills, not one that they learn to 
fear. Mr. Haglund, what can Congress do to ensure the safety of 
our students across all sectors, including historically Black 
colleges and universities?
    Mr. Haglund. Thank you, Congressman. So immediately 
following the latest round of threats that we have seen, the 
CISA Regional Field Force prioritized this effort and began a 
direct engagement with the HBCUs. To date, all the HBCUs have 
been directly contacted. Fifty-five have responded with 
specific interest in the resources that the Office for Bombing 
Prevention can provide. We have scheduled six courses already. 
As I mentioned in my opening comments, this Saturday we have 
the training event scheduled with the Atlanta University Center 
Consortium, and so we have received a tremendous amount of 
interest in these resources.
    And so the resources exist. Obviously, we are surging right 
now to meet this demand, but I think the biggest thing that we 
can do, that you can help us with, that our communities can do, 
is elevate the awareness that these resources exist. They are 
readily available. These are valuable resources that can be 
used to elevate preparedness to build the strength and 
resilience that you have heard from these students, and help 
support them in dealing with this threat.
    Mr. Keller. Thank you. I appreciate that, and I yield back.
    Chairwoman Maloney. The gentleman yields back.
    The gentlelady from Michigan, Ms. Tlaib, is recognized for 
five minutes or as much time as she may need.
    Ms. Tlaib. Thank you so much, Chairwoman. I really 
appreciate this hearing. You know, we are only 76 days into 
2022, and yet in these short two-and-a-half months, we, of 
course, have heard that 36 of our amazing historically Black 
colleges and universities have received bomb threats. Eighteen 
of those, as we all know, came on the first day of Black 
History Month. There is no explanation for this other than 
racist desire to terrorize Black communities across our 
country. I know the people in my district know this sort of 
violence and hate all too well. Many of my neighbors and 
residents are lifelong fighters in our collective struggle for 
equity, respect, and peace in our country. The dates may have 
changed, but the tactics and the racist hate remain the same.
    So now, Mr. Young, I understand you cannot answer questions 
about ongoing investigations into the current bomb threats, but 
I do hope that you may have some answers for the American 
people. One question I do have, and, again, I hope that you do 
understand this, and I will be contacting the Department of 
Justice in regards to some of these issues. But how many 
Federal criminal statutes exist right now that covers Federal 
crimes of terrorism?
    Mr. Young. I would have to get you those different----
    Ms. Tlaib. From what I know, Mr. Young, it is about 57 
different Federal criminal statutes. Fifty-one of them apply to 
cases the Federal Government designates domestic terrorism. I 
know Congress already codified the definition ``domestic 
terrorism'' in Federal criminal law in 2001. I just hope we are 
actually having the will and the courage to enforce it. So, Mr. 
Young, I know one of my colleagues did ask this question, but, 
you know, I am wondering is it that you don't know the answer 
or you all are not collecting the information of how many bomb 
threats were made against HBCUs in 2021, 2020, and 2019.
    Mr. Young. I believe that we would collect that data, 
ma'am. I don't have that data with me at this time.
    Ms. Tlaib. I mean, OK. It is ironic because we have a 
hearing, but I do want our committee members to know whether or 
not the FBI actually tracks these domestic terrorism acts 
toward Black colleges, so we will followup. How many arrests 
were made in connection with the bomb threats against HBCUs 
during those years, and did any of those arrests result in 
prosecution, sir?
    Mr. Young. I will get you that data, ma'am. I don't have 
that with me at this time.
    Ms. Tlaib. Do we know of any arrests in connection to any 
of the bomb threats been made?
    Mr. Young. I don't know at this time, but I am positive 
that my organization does.
    Ms. Tlaib. You know, Mr. Young, and to all my colleagues, I 
don't think we need new laws or statutes. What we do need is a 
will and political courage to take this crisis in our country 
very seriously. It isn't just protecting our historical Black 
colleges, you all. It is about communities of color across our 
country. It is about Black-led churches, Black-led 
organizations. What this all says to me is what Black and brown 
communities have been saying to me and for all of us for 
decades is the FBI, an agency founded by a white supremacist 
whose headquarters is still proudly named after Mr. Hoover, 
systematically fails to protect Black and brown communities in 
our country.
    The FBI clearly has a troubled history of failing Black and 
brown Americans, and it is time that we all work together to 
change it. After all, as the FBI's failure to pay attention to 
this issue suggests, our government is indeed failing to arrest 
people and prosecute them for making bomb threats against 
HBCUs. Violent racists are effectively being given, right now 
because we are not doing this, the green light to continue to 
terrorize my Black neighbors because our government has failed 
to adequately address this issue. And, Madam Chair, I want to 
urge the FBI and our committee to urge the FBI and Department 
of Justice to take this extremely seriously and use current 
laws that exist to investigate and prosecute these threats so 
similar extremists are not emboldened to continue terrorizing 
Black communities. It may be colleges today, but tomorrow the 
same violent criminal will go to our local Black churches. We 
have seen it already.
    Again, thank you so much for this important hearing. Thank 
you, and I yield back.
    Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you so much. The gentlelady from 
South Carolina, Ms. Mace, is recognized for five minutes.
    Ms. Mace. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you all for 
participating in this hearing this morning, which is very 
important. As I mentioned earlier today when we had the 
students from historically Black colleges and universities, I 
want to thank them for being here as well. But I never knew as 
an 18-year-old going into the Citadel that that experience 
would prepare me for the job that I have today, serving South 
Carolina's 1st congressional District and working on a number 
of civil rights issues.
    As I mentioned earlier, as the first woman to graduate from 
the Citadel, I received many threats on my life, even a bomb 
threat at my college graduation, and, frustratingly, that 
threat was never resolved. And so I understand that frustration 
when you have over 59 bomb threats in the first quarter of this 
year and no arrests have been made. And I empathize with those 
students and the colleges and universities that are having to, 
unfortunately and unfairly, deal with this issue.
    I also happen to represent a district in South Carolina's 
1st Congressional District that, unfortunately and 
devastatingly, has dealt with some of these issues that we are 
broaching today, including six-and-a-half years ago, almost 
seven years ago when a white supremacist came to Charleston, 
South Carolina and murdered nine Black church members. I also 
represent an area where Walter Scott was murdered, and also 
more recently, just over a year ago, I represent the family of 
Jamal Sutherland, who was tased to death in his jail cell for 
missing a bond hearing that he had no constitutional 
requirement to attend. And so the work that I have done on the 
Civil Rights Subcommittee on Oversight has been very meaningful 
and important work, and I want to thank those from the Federal 
agencies and the students who are here today to answer some of 
our questions.
    I wish we had more data on the increase of threats at 
HBCUs. It sounds like we don't have that. It sounds like 
members from both sides of the aisle would like to request that 
information because I would like to know more on the violent 
crime statistics, how they have increased during COVID-19, the 
kinds of threats. But I also would like to know the percentage 
of threats that have been solved based on these investigations.
    And so one of the questions I had for Assistant Director 
Young today is, from a law enforcement perspective with these 
threats at HBCUs, whether it is the FBI or not, can you speak 
to what resources may or may not have been deployed across the 
campuses when these threats have been happening? What has been 
done to help communicate these threats clearly to students and 
the campuses? How did the FBI respond? I would like to hear a 
little bit more about that, please.
    Mr. Young. Thank you, Congressman. Based upon the different 
situations, and when they came in, and when those reports came 
to us of the different threats, most of them, as I said, came 
through telephone. Some came through email. Some came through--
--
    Ms. Mace. My question is how did the FBI respond, how did 
local law enforcement respond to these campuses, the students, 
the administrative officials at these colleges and universities 
when these threats happened?
    Mr. Young. So we engaged with our local law enforcement. 
Our local law enforcement in those areas respond. Our members 
of our Joint Terrorism Task Force respond. Our bomb technicians 
respond. Our Evidence Response Team responds, personnel that 
can look at doing legal process for potentially subpoenas 
because these are threat to life situations. We also, like I 
say, with our local law enforcement, set up a perimeter, making 
sure that we go through and clear. Like I say, K-9 resources 
for bomb dogs are brought to those different locations to clear 
as expedited as we can. We understand this is absolutely 
disruptive. I mean, we call it terrorism for a reason.
    Ms. Mace. Right. And then working with local law 
enforcement, has that been successful with the threats to the 
HBCUs? Do you feel like that has gone fairly well? It sounds 
extensive, but the working together between state, and local, 
and Federal authorities?
    Mr. Young. Absolutely. Our partnerships with state and 
locals are absolutely so vital to what we do in regards to, you 
know, the violent crime task force or what we would say our 
Joint Terrorism Task Force. We bring in a diverse population of 
Federal and local law enforcement.
    Ms. Mace. Thank you. I got two more things I want to 
address real quick. I have 30 seconds left. As a state lawmaker 
before coming to Congress, I worked on a law enforcement data 
bill that would have prevented Dylann Roof from buying a gun 
and going down and murdering nine Black church members in my 
congressional district and wouldn't have affected anyone's 
legal right to own a firearm as a Second Amendment supporter. 
How important, I mean, is law enforcement data to the FBI in 
assessing these threats?
    Mr. Young. Data is absolutely essential to us being able to 
make, you know, quick decisions I would say.
    Ms. Mace. And one last question, ``yes'' or ``no.'' Would 
defunding the police adversely affect Black, and brown, and 
African-American communities if we were to do that when it 
comes to these threats? ``Yes'' or ``no.''
    Mr. Young. It would negatively affect all communities.
    Ms. Mace. Thank you, and I yield back.
    Chairwoman Maloney. The gentlelady yields back.
    The gentlelady from Florida, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, is now 
recognized.
    Ms. Wasserman Schultz. Thank you, Madam Chair. Three out of 
four HBCUs in my home state of Florida were among those 
recently targeted with bomb threats. For Floridians, these 
threats brought back painful memories of the 1999 bombings that 
actually occurred on FAMU's campus and the long history of 
terrorism and racially motivated violence targeting the Black 
community. We owe it to the students, professors, and campus 
personnel who were traumatized and had their academic pursuits 
disrupted by these cowardly threats to enhance our response to 
domestic terrorism. The improvements needed include better 
Federal and local law enforcement coordination, which really is 
what prompts and drives my question.
    Mr. Young, do you know if the FBI received an inquiry from 
the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on the threats that 
were made to Florida HBCUs? And if so, can you broadly describe 
how you are coordinating with FDLE?
    Mr. Young. I am not aware about that piece, but I will say 
that from my time as a long Florida resident and part of your 
constituency, I would say the Florida Department of Law 
Enforcement was a vital partner with the FBI. They were on a 
number of our task forces as well as the Joint Terrorism Task 
Force in the three offices in that state.
    Ms. Wasserman Schultz. Would you be able to check 
specifically on that question for me, please?
    Mr. Young. Yes, ma'am.
    Ms. Wasserman Schultz. Thank you so much. And what level of 
coordination does the FBI have with campus police departments? 
Do they have enough resources, and are there ways to further 
leverage those relationships? Mr. Haglund, if you could help 
answer that question, but, first, if we could have Mr. Young 
answer.
    Mr. Young. I am sorry, ma'am. I thought that question was 
going----
    Ms. Wasserman Schultz. Mr. Young, no, that is directed to 
you.
    Mr. Young. Could you repeat?
    Ms. Wasserman Schultz. Sure. What level of coordination 
does the FBI have with campus police departments, and do they 
have enough resources, and are there ways to further leverage 
those relationships?
    Mr. Young. So we interact with a number of them. So there 
are associations that represent those campus police. We also we 
get them as members of our Joint Terrorism Task Force that we 
engage with them at the working levels. We engage with them as 
an assistant director in our Office of Partner Engagement. We 
do a lot of coordination with those associations, sharing 
intelligence, ensuring any time there is a threat that is 
national, we make sure to put those products out broadly so 
that they can protect campuses and institutions. So we hit them 
at all levels, ma'am.
    Ms. Wasserman Schultz. OK. And, Mr. Haglund, actually I 
have a different question for you. I understand that DHS is now 
working directly with HBCUs to improve their security 
procedures. And Florida A&M University, for example, is 
actively working with DHS to enhance safety and security on 
campus, including conducting threat assessments, training, and 
outreach. What other actions can HBCUs take if they want to 
have a proactive approach in preparation for potential threats?
    Mr. Haglund. So the way our resources are structured in the 
Office for Bombing Prevention are to make them as widely 
accessible as possible and to meet the needs of everyone from 
administrators, security professionals, down to everyday 
citizens and students. And so if you look across the spectrum 
of the resources that we offer, some are very basic awareness 
type products: a card that you can keep by your phone to 
annotate certain types of activity in terms of recording a bomb 
threat where we could help law enforcement in their 
investigation. There are short videos that are available 
online. We have web-based classes. We have virtual instructor-
led webinar courses that we deliver, all the way up to the most 
complex are those instructor-led courses that can be delivered 
onsite. All those resources are delivered free of charge, so we 
do have a pretty wide range and spectrum that ranges all the 
way from the very technical to security professionals down to 
that more information awareness type.
    Ms. Wasserman Schultz. OK. Well, coordinating with them and 
communicating with them to make sure they are aware of that 
would be incredibly helpful. Last, a signature event in my 
state is the Florida Classic, the annual game between Bethune-
Cookman University and FAMU that stands as the largest Black 
football game in the Nation. But the Classic is more than a 
historic rivalry between the Rattlers and the Wildcats. It is a 
national family and friend reunion that celebrates culture and 
showcases amazing bands. It has drawn millions, literally, from 
around the Nation to Central Florida. What unique security 
challenges arise with these types of large, high-profile 
events, and what resources can DHS bring to the table to help 
ensure people continue to feel safe attending the Florida 
Classic, because I can't stress how important that is for this 
marquee event in our state. Mr. Haglund?
    Mr. Haglund. Certainly. So through our regional staff, we 
have the ability to support special events exactly like that, 
and it could be things from the Super Bowl across the spectrum 
to smaller-rated events at the local level. So I would suggest 
that through that regional staff, they have the opportunity to 
provide vulnerability assessments, to look at specific 
facilities, and match the needed resources that aren't maybe 
exclusive to the Office for Bombing Prevention but cover a 
wider range of threats. And so through that process, through 
the engagement with the CISA regional staff, they can match the 
event directors with the right resources to support the 
preparedness and planning efforts for those events.
    Ms. Wasserman Schultz. Thank you. Interagency coordination 
and information sharing with local law enforcement are crucial 
to addressing hate crimes and extremist threats. Thank you, 
Madam Chair, for this important hearing.
    Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you, and the gentleman from 
Kansas, Mr. LaTurner, is recognized for five minutes.
    Mr. LaTurner. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. Very quickly 
before I begin with my questioning, I just want to note I have 
a young lady from Kansas, Alexa Marshall, shadowing me today. I 
am so glad to have her. And it is spring break, so all four of 
Suzanne and my children are here, and the youngest is with me 
this morning. He has been policing very militantly those not 
wearing green today. I am glad to see most in this room look 
safe. So I just wanted to welcome them and appreciate your 
indulgence.
    Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you. [Inaudible] inclusion.
    Mr. LaTurner. Absolutely. Mr. Haglund, in your testimony, 
you talked about the Administration's National Strategy for 
Countering Domestic Terrorism and it will improve the Federal 
Government's prevention of and response to domestic terrorism. 
Can you explain the specific ways that this new strategy 
improves the United States' response to domestic terrorism 
incidents?
    Mr. Haglund. Congressman, so I will speak specifically to 
our role in the Office for Bombing Prevention and would be 
happy to get back with you with a broader DHS answer. Within 
the Office for Bombing Prevention, we focus specifically on 
that space that allows us to target preventing bombing attacks, 
protecting against, mitigating the consequences of, and then 
responding to those types of events. And so, as I mentioned 
before, we do have a fairly broad spectrum of training 
offerings that we provide. We provide just right around 700 
courses per year to 22,000 students, and so we have a pretty 
high capacity to support counter ID preparedness in that 
perspective.
    Across some of the other functionalities in our office, we 
host the TRIPwire information sharing website. That is a 
fantastic resource for us to share critical information that is 
distilled down to a non-law enforcement sensitive level with 
our partners so they can maintain situational awareness of the 
threat. I would say between our TRIPwire website, our courses, 
probably the best resource for people to reach out to is the 
CISA.gov/OBP site. That is really a one-stop source to access 
all of those resources that I have mentioned. And so that is 
specifically what we do in that counter ID space.
    Mr. LaTurner. Mr. Haglund, I also serve on the Homeland 
Security Committee where I have had the opportunity to interact 
with Director Easterly and discuss cybersecurity issues 
affecting my district specifically. When she was testifying 
before the committee in November, I spoke about a business in 
my district which was the target of a ransomware attack. The 
cost of halted operations, lost revenue, and the ransom, which 
they did pay, was a huge burden on that business. Compared to 
events like these where the impact is more easily identifiable 
by looking at a business' ledgers, how can determinations be 
made regarding the economic impact of a bomb threat to a 
university?
    Mr. Haglund. Congressman, I appreciate the question. I 
think that would vary widely depending on the nature of the 
bomb threat, how the response was conducted. I would be happy 
to circle back with a more definitive answer. But generally, I 
would say the economic impact can vary widely depending on how 
the bomb threat plan is executed at a facility, the scope of 
any impact, any curtailment of operations, and things of that 
nature. So I would say it would vary significantly.
    Mr. LaTurner. Dr. Cooper, you mentioned in your testimony 
that you are working with HBCUs to identify specific needs as a 
result of the current environment, referring to the increased 
threats. What feedback have you received from these educational 
institutions on what their needs are at this time?
    Ms. Cooper. Yes, thank you for your question. So we have 
heard consistently that there is a need for mental health 
supports for their students and their staff, as well as the 
need to shore up their infrastructure related to security and 
things of that nature. And so those are the main things that we 
are hearing, that the security system is outdated and needs to 
be modernized, and these ongoing threats have shown us that 
there is a vulnerability there.
    And so in response to that, we have created a resource 
compendium to make sure that the institutions know where they 
can go to get access to resources across the Federal 
Government, a multi-agency effort that is being coordinated 
along with the others on this panel. So there is a resource 
compendium that is now housed on the Department of Education's 
website with the White House Initiative on HBCUs that outlines 
all of those various resources. And we also are providing 
Project SERV grants, which are small, one-time grants that can 
help to restore the learning environment, and those funds could 
be used to help with some things, such as crisis counselors.
    Mr. LaTurner. Thank you. Really quickly, Assistant Director 
Young, how can we improve the state and local partnership with 
Federal agencies, like the FBI, to better address these types 
of threats?
    Mr. Young. I would say, you know, participating in the 
different task forces, going to quarterly threat briefings, 
making sure that you are engaged with the FBI because we share 
a lot of intel. We share it at the lowest level so we can make 
sure that it can go wide across the different departments and 
municipalities. But engagement with all the Federal agencies is 
vital at, you know, mitigating these threats.
    Mr. LaTurner. Thank you, and thank you, Madam Chairwoman. I 
yield back.
    Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you very much. Ms. Kelly from 
Illinois is recognized.
    Ms. Kelly. Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Haglund, the Office 
for Bombing Prevention was established in response to terrorist 
events, such as the Oklahoma City bombing. The Bombing 
Prevention Act of 2022, which would formally authorize your 
office, was favorably reported by the House Homeland Security 
Committee two weeks ago. One provision of the act directs the 
Office for Bombing Prevention to provide, and I quote, 
``training, guidance, assessments, and planning assistance to 
the public and private sector to help counter the risk of 
terrorist explosive threats.'' How does your office coordinate 
with HBCUs to plan for and help counter bomb threats?
    Mr. Haglund. Thank you, Congresswoman, and we are aware of 
the Bomb Prevention Act and certainly look forward to reviewing 
that in deeper detail. In terms of our engagement with the 
HBCUs to prepare for and prevent these types of attacks, I 
think, as I mentioned, we have a very robust field presence 
through the CISA architecture, and so we have the opportunity 
through those field forces to engage at that local level. And 
they represent a wide range of interests that include physical 
security as well as cybersecurity, subject matter expertise 
when they engage with these HBCUs.
    And so in terms of preparing for a bomb threat, certainly 
they have full access to all the resources that we have in the 
Office for Bombing Prevention, and they are really the conduit 
between our headquarters' programs and delivery in the field. 
And so through their subject matter expertise, their 
relationships they build at the local level, they are able to 
match those best resources to the needs and maybe capability 
gaps that they determine exist at these facilities. And so like 
we have seen already, several of the HBCUs that we have already 
engaged with have requested either existing training or 
specialized training that we can then deliver. And that is how 
we best meet the needs of those individual institutions.
    Ms. Kelly. Thank you so much. In preparing for this 
hearing, we have heard anecdotally that not all HBCUs have the 
same security measures in place for preventing and responding 
to bomb threats. Have you found this, that some are more 
prepared or have more resources than others? You know, what 
level would you say the different colleges are at? Are some 
really good, you know, prepared, and some not so much, some not 
at all?
    Mr. Haglund. So, Congresswoman, I think as you would 
expect, there is a range. I don't have a definitive scope for 
those, but what we are doing is through this series of 
engagements that we have coming up over the next several weeks, 
that will give us an opportunity to make some observations and 
gather some lessons learned that might shed additional light on 
that specific question.
    Ms. Kelly. And then will you give those colleges and 
universities that feedback once you find out?
    Mr. Haglund. Exactly, and that is our best opportunity then 
to match those resources where we see where there might be a 
capability gap or lack of resources.
    Ms. Kelly. The FBI recently reported that bomb threats are 
occurring at an unprecedented rate in 2022 with at least 57 
organizations, including, as was mentioned before, houses of 
worship and HBCUs being targeted. Mr. Young, what can you tell 
us about the increase in bomb threats this year and the types 
of entities being targeted and why do you think that is? Is 
there anything more besides racial targeting?
    Mr. Young. I was going to say, you know, there is a, you 
know, a myriad of reasons why, you know, people look to inflict 
terror on different locations. You know, in regards to what we 
have seen, based upon those messages for the historically Black 
colleges and universities as well as those places worship, 
those were absolutely hate crimes, and they were targeted at 
that community to inflict fear. And it is our full intention to 
bring those subjects to justice.
    Ms. Kelly. Now, I have another question. I don't have any 
historically Black colleges in my district or, frankly, in 
Illinois, but we have minority-serving institutions, such as 
predominantly Black institutions. Are they also being targeted? 
We have minority-serving Black, minority-serving Latinx. What 
about those institutions?
    Mr. Young. I would say in regards to this matter, we have 
had 59. Some other facilities were, you know, tied to 
historically Black, you know, areas. Like I say, going back, is 
we are always concerned with minorities and, you know, 
communities of color being targeted.
    Ms. Kelly. Well, I have, like, Chicago State University. I 
know my time is running out, but I just hope they are getting 
that, you know, attention also. Thank you so much to all the 
witnesses.
    Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you. The gentleman from Georgia, 
Mr. Clyde, is now recognized for five minutes.
    Mr. Clyde. Thank you, Madam Chair. The opportunity to seek 
higher education in our country is a treasured experience that 
has existed in America even before our Nation's founding. Our 
founding fathers, and even those that came before them, took 
great pride and often promoted education in America. These 
institutions of higher learning should be places in which 
students seek to increase their knowledge through peaceful 
discourse and engagement in the curriculum of their choice, and 
any legitimate security threat to that environment must be 
taken seriously by a school's administration and our law 
enforcement apparatus. All people are made in the image of God, 
and all life is precious and should be cherished.
    I thank the chairwoman and ranking member for agreeing to 
my colleague and friend's request to engage on this important 
issue as my home state of Georgia is represented by 10 
historically Black colleges and universities.
    Now, while the media has reported that some of the threats 
were not credible and actually perpetrated by a juvenile 
engaged in a grotesque hoax, I do recognize the seriousness 
with which incidents like this must be approached and have 
several questions for our FBI witness. So, Assistant Director 
Young, in your testimony, I believe you said that most of the 
threats came by phone. Is that correct? Can you confirm that, 
or were some by email or by regular mail, or how did they come, 
sir?
    Mr. Young. So the majority, I think 55 came by phone, four 
by email, one by an instant message, and one was posted on a 
blog.
    Mr. Clyde. OK. Thank you. And so were these threats 
directed to the administrators, or did any come to students, or 
how exactly were they received? Who was the end recipient?
    Mr. Young. They were targeted at, you know, those 
institutions, students at that institution. It was targeted 
against, you know, the African Americans at those churches and 
historically Black colleges.
    Mr. Clyde. I am actually asking who the recipients of those 
were as in, you know----
    Mr. Young. Oh.
    Mr. Clyde. Was the person who actually got the email, was 
it an administrator or was it a student, or how did it actually 
show up there?
    Mr. Young. It came from different means, so some were on 
the, you know, the help lines and different email addresses 
that were set up for those institutions to collect information, 
blogs that were associated. So, you know, different victims or 
different people had seen those and reported them. We have 
subsequently, you know, reached out in our engagement with 
those universities to give them better procedures on, you know, 
how to take, you know, different identifiers. Like I say, time 
urgency on that, making sure that it gets to us as quickly as 
possible.
    Mr. Clyde. OK.
    Mr. Young. And I think----
    Mr. Clyde. All right. Thank you. And you said that no 
devices were found. Is that correct?
    Mr. Young. Yes, sir. There have been no devices, but we do 
not want any of these institutions to be lulled into 
complacency because that does not mean that one of these won't 
be a real threat with a real device.
    Mr. Clyde. Sure. Absolutely. Absolutely. Agree with that. 
Now, in your opinion, were any of these threats actually 
credible?
    Mr. Young. We look at them as all credible, sir. We are 
going to follow all leads. We are going to take all legal 
process. We are going to, you know, build out----
    Mr. Clyde. OK. When I say ``credible,'' I mean was the 
person who actually made the threat, were they capable of 
carrying through with the threat actually to a physical action 
other than simply a verbal threat?
    Mr. Young. I can't comment on that part of the 
investigation, sir.
    Mr. Clyde. OK. So you don't know. All right. All right. So 
how many other bomb threats have been reported to the FBI so 
far this year? Do you know that information?
    Mr. Young. I don't have that, sir. I can get you that 
information.
    Mr. Clyde. OK. I would like to know that to know where we 
are in context here.
    Mr. Clyde. And then, so is this string of bomb threats at 
HBCUs unique to this year, or were HBCUs targeted like this 
last year and the years before?
    Mr. Young. I don't know about these specific institutions. 
I think when we look at our hate crime statistics that our 
numbers have gone up with the African-American community. I 
think----
    Mr. Clyde. So for HBCUs, we had these kind of bomb threats 
last year and the year before. Is that what you are telling me?
    Mr. Young. No, that is that is not what I am saying, sir. I 
would say that there are different communities of color, 
different institutions that have consistently been a target of 
terror, and, I was going to say, we investigate those as acts 
of terror.
    Mr. Clyde. OK. But this is the first year where we have 
seen this kind of activity against HBCUs. Is that your 
testimony?
    Mr. Young. I would say this is the first time we have seen 
a situation where the event started at the beginning of 
February, which is, you know, Black History Month, in these 
numbers in that coordinated effort. And going to what we think 
the connected ones are with potential copycats, that is where 
we would probably differentiate.
    Mr. Clyde. OK. Well, thank you very much. I appreciate your 
testimony, and just to note that when you have an increase in 
crime and people are not punished for it, then you have an 
increase in all sorts of crime. Thank you, and I yield back.
    Chairwoman Maloney. The gentleman yields back.
    The gentlelady from Massachusetts, Ms. Pressley, is now 
recognized.
    Ms. Pressley. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to the 
panel of students who shared their stories and demonstrated so 
clearly the brilliance of our Nation's HBCUs. The bomb threats 
facing HBCUs really must be properly contextualized by 
America's long history of anti-Blackness and white supremacist 
violence against our community. So I really appreciate the 
chair, you holding this space today. Even in the midst of this 
hearing, we see some who would seek to underestimate and to 
discredit the ferociousness of these threats.
    For generations, there have been many seeking to intimidate 
and terrorize Black folks, and they have intentionally targeted 
pillars in our communities across the country, from the 
recurrent attacks on our Black churches, including the bombing 
of the 16th Street Baptist Church that killed four little Black 
girls in 1963 in Alabama, to the predominantly Black churches 
set ablaze by white men in my home state of the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts mere hours after the election victory of 
President Barack Obama. Along with our churches, our HBCUs have 
been sources of community pride, the epicenters of Black 
brilliance, and, yes, the constant targets of white 
supremacists dating as far back as 1865 when arsonists killed 
46 Black people at Lemoyne-Owen College in Tennessee, to the 
1960's when Fisk University and North Carolina A&T received 
numerous bomb threats. The string of threats in 2022 are not an 
anomaly but a chilling chapter in the long and troubling crisis 
of white supremacist violence.
    Dr. Cooper, I would like to discuss the implications of 
this long history of violent intimidation on Black academia 
specifically. During enslavement, Black folks were lynched for 
learning to read. During Jim Crow, we fought for equality in 
education and still do today. Today, our HBCUs students are 
being threatened with bombs. To a hate-filled few, there is 
nothing more dangerous than an educated Black person. So, could 
you speak to the reoccurrence of these threats, Dr. Cooper, and 
what that impact is in generational trauma amongst those in the 
HBCU community, and what would help prospective students, do 
you think, feel secure in considering studying at an HBCU in 
the future other than our, you know, dismantling white 
supremacy and holding those accountable who commit these 
egregious acts? But if you could just speak to that 
generational trauma and what are you are hearing from the 
student body as to what would help them to feel more secure.
    Ms. Cooper. Thank you for your question. Certainly we 
recognize that the current events have to be considered within 
the current and historical context of race-based violence that 
is, in fact, an unfortunate part of American history. We have 
seen these types of threats and bombings before in the Civil 
Rights era, but at the Department of Education, we do believe 
that violence and fear do not belong in our educational 
institutions. We believe that it is the responsibility of each 
and every one of us to do our part to protect our students, and 
we also believe that these bomb threats should not be taken 
lightly.
    HBCUs, they represent a small part of our higher education 
system, yet they have an outsized impact and punch above their 
weight. They enroll about 3 percent of Black students, yet they 
are the producers of 40 percent of the engineers, 50 percent of 
the lawyers, and over 70 percent of the doctors, teachers, and 
judges. They come from HBCUs. So it is very important for us to 
be responsive to these bomb threats and to take them very 
seriously because these institutions have a very important role 
in contributing to the economic work force and in the solvency 
of America and our future.
    Ms. Pressley. And so, in terms of prospective students or 
current students, what have they expressed to you in terms of 
any of their fears and what would allay those fears?
    Ms. Cooper. The students are very concerned about the 
ongoing nature of these threats, and their administrators are 
being responsive to that in as many ways as they can. And for 
our part, we are listening to them and doing our best to engage 
and work alongside of them to be responsive to those needs. So 
we have made sure that we are providing a resource compendium 
so that administrators know where they can go in the government 
to get access to the resources to support their students, and 
we are allowing for Project SERV grants to be used as last-
dollar support to help with some outstanding needs that they 
may have to help restore the learning environment. Students do 
have strength and they have resiliency, and they believe that 
they are going to continue, just like their predecessors, to 
move forward with their education. They do not like the fact 
that they have to continue to deal with these types of issues 
even in this modern context of 2022, but they are moving 
forward.
    Ms. Pressley. Thank you. And I think it is so important 
that we bring Congresswoman Adams' bill to the floor and 
support this IGNITE bill for HBCUs who have been under 
resourced but have been outsized in their contributions for 
generations. Thank you.
    Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you. The gentleman from Texas, 
Mr. Fallon, is recognized for five minutes.
    Mr. Fallon. Thank you, Madam Chair, and you look great in 
green today on St. Patrick's Day of all days.
    [Laughter.]
    Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you.
    Mr. Fallon. I just heard one of our colleagues say, and I 
am going to quote, ``There is nothing more dangerous than an 
educated Black person.'' I could not disagree with that 
statement more. I would like to say there is nothing more 
wonderful than an educated American, and their pigmentation is 
as irrelevant as it is immaterial.
    Director Young, so I am reading that we had 59 bomb threats 
at HBCUs from the beginning of the year until the middle of 
February. So my question to you is, and I think I know the 
answer, but I just want to make sure, because I was in another 
committee hearing, that there have been no arrests made. Is 
that correct?
    Mr. Young. That is correct, sir. I was going to say the 
first one was notified to us on January 31, so with this, we 
are not going from the beginning of the year. It was January 31 
and continued through the month of February.
    Mr. Fallon. OK. And, you know, when you have threats like 
this, it is hard to measure the fear that it can construe and 
cause, but there is also a cost in disruption, of course, of 
the university, and there is a cost of the investigation that 
you are all involved with as well. So we don't have any arrests 
made, but then I read that the FBI believes these are emanating 
from six tech-savvy juveniles. Is that correct?
    Mr. Young. Yes, correct, sir.
    Mr. Fallon. All right. So we haven't made any arrests, so 
how do we know that they are coming from six tech-savvy 
juveniles?
    Mr. Young. Some of them come from encrypted platforms, and 
so it has been, you know, challenges with attribution.
    Mr. Fallon. So how would we know the ages of the people, 
the perpetrators if we don't know who they are?
    Mr. Young. I can't go too much more into the investigation, 
sir, but I will let you understand that this is a high 
priority. We are utilizing not only our counterterrorism 
resources and those of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, but 
folks with our Operational Technology Division to help with 
some of the complications with, you know, technical issues as 
well as our Weapons of Mass Destruction Division----
    Mr. Fallon. Right.
    Mr. Young [continuing]. And as well as with cyber.
    Mr. Fallon. So we don't know who they are, but we know they 
are juveniles. And then how do we know what their motivations 
are if we don't know who they are? I am confused.
    Mr. Young. Like I said, I don't want to go too much into 
the investigation, sir, but based upon the statements that were 
made, that were received by those divisions, they were what we 
would call racially motivated.
    Mr. Fallon. Right, from the statements, but we don't know 
who it is yet because I have just seen this before where some 
of them are actually, you know, not only to the point of 
credible, but they are folks that certainly had a racial 
motivation, and then there are some false flags as well. What I 
want to ask, Director, if you know, what are the penalties for 
something like this? Let's say we get a conviction. Somebody 
called in a bomb threat. Is there a difference in the penalties 
if it was genuinely motivated by hate or if it was just 
somebody that wanted to get out of taking a test, or are they 
the same because I think they should be the same.
    Mr. Young. You know, if it is threats of violence and they 
are called-in threats, they are treated exactly the same. And 
there are, what I would say, additional penalties depending on 
what is developed through the investigation, and, you know, I 
would just leave it at that.
    Mr. Fallon. Well, because if somebody calls in a bomb 
threat regardless of their intent, whether they just want to 
get out of a test or they really have a hatred, it is still 
causing the same fear. It is still causing the same disruption. 
It is still causing the same cost from an investigative 
standpoint. So I would be firmly in favor of increasing 
penalties for this because it is something that just takes so 
much time away from what we are trying to do here, which is 
educate young people.
    Mr. Young. I would add, sir----
    Mr. Fallon. Yes, please.
    Mr. Young [continuing]. That, you know, we receive between, 
you know, 5,000 just call-in tips a day as well as call-ins to 
our, I was going to say, through the internet that are pushed 
through to us as far as tips. And a number of these are what we 
call threat to life, you know, bombing matters being one of 
them, that require immediate response.
    Mr. Fallon. And, Director, do you have any idea how much 
this costs the FBI? Do you guys ever----
    Mr. Young. I mean----
    Mr. Fallon. Go ahead.
    Mr. Yung. For us, terrorism is our No. 1 priority. We don't 
want more terrorism, but----
    Mr. Fallon. Well, nobody wants more terrorism. What I am 
asking is specifically on these bomb threats because it does 
cause the college disruption, and it causes fear to the 
students and the faculty, and then it costs a lot of money in 
law enforcement, both campus, local, and at the Federal level.
    Mr. Young. It takes significant resources across all 
levels, sir, and we send out our subject matter experts in 
regards to evidence, in regards to, you know, bomb technicians. 
So, yes, it takes a significant amount of resources across law 
enforcement as well as the disruption.
    Mr. Fallon. Thank you. I know I am over in time. I would 
just love to be able to quantify that at some point. Thank you.
    Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you.
    Mr. Fallon. I yield back.
    Chairwoman Maloney. The gentleman yields back.
    The gentlewoman from Ohio, Ms. Brown, is now recognized for 
her questions.
    Ms. Brown. Thank you, Chairwoman Maloney and Ranking Member 
Comer, for holding this very important hearing. I appreciate 
the student leaders who shared their experiences and thank this 
panel for being here with us today. I would also like to just 
reiterate and associate myself with Congresswoman Pressley's 
comments regarding the statement that she made, which was, 
``hate-fueled people are fearful of an educated Black person.'' 
And if that weren't true, there wouldn't be lynchings for 
people who were reading or fighting for equal rights, so I just 
want to make that distinction for my other colleague.
    The string of recent bomb threats against HBCUs are also 
cowardly, hate-fueled, and despicable acts of terror. These 
bomb threats are not just threats to the physical safety of 
HBCUs and their students. They are also attacks on the mental 
health and well-being of the students, the faculty, and the 
staff, so, Dr. Cooper, targeting HBCUs, especially at the 
beginning of Black History Month, is nothing short of 
despicable. Can you speak to how these bomb threats against 
HBCUs, especially during Black History Month, might have 
affected the mental health of the students?
    Ms. Cooper. I am happy to answer your question. Thank you. 
So as you said, there were certainly a number of these that 
occurred during Black History Month, and they have continued to 
occur as recently as this week. We did several campus visits. 
One was to Tennessee State University and another was North 
Carolina Central. In each of these, we spoke to students, and 
Secretary Cardona even facilitated a roundtable on mental 
health issues at North Carolina Central University along with 
Governor Cooper, the Governor of North Carolina. And the theme 
of mental health, the stressors of the pandemic, now the bomb 
threats was just persistent and ongoing. We heard it over and 
over again. And I think we have to remember that just because 
no explosive devices have been found, we cannot underestimate 
the violent impact and the trauma that this has had on our 
students and others on the campus community.
    Ms. Brown. Thank you. I was pleased to see that yesterday 
Vice President Harris announced additional resources to Project 
SERV grants targeted toward HBCUs that have been impacted by 
the bomb threats. In addition to executing the implementation 
of these grants, what steps in the Department of Education can 
they take to help the institution address the mental health 
needs?
    Ms. Cooper. So we are doing several things to address the 
mental health needs here at the Department of Education. 
Certainly Project SERV grants will be one of those things. 
Institutions who have been impacted by these bomb threats will 
get outreach from someone on our team who will work on an 
individualized basis to make sure we are understanding what 
needs remain unmet and how Project SERV dollars, which are 
small, last-dollar funds, can support them. In addition to 
that, we have other resources through our Title III grant 
programs as well as some HEERF dollars that might be able to 
help broader mental health issues that are associated with the 
pandemic. We have guidance that will be forthcoming within the 
next month or so related to how institutions can use those 
HEERF dollars, which are broadly for pandemic recovery, to 
support institutions and students at this particular time.
    Ms. Brown. Well, thank you again. As a student myself of 
Wilberforce University and another proud alumni of HBCUs, I am 
grateful. And I believe that we must continue to work to hold 
those responsible for these threats accountable and prevent any 
future copycat attacks so that students attending HBCUs don't 
live in constant fear. They deserve safe spaces. HBCUs are 
building the next generation of Black leaders, and Congress 
must continue to recognize their contributions in the most 
important way possible by forwarding the support, the 
infrastructure, and the investment to keep them and our future 
leaders safe and secure. So thank you very much, and with that, 
I yield back.
    Chairwoman Maloney. The gentlelady yields back, and the 
gentleman of from Kentucky, the ranking member, Mr. Comer, is 
now recognized for his five minutes.
    Mr. Comer. Thank you, Madam Chair. My questions will be 
referenced to Assistant Director Young. Sir, I understand this 
is an ongoing investigation and there are certain things you 
can't disclose, but I think you can sense from our side of the 
aisle the frustration that there haven't been arrests made yet. 
I understand that the FBI has identified persons of interest in 
the case. Could you say how many different people are involved 
in these bomb threats? Is it primarily one or two, or are 
there, you know, dozens? Can you say how many persons of 
interest you have identified in these cases?
    Mr. Young. For a number of them, we have it, you know, tied 
to around six individuals with one being a little bit more 
specific. After that, it gets a little bit more complicated, 
and I would like to, just with the ongoing investigation, just 
leave it at that.
    Mr. Comer. What is the FBI doing through its task forces to 
ensure that copycats don't surface, and what are you doing to 
protect historically Black colleges from those who threaten 
violence like what we have talked about today?
    Mr. Young. I think they need to understand that we take 
these things very seriously, and our intention is to bring 
these individuals to justice. And justice should hopefully 
mitigate future people that think that they can intimidate and 
discriminate against, you know, these populations of color.
    Mr. Comer. So it is my understanding that some of these 
individuals are using sophisticated cybertechnologies to mask 
their identities and make the bomb threats. Can you tell the 
committee what the FBI is doing to make sure it stays one step 
ahead of criminals who use sophisticated technology to threaten 
violence?
    Mr. Young. Yes, it is a constant, what we call, digital 
literacy, making sure that we are, you know, training our work 
force at all levels to understand so that when we get to some 
of these more critical, or, well, I would say difficult 
situations, that we get them to the subject matter experts. I 
would say one of the things that we do in our Operational 
Technology Division is we procure different technologies to 
test it so that when it is used against us, we understand the 
mechanisms, what we need to do to defeat it. I would also say 
that we coordinate across our intelligence community so when 
other new technologies come about, we are looking to level set, 
have a greater understanding. We also coordinate with foreign 
partners to make sure what other technologies that are being 
put together by foreign adversaries or foreign governments, 
that if it is utilized or used to influence or inflict harm to 
U.S. citizens, that we can recognize that and understand how to 
place attribution and bring those individuals to justice should 
they conduct criminal activity.
    Mr. Comer. Let me go back to the persons of interest. What 
is the FBI doing to ensure that those persons of interest don't 
make other bomb threats to disrupt other universities?
    Mr. Young. I would say we have conducted an aggressive 
investigation. I think, you know, without divulging any other 
information, that I think individuals know that they are under 
the scope of an investigation, and, I was going to say, 
mitigating future activity.
    Mr. Comer. Well, let me conclude by saying this. We 
strongly hope to read very soon that you all have made an 
arrest or arrests with these suspects because it just seems 
like there is a pattern all across America to not make as many 
arrests, this criminal justice reform, which there are aspects 
that I support. But it seems like there has been a lot of 
decreased arrests, decreased prosecutions. We have seen 
countless criminals released early in the form of COVID or in 
the name of criminal justice reform. I know there are a lot of 
people that have referenced mental health.
    You know, we had a situation in Louisville, Kentucky, where 
one of the leading candidates for mayor had an assassination 
attempt by him in broad daylight, and less than two hours later 
the suspect was apprehended and less than two hours after that 
was released, and advocates were claiming mental health issues. 
So, you know, I don't know what is going on here. This is 
serious. I understand the FBI is taking this very seriously, 
but we certainly hope that there are some arrests made and some 
people are held accountable for these acts of violence.
    Madam Chair, I yield back.
    Chairwoman Maloney. The gentleman yields back.
    The gentleman from Maryland, Mr. Sarbanes, is recognized 
for five minutes.
    Mr. Sarbanes. Thank you, Madam Chair. Count me a little bit 
perplexed by the last 45 seconds of what we just heard from our 
colleague across the aisle, but I want to thank you for this 
hearing. Obviously, last week, the House stood strongly in 
condemning the recent threats of violence against many HBCUs, 
including Morgan State, Bowie State, and Coppin State 
Universities in the state of Maryland. I am glad that we are 
examining how to better support these institutions and their 
students with this hearing today. As we all know, HBCUs were 
created in response to the long and unjust history of Black 
Americans too often being denied admission to institutions of 
higher educations across our country. Today, the HBCUs continue 
to offer quality education for millions of students, including 
large shares of low-income and first-generation college 
students.
    Dr. Cooper, according to your testimony, approximately 60 
percent of HBCU students rely on Pell Grants, while many others 
rely on other forms of need-based financial aid. I was pleased 
that the omnibus legislation passed last week included a $400 
increase in the maximum Pell Grant award, but I think we can go 
further than that. Many of us have advocated to go further than 
that. Could you just talk about how the recent increase in the 
Federal Pell Grant will impact the educational opportunities 
and economic security of HBCUs students?
    Ms. Cooper. I am happy to talk about that. Certainly 
college affordability is a very important issue, one that we 
take very seriously. And as we know, we need to be increasing 
the number of students who are enrolling and completing our 
colleges, and to do that and do that well, we need to make sure 
that college is affordable. And so the Pell Grant increase of 
$400, the highest in over a decade, is really going to be very 
advantageous to students at HBCUs where well over the vast 
majority of those students rely on those grants to enroll and 
persist in completing their degrees.
    Mr. Sarbanes. Thanks very much. We also know that the 
chronic underfunding has forced public HBCUs to rely more 
heavily on Federal, state, and local funding than their non-
HBCU counterparts. Again, I am pleased that the recently passed 
omnibus included historic investments in HBCUs, but the recent 
threats of violence have made it clear that more is needed to 
ensure these institutions have the necessary resources to 
create not only high-quality learning environments but also 
safe environments. Dr. Cooper, again to you, how is the 
Department of Education working to provide additional 
resources--you have touched on this a little bit, but maybe you 
could offer some further perspective--additional resources to 
HBCUs in the wake of recent violence, and what more can we do 
here in Congress to support those efforts?
    Ms. Cooper. Sure. So I think you are absolutely correct 
when you say that the threats have certainly exposed a 
longstanding funding inequity. These institutions have been the 
recipients of historic underfunding on so many different 
fronts, and that has contributed to the infrastructure 
vulnerabilities that we are contending with, given some of 
these bomb threats. And so some of the commitments that we have 
made at the Department of Education, we have made historic 
investments through the Biden Administration in support of 
HBCUs. To date, it has been $5.8 billion, and these include 
funds related to the American Rescue Plan as well as the HBCU 
Capital Financing Program that forgave $1.6 billion in 
infrastructure debt and that supported 45 HBCU campuses.
    In addition to that, we have our Title III funds that 
support HBCUs, and given the targeted, repeated, and ongoing 
nature of these bomb threats, Project SERV dollars have been 
opened to HBCU campuses that have been impacted by a bomb 
threat. Project SERV will provide small, short-term, last-
dollar funds to restore the learning environment. And certainly 
there are additional needs related to these threats, and we are 
working as a whole-of-government approach in the resource 
compendium that was also released yesterday by Vice President 
Kamala Harris, provide some of the resources that you have 
heard, the others on this panel talked about. In addition, it 
talks more about some of the grant opportunities, some of the 
trainings, and some of the guidance related to mental health 
and other ways that we can support the institutions at this 
particular time.
    Mr. Sarbanes. Thank you so much. I mean, existing funding 
streams and then special responses to some of these situations, 
if you put all that together, I think HBCUs can feel more 
fortified and strengthened as they deliver these really amazing 
and high-quality educational services across the country. But 
we have to stay focused on that and make sure that they 
continue to feel fortified. Thank you for your testimony.
    I yield back, Madam Chair.
    Chairwoman Maloney. The gentlewoman from New York, Ms. 
Ocasio-Cortez, is recognized for five minutes.
    Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. Thank you. Thank you, Chairwoman. We are 
seeing that hate crimes are on the rise across all demographics 
in the United States, but I would like to take a moment in this 
hearing and we discuss the rise of hate crimes and bomb threats 
targeting the Black community specifically. Mr. Young, 
according to the FBI's most recently published data, there were 
2,871 hate crimes against Black Americans in 2020, and that was 
a nearly 50-percent increase in one year over 2019. My 
understanding is that this was the highest-recorded number of 
hate crimes against the Black community in 15 years. Is that 
correct?
    Mr. Young. That is correct. That is correct, Congresswoman.
    Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. In fact, this also seems to be the 
largest spike in anti-Black hate crimes that has ever been 
recorded since the FBI started the hate crime statistics 
reporting in 1991. That is also correct, yes?
    Mr. Young. Yes, ma'am.
    Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. I am interested a little bit about the 
current threats targeting Black institutions. How does this 
current spate of threats against HBCUs compare to those 
directed at them in the past?
    Mr. Young. I was going to say, just if I could add to your 
first part, one of the things I want you to be aware of is when 
we look at our priorities over this last year, we have 
increased our civil rights response because of this spike to 
what we would call a national threat priority, so that gets our 
highest level of resources and investigation for our criminal 
investigation programs. So in regards to the spike, you know, I 
don't have year-to-year, but I will say, you know, 
traditionally, there are, you know, racial, you know, crimes 
directed at the African-American community as well as the 
Jewish community. I think, as you know from one of your 
constituents up there, these are communities that are frequent 
targets, and that is why it is absolutely essential that we 
have clear lines of communication, that they know what their 
civil rights are, and that they know that they are a priority. 
But I was going to say, could I add any more to your question?
    Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. Thank you. Actually, if I may, I wanted 
to ask Mr. Haglund a quick question, and perhaps if we have 
time, we can go back. In January of this year, DHS published a 
National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin that warns that 
there is currently a heightened domestic violence extremism 
threat environment in the United States. The bulletin stated, 
and I quote, ``Mass casualty attacks and other acts of targeted 
violence conducted by lone offenders and small groups acting in 
furtherance of ideological beliefs and/or personal grievances 
pose an ongoing threat to the Nation.'' Mr. Haglund, there is a 
bit of friction, a little bit, in the language of that bulletin 
because we know two things to be true. One, we know that white 
extremists are driven by violent white supremacist ideological 
beliefs, but two, we also know that violent extremism poses the 
largest current threat to domestic security in the United 
States.
    So I am curious about this language that the agency is 
using around ``lone wolves.'' You know, I think some folks 
would ask, wouldn't it be accurate to say that this violence 
isn't actually a result of lone wolves but part of a larger 
concerning pattern of growing white supremacist ideology in the 
United States, including membership, in a very large degree, of 
digital and in-person white supremacist organizations?
    Mr. Haglund. Thank you, Congresswoman. So I believe the 
intent of the document is to cover a wide spectrum. Here in the 
Office for Bombing Prevention where we specifically look at 
bombing threats, that is where we focus our attention. And we 
look at instances like a Nashville-type bombing where you do 
have a lone individual as an example of a significant act that 
had cascading consequences. And then you look at these bomb 
threats, and obviously these are open investigations, and my 
FBI colleague has explained that, you know, there is more to 
follow here, that we will see how this plays out through the 
investigations. But I think the intent of the document is to 
cover a broader perspective, but we are very narrowly focused 
on that bombing perspective here in the Office for Bombing 
Prevention.
    Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. Thank you very much. I yield my time.
    Chairwoman Maloney. The gentlelady yields back, and the 
gentlewoman from Missouri, Ms. Bush, is recognized for five 
minutes.
    Ms. Bush. St. Louis and I thank you, Madam Chair, for 
convening this hearing.
    As the Congresswoman for St. Louis, home of Harris-Stowe 
State University, my alma mater, I unequivocally condemn the 
rising tide of white supremacist violence against our 
historically Black colleges and universities. For decades, our 
beloved institutions of Black education have been subjected to 
the brutality of white terror with very little recourse 
available to those hurt along the way. I urge my colleagues to 
consider the long-lasting implications of providing carceral 
solutions to social problems, particularly in relation to the 
health and safety of Black students. We have to ask ourselves, 
does increased police presence at our HBCUs make our Black 
students, Black faculty, and administrators feel safe?
    In discussing the recent bomb threat with leaders of 
Harris-Stowe, the need to drastically improve their campus 
safety infrastructure with additional external lighting, modern 
camera systems, reinforced windows, and electronically secure 
doors is a top priority. Our HBCU administrators are calling 
for consistent Federal support to retain campus staff for 
mental health and counseling services that provide trauma-
informed care to students on campus. I am proud to support 
legislation like H.R. 3294, the IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act, to 
significantly improve the infrastructure and security of HBCU 
campuses. Congress must take strides to reverse the decades-
long trend of underinvestment, of neglect, and of violence 
against HBCUs.
    Mr. Young, the FBI has labeled activists like me in the 
movement to save Black lives ``Black identity extremists,'' and 
use this classification to surveil and imprison Black 
protesters. Can you explain how domestic counterterrorism 
methods like mass surveillance will not harm Black students 
activists specifically on HBCU campuses?
    Mr. Young. Good morning, Congresswoman. I was going to say, 
you know, when it comes to domestic terrorism, we identify them 
as you know, first anti-government, anti-authority extremism. 
The second one is racially or ethnically motivated, you know, 
violence extremism, and then some other, you know, criteria 
after that, but it is all around violence. And so we do not 
police free speech. We are not here to infringe on anybody's 
First Amendments, but, you know, we also go over and, you know, 
outreach to those communities so that they understand that we 
are there to support them, that they have a voice to reach out 
to, that they understand what their First Amendment rights are, 
and that, you know, anybody that discriminates against them is 
wrong.
    As I told the previous Congressman, civil rights has been 
elevated to our highest priority in our criminal investigative 
divisions. And, you know, we purposely and deliberately reached 
out to these universities when these threats happened. We 
wanted their resilience. We did not want to diminish any other 
aspirations or any fear, and we needed to make sure that we had 
clear lines of communication at all levels. And so we don't 
want any community in America to feel threatened or 
intimidated.
    Ms. Bush. Thank you. Dr. Cooper, your written testimony 
evoked your father's memory of the tragic Orangeburg massacre 
in which white state troopers indiscriminately fired into a 
crowd of Black students and killed three people. In cases where 
the threat of white supremacist violence comes from law 
enforcement officials, what resources can the Department of 
Education provide to keep our HBCU campuses safe?
    Ms. Cooper. Yes, thank you for that. My father was a 
graduate of South Carolina State University. He attended that 
institution because at the time, there was no other institution 
in the state of South Carolina that would have allowed him to 
attend and attend safely. So I recognize that this threat of 
violence is one that has been a part of the HBCU story for 
quite some time.
    At the Department of Education, we are working in 
conjunction with our partners and the law enforcement arms--
Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice--and we 
are taking their leads in terms of the enforcement aspects of 
these threats. And we are working directly with HBCU partners 
and institutional leaders to make sure that we can help them 
support students' academic, social, and emotional needs 
throughout this endeavor.
    Ms. Bush. Thank you. Can you, Dr. Cooper, describe how 
HBCUs, like Harris-Stowe, will benefit from the Department of 
Education Project SERV grants to improve the infrastructure and 
help to bolster student and faculty safety?
    Ms. Cooper. Yes, I would be happy to, and I should also add 
that the president of Harris-Stowe is one of the presidents 
that Secretary Cardona and I had an opportunity to speak to. 
And one of the things that we have been doing is listening and 
learning, and so these resources that we have put together--the 
Project SERV grant dollars as well as the resource compendium 
that provides a layout, simplified, streamlined, easy-to-
understand information about the whole-of-government response 
and support for HBCUs--is a direct response to some of the 
things that we heard from Harris-Stowe's president. So we thank 
her for that.
    Ms. Bush. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Cooper, and I yield 
back.
    Chairwoman Maloney. The gentlelady yields back.
    Wait. First, I have to announce that before we move on, 
Executive Assistant Director Ryan Young has a very hard stop at 
12 p.m. due to pressing Bureau business. Executive Assistant 
Director Young, we thank you for your participation today, and 
you are excused. Thank you for participating in our hearing.
    Mr. Young. Thank you.
    Chairwoman Maloney. The gentlewoman from Michigan, Mrs. 
Lawrence, is recognized for five minutes.
    [No response.]
    Chairwoman Maloney. You are muted, Representative Lawrence.
    Mrs. Lawrence. I am unmuted now. Thank you so much.
    Chairwoman Maloney. OK. Thank you.
    Mrs. Lawrence. As the vice chair of the congressional Black 
Caucus and also as the founder and co-chair of the Black Jewish 
Caucus, this hearing is very important to me. I have a few 
questions as I continuously look at these issues of hate 
crimes.
    Many of our HBCUs are already facing critical funding needs 
prior to these bomb threats to their campuses. The institutions 
are limited in how they can prepare and respond to threats when 
they lack resources to boost their security and implement best 
practices. How do you perceive the gap? You know, we know the 
reality, that there is this personal desire and agency desire 
to provide security, but the reality of implementing those 
things. Do you have any comments on how the Excellence Act will 
enhance or take care of that gap? And I will send this to Mr. 
Sean Haglund and Ms. Cooper.
    Mr. Haglund. Thank you for the question Congresswoman. So 
we have not seen through our historic engagement any 
significant differences in the ability to apply the processes 
and procedures that we recommend through the resources that we 
provide. I think we will have another opportunity as we move 
forward here with some of the engagements that I mentioned in 
Atlanta this weekend, some of the other courses and in-person 
engagements that we have got over the next several weeks to 
probably get a finer level of detail on where some of those 
particular gaps may be that you are referencing. But we don't 
have any historical context for that, but certainly it is an 
area that we will continue to reflect on and highlight as we 
move forward with these engagements that are result of the 
heightened level of awareness right now. And we do hope we get 
some good observations and lessons learned over the next 
several weeks.
    Mrs. Lawrence. Well, I just wanted to comment because I am 
very active with the Black Jewish caucus, and when the threats 
to the synagogues were made, there were instant investment into 
surveillance. There were training that took place with the 
synagogue members to prepare them, drills and all of that. So, 
Dr. Cooper, how can I be assured that the Black colleges, 
HBCUs, are going to be prepared other than just a sense of 
heightened awareness?
    Ms. Cooper. Yes, I am happy to respond. So we certainly 
know that there is historic underfunding that HBCUs have had to 
contend with for quite some time. There was a study that was 
done by the Government Accountability Office that found that 
HBCU land grant institutions were under funded by at least 
$12.8 million compared to its predominantly white peer 
institutions. In addition to that, HBCUs tend to have much 
smaller endowments than their comparable peer institutions in 
the state. So funding is a very real issue, and we have heard 
from college presidents who we have spoken to repeatedly that 
they have had to divert their small resources that they 
currently have to the bomb threats.
    So the ongoing need for resources is very real. The 
Administration, we are committed to doing our part to 
continuing to support HBCUs through the various funding pots 
that we have available to us, which includes the HBCU Capital 
Financing Program, the Title III grants, and now, in addition, 
Project SERV. The resource compendium that we have released as 
a part of our response to the bomb threats also provides a list 
of resources that are available to HBCUs, related to the bomb 
threats specifically, to help Department of Homeland Security, 
Health and Human Services, Department of Justice, and the like.
    So we are hoping that with the whole-of-government, multi-
agency response, that we will be able to knit together the 
types of resources that at least help HBCUs weather this 
particular storm.
    Mrs. Lawrence. I appreciate that, and I appreciate the fact 
that there is an awareness that there is a funding issue and 
there will be a gap. Earlier this year, the co-chairs, which 
includes myself of the congressional Caucus on Black Jews, 
requested a briefing from the Department of Justice and the FBI 
on these recent hate crimes, and I look forward to working with 
you all to determine what steps you can do and take to reverse 
the alarming trend of hate crimes and keep our campuses safe. 
And I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to act 
now.
    Thank you so much, and I yield back.
    Chairwoman Maloney. The gentlelady yields back. I now 
recognize the last Member of Congress to question today, and 
she is the gentlelady from North Carolina, Ms. Adams, who is 
herself an educator and the founder and co-chair of the HBCU 
Caucus. I want to thank her for her selfless and dedicated work 
on behalf of HBCUs and for staying the entire hearing on this 
issue. Ms. Alma Adams.
    Ms. Adams. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Ranking 
Member Comer. It has been an incredible meeting. Thank you for 
the interest.
    The eyes and the ears of the U.S. Congress are squarely 
focused on what is happening to our HBCUs. I remember W.E.B. Du 
Bois, who said, ``Of all the civil rights for which the world 
has struggled and fought for for 500 years, the right to learn 
is undoubtedly the most fundamental.'' And so I want to begin 
by thanking our students who came today for their courage for 
they are HBCU strong. I am, as you said, a two-time graduate of 
North Carolina A&T, taught at Bennett College, both HBCUs. I 
taught at Bennett for 40 years and am founding co-chair of the 
bipartisan HBCU Caucus. And it really breaks my heart that 
there are those who would seek to harm students who look like 
those who testified today and my grandson, who is a junior at 
Howard, because of where they go to school. Terrorism and 
racism have no place on college campuses or anywhere else. 
These were hate crime, acts of terror. And so the students who 
testified today reminded me, and all of us it should, of why we 
invest in education of our young people and our future leaders 
because HBCUs, as has been said, produce top-notch talent and 
future leaders.
    Assistant Secretary Cooper, as a former faculty member, I 
have had numerous conversations with the presidents and 
chancellors about the threats. I know that these threats have 
had negative impacts on students, on faculty and staff, and 
they are major disruptions on the academic programs, and they 
really don't have the resources that they need. And so many of 
these threats came to our schools in the early morning hours. 
Dr. Wims of Alabama A&M told me that his school received a 
threat at 2:30 a.m. And you mentioned that the institution 
should have the resources that they need, so my question: what 
resources can we provide for schools to help notify students 
and address these threats that occur at any hour?
    Ms. Cooper. Yes, ma'am, I am happy to answer your question. 
I think what we were hearing, these early morning bomb threats 
are a common occurrence now, and we recognize that it is 
putting a stress and a stretch. It is stretching and stressing 
the campus security infrastructure, and we are hearing that 
repeatedly about the need to modernize their infrastructure and 
to improve and create some alert systems that can help.
    You know, I have talked a little bit about what we are 
trying to do at the Department of Education with the resources 
that we currently have available, Project SERV grants, those 
small grants to help with last-dollar needs. The Title III 
grants can help with that, but they also are helping with other 
needs to help to buildup the academic and the fiscal management 
infrastructure. There are the HEERF dollars that support the 
recovery. We have these various pots, and we are doing our 
absolute best to continue to be responsive, but we recognize 
that there is some need that is unmet. So we certainly----
    Ms. Adams. Well, let me----
    Ms. Cooper. Yes, ma'am.
    Ms. Adams. OK. So I want to continue with that.
    Ms. Cooper. OK.
    Ms. Adams. So we have seen that the Biden Administration 
and Vice President Harris just announced that they are eligible 
for the SERV Program. So how can we ensure that these schools 
have immediate access to these necessary resources given the 
immediate threat?
    Ms. Cooper. Yes. We will have someone from our team reach 
out to all of these institutions who have been impacted. We 
have already had some outreach, but we are going to have 
another outreach to let them know about Project SERV.
    Ms. Adams. Well, thank you so much. You know, we know that 
our campus infrastructure is not where it needs to be, and I 
was listening to the representative from Michigan. We have had 
to make all kinds of adjustments, particularly with COVID and 
so forth, so, yes, they have had to use the resources that they 
have and to supplement those. So what else should the 
Department of Education and the Federal Government be doing to 
help address this challenge?
    Ms. Cooper. Yes. So at the Department, we are going to 
continually use the resources available to us. That includes 
Title III, Project SERV, the HBCU Capital Financing Program, 
and we would be happy to partner with Congress on any type of 
effort that could really help to serve, to strengthen the 
safety and security of HBCU students and their administrators. 
We know that over 46 percent of HBCUs have some type of 
deferred maintenance that totals over $67 million, and we 
really would want to work in partnership with the Congress and 
state budgets, who are showing some fiscal strength in Fiscal 
Year 2022. We think this could be a good time to use those 
healthy budgets to recommit and repay the debt that is owed to 
state-sponsored HBCUs.
    Ms. Adams. Great. Let me just say in closing, thank you 
very much for being here. Thanks to all the witnesses. And, 
Chairwoman Maloney, I want to thank you for hosting this 
hearing. I am grateful for your leadership and, particularly, 
your support of my legislation, the IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act, 
which would help resolve some of the things that we are talking 
about. I am grateful as well to UNCF, TMCF, and NAFEO, who have 
been consistent allies and friends to our schools. And, Madam 
Chair, thank you so very much and to all of my colleagues. I 
want to yield back. Thank you.
    Chairwoman Maloney. Thank you, and thank you to all of my 
colleagues who participated today, and thank you to all of the 
government witnesses. A very special thank you to Ranking 
Member Comer, and thank you, again, to Congressman Byron 
Donalds for requesting this extremely important hearing. I also 
want to thank Congressman Jamie Raskin for his partnership on 
this issue and his commitment to combatting violent white 
supremacy. His staff worked alongside my own dedicated staff, 
some of whom are HBCU graduates themselves, to prepare for 
today's hearing.
    I am particularly thankful to our student witnesses for 
conveying the vital importance of historically Black colleges 
and universities and sharing their personal experiences with 
these horrific threats. These students personify why we are 
fighting to ensure that HBCUs have the resources they need to 
help keep students safe. I am personally invested in ensuring 
that each of these students reach their full potential and that 
these institutions stay strong and vibrant.
    I would also like to thank our witnesses from the Biden-
Harris Administration. We appreciate the work that each of you 
and your agencies are doing to support HBCUs and keep their 
students safe. Your presence today following Vice President 
Harris' announcement yesterday of new funding for HBCUs truly 
demonstrates the Administration's whole-of-government response 
to these threats.
    Today we heard first-hand accounts detailing the impact of 
these bomb threats on our college students, our Nation's future 
leaders. These threats are reminiscent of the shameful 
terrorist acts of the Ku Klux Klan during the Civil Rights 
Movement. Today's threats come amid a rise in hate crimes and 
violent white supremacy in our country, which has targeted the 
Black community and other racial, ethnic, and religious 
minorities. I want to repeat my earlier statement: HBCUs matter 
and every HBCU student matters. We must do everything we can to 
bring those responsible for these threats to justice and ensure 
HBCUs continue to be the centers of pride and excellence that 
they have been for student leaders across our country for 
decades.
    And with that, all of our panelists, I, again, want to 
reiterate how much we appreciate their remarks, and I commend 
my colleagues for participating.
    With that, without objection, all members will have five 
legislative days within which to submit extraneous materials 
and to submit additional written questions for the witnesses to 
the chair, which will be forwarded to the witnesses for their 
response. I ask our witnesses to please respond as promptly as 
you are able.
    Chairwoman Maloney. And with that, this hearing is 
adjourned. Thank you.
    [Whereupon, at 12:17 p.m., the committee was adjourned.]

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