[House Report 116-92]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


116th Congress    }                                      {      Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session      }                                      {      116-92

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



 
SECURING AMERICAN NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AGAINST TERRORISM ACT OF 2019

                                _______
                                

  May 30, 2019.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, from the Committee on Homeland Security, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2476]

    The Committee on Homeland Security, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 2476) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
to provide funding to secure nonprofit facilities from 
terrorist attacks, and for other purposes, having considered 
the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommend that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     1
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Hearings.........................................................     3
Committee Consideration..........................................     3
Committee Votes..................................................     4
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     4
C.B.O. Estimate, New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and 
  Tax Expenditures...............................................     4
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     4
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     4
Duplicative Federal Programs.....................................     4
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
  Benefits.......................................................     5
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     4
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     6

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 2476, the ``Securing American Nonprofit Organizations 
Against Terrorism Act of 2019'' would amend the Homeland 
Security Act of 2002 to provide grant funding to secure 
nonprofit facilities from terrorist attacks, and for other 
purposes.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    In recent years, there has been an increase in violence and 
threats of violence against nonprofit institutions. The latest 
of which occurred on April 27, where a gunman opened fire on 
congregants at a Passover celebration in a California 
synagogue, killing one person and injuring three others.\1\ 
Other noteworthy attacks against innocent people in houses of 
worship include the April 21 coordinated terrorist attacks on 
churches and hotels in Sri Lanka that killed nearly 250 people 
and injured more than 500 people\2\; the March 15 deadly New 
Zealand mosque shootings, where 51 people were killed\3\; the 
2018 Pittsburgh ``Tree of Life'' synagogue shooting, where 11 
people were killed\4\; the 2017 Sutherland Springs, Texas 
church shooting, where 26 people killed\5\; the 2015 
Charleston, South Carolina Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal 
church shooting, where nine people were killed\6\; and the 2012 
shooting at a Sikh Temple in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Deanna Paul and Katie Mettler, ``Authorities identify suspect in 
hate crime' synagogue shooting that left 1 dead, 3 injured,'' The 
Washington Post. April 28, 2019. Accessed on May 23, 2019. Available 
at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/04/27/california-
synagogue-shooting-multiple-injuries/?utm_term=.4a8fa8923ff4.
    \2\Sugam Pokharel, Euan McKirdy, and Tara Johnson, ``Bombs tear 
through Sri Lankan churches and hotels, killing 250 people,'' CNN. 
April 25, 2019. Accessed on May 23, 2019. Available at: https://
www.cnn.com/2019/04/21/asia/sri-lanka-explosions/index.html.
    \3\Nick Perry, ``Christchurch Mosque Shooting Death Toll Rises to 
51,'' Time. May 3, 2019. Accessed on May 23, 2019. Available at: http:/
/time.com/5582877/new-zealand-shooting-death-toll-rises/.
    \4\Mallory Simon and Sara Sidner, ``A gunman slaughtered 11 Jewish 
worshippers. Then people hunted for hate online,'' CNN. May 15, 2019. 
Accessed on May 23, 2019. Available at: https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/15/
us/anti-semitic-searches-pittsburgh-poway-shootings-soh/index.html.
    \5\Christina Maxouris, ``Nearly two years since the Sutherland 
Springs church massacre, a new sanctuary marks an era of healing,'' 
CNN. May 20, 2019. Accessed on May 23, 2019. Available at: https://
www.cnn.com/2019/05/20/us/sutherland-springs-new-sanctuary-trnd/
index.html.
    \6\Matt Zapotosky, ``Charleston church shooter: `I would like to be 
crystal clear, I do not regret what I did,''' The Washington Post. 
January 4, 2017. Accessed on May 23, 2019. Available at: https://
www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/charleston-church-
shooter-i-would-like-to-make-it-crystal-clear-i-do-not-regret-what-i-
did/2017/01/04/05b0061e-d1da-11e6-a783-
cd3fa950f2fd_story.html?utm_term=.ab66c380bf07.
    \7\Jerry Markon and Michael Laris, ``At Sikh Temple in Wisconsin, 
gunman kills 6; suspect is shot dead by police,'' The Washington Post. 
August 5, 2012. Accessed on May 23, 2019. Available at: https://
www.washingtonpost.com/national/7-killed-including-gunman-in-shooting-
at-wisconsin-sikh-temple/2012/08/05/70692158-df2b-11e1-a19c-
fcfa365396c8_story.html?utm_term=.489618709399.
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    Introduced by Representative Bennie G. Thompsons, H.R. 
2476, the ``Securing American Nonprofit Organizations Against 
Terrorism Act of 2019'' would, for the first time, authorize 
the Department of Homeland Security's Nonprofit Security Grant 
Program (NSGP), which between fiscal years (FY) 2005 and 2017 
had been funded as a carve out from the Urban Area Security 
Initiative (UASI) grant program. As such, only nonprofit 
organizations located inside UASI jurisdictions were eligible 
recipients. In FY 2018 and FY 2019, however, through 
appropriations, NSGP funding became available to at risk 
nonprofit organizations located outside of UASI jurisdictions, 
where $50 million was made available for UASI nonprofit 
organizations and $10 million was reserved for nonprofit 
organizations located outside of UASI jurisdictions.\8\ H.R. 
2476 would authorize the NSGP at $75 million; with $50 million 
being reserved for nonprofit organizations located in UASI 
jurisdictions, and $25 million for nonprofit organizations 
located outside of UASI jurisdictions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\``Nonprofit Security Grant Program,'' Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security. Accessed on May 23, 
2019. Available at: https://www.fema.gov/nonprofit-security-grant-
program
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    A similar measure, H.R. 1486, passed the Committee on 
Homeland Security and the House of Representatives last 
Congress on January 9, 2018. Language from H.R. 1486 was 
included in H.R. 2825, the ``Department of Homeland Security 
Authorization Act,'' which passed the Committee on Homeland 
Security on June 28, 2017, and subsequently passed the House of 
Representatives on July 20, 2017. Subsequently, the $50,000,000 
funding level authorized under H.R. 1486 was adopted in H.R. 
3354, the ``Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations 
Act, 2018,'' that passed the House of Representatives on 
September 14, 2017. Similarly, H.J. Res. 31, the ``Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2019,'' made $60,000,000 available for 
nonprofit organizations that are at a high risk of terrorist 
attacks. This measure became law on February 15, 2019.
    The Senate companion to H.R. 2476 is S. 1539, which is 
sponsored by Senator Rob Portman (R-OH).

                                Hearings

    The Committee did not hold a legislative hearing on H.R. 
2476 in the 116th Congress. However, on May 23, 2109, at a Full 
Committee Hearing entitled ``A Review of the Fiscal Year 2020 
Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security,'' 
Members received testimony from Hon. Kevin McAleenan, Acting 
Secretary of Homeland Security, where he stated:
          ``. . . Our responsibility . . . is to address 
        targeted violence, regardless of the motivation or 
        ideology, and I am concerned about white supremacists, 
        extremists and the growing attacks, especially, that 
        we've seen on houses of worship. It's why I responded 
        right away to the chairman and ranking member's 
        challenge to ask the Homeland Security Advisory Council 
        to set up a subcommittee to protect faith-based 
        organizations in houses of worship. And they're going 
        to bring a report back that tells us how we can improve 
        our prevention efforts in this regard. And I absolutely 
        agree. It's a problem, and we need to work to address 
        it, not only at DHS but with our investigative partners 
        at the FBI and with state and local.''
    On May 8, 2019 the Committee also received like testimony 
at a Full Committee Hearing entitled ``Confronting the Rise of 
Domestic Terrorism in the Homeland.''
    Similarly, in the 115th Congress, the Committee received 
related testimony on November 30, 2017, at a Full Committee 
hearing entitled ``World Wide Threats: Keeping America Secure 
in the New Age of Terror.''
    These hearings were in addition to other Committee 
oversight activities that focused on the evolving terrorist 
threat, including the threat of complex, coordinated terrorist 
attacks, and the activities and resources needed to address 
these threats.

                        Committee Consideration

    The Committee met on May 15, 2019, with a quorum being 
present, to consider H.R. 2476 and ordered the measure to be 
reported to the House with a favorable recommendation, without 
amendment, by unanimous consent.

                            Committee Votes

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires the Committee to list the recorded 
votes on the motion to report legislation and amendments 
thereto.
    No recorded votes were requested during consideration of 
H.R. 2476.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the 
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on 
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

Congressional Budget Office Estimate, New Budget Authority, Entitlement 
                    Authority, and Tax Expenditures

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect 
to requirements of clause (3)(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has requested 
but not received a cost estimate for this bill from the 
Director of Congressional Budget Office.
    The Committee has requested but not received from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office a statement as to 
whether this bill contains any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.

                       Federal Mandates Statement

    An estimate of Federal mandates prepared by the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act was not made available to the 
Committee in time for the filing of this report. The Chairman 
of the Committee shall cause such estimate to be printed in the 
Congressional Record upon its receipt by the Committee.

                      Duplicative Federal Programs

    Pursuant to clause 3(c) of rule XIII, the Committee finds 
that H.R. 2476 does not contain any provision that establishes 
or reauthorizes a program known to be duplicative of another 
Federal program.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R. 
2476 would require the Secretary of the Department of Homeland 
Security, acting through the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency Administrator to make grants to eligible nonprofit 
organizations through the state in which the organization is 
located, for target hardening and other security enhancements 
to protect against terrorist attacks. The Federal Emergency 
Management Agency Administrator is also required to submit a 
report to the Committee on Homeland Security in the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Government Affairs of the Senate annually for each of fiscal 
years 2020 through 2024 on the expenditures by each grant 
recipient.
    The goal and objective of H.R. 2476 is to establish the 
Nonprofit Security Grant Program within the Department of 
Homeland Security in order to ensure that eligible nonprofit 
organizations have available resources to implement security 
enhancements that will protect against terrorist attacks.

                          Advisory on Earmarks

    In compliance with rule XXI of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives, this bill, as reported, contains no 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of the rule 
XXI.

             Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation


Section 1. Short title

    This section provides that this bill may be cited as the 
``Securing American Nonprofit Organizations Against Terrorism 
Act of 2019''.

Sec. 2. Nonprofit Security Grant Program

    This section establishes the Nonprofit Security Grant 
Program within the Department of Homeland Security. It 
identifies eligible recipients of the Nonprofit Security Grant 
Program funding to include 501(c)(3) organizations, exempt from 
tax under 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code and determined to 
be at risk of a terrorist attack by the Administrator of the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency.
    Additionally, it enumerates the permitted uses of Nonprofit 
Security Grant Program funding to include: (1) target hardening 
activities, including physical security enhancement equipment 
and inspection and screening systems; (2) fees for security 
training relating to physical security and cybersecurity, 
target hardening, terrorism awareness, and employee awareness; 
and (3) Any other appropriate activity, including cybersecurity 
resilience activities, as determined by the Administrator. This 
section further requires the period of performance for the use 
of the Nonprofit Security Grant Program to be 36 months.
    Moreover, this section requires the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency Administrator to submit a report to the 
Committee on Homeland Security in the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs 
of the Senate annually for each of fiscal years 2020 through 
2024 on the expenditures by each grant recipient.
    Additionally, this section authorizes $75,000,000 for each 
of fiscal years 2020 through 2024 to carry out this section. Of 
that, $50,000,000 is authorized for eligible recipients located 
in Urban Area Security Initiative jurisdictions, and 
$25,000,000 is authorized for eligible recipients located 
outside of UASI jurisdictions.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

                     HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002


SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

  (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Homeland 
Security Act of 2002''.
  (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is 
as follows:

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                   TITLE XX--HOMELAND SECURITY GRANTS

Sec. 2001. Definitions.
     * * * * * * *
Sec. 2009. Nonprofit security grant program.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


TITLE XX--HOMELAND SECURITY GRANTS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


         Subtitle A--Grants to States and High-Risk Urban Areas

SEC. 2002. HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT PROGRAMS.

  (a) Grants Authorized.--The Secretary, through the 
Administrator, may award grants under [sections 2003 and 2004] 
sections 2003, 2004, and 2009 to State, local, and tribal 
governments.
  (b) Programs Not Affected.--This subtitle shall not be 
construed to affect any of the following Federal programs:
          (1) Firefighter and other assistance programs 
        authorized under the Federal Fire Prevention and 
        Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.).
          (2) Grants authorized under the Robert T. Stafford 
        Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
        5121 et seq.).
          (3) Emergency Management Performance Grants under the 
        amendments made by title II of the Implementing 
        Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007.
          (4) Grants to protect critical infrastructure, 
        including port security grants authorized under section 
        70107 of title 46, United States Code, and the grants 
        authorized under title XIV and XV of the Implementing 
        Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 and 
        the amendments made by such titles.
          (5) The Metropolitan Medical Response System 
        authorized under section 635 of the Post-Katrina 
        Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 723).
          (6) The Interoperable Emergency Communications Grant 
        Program authorized under title XVIII.
          (7) Grant programs other than those administered by 
        the Department.
  (c) Relationship to Other Laws.--
          (1) In general.--The grant programs authorized under 
        sections 2003 and 2004 shall supercede all grant 
        programs authorized under section 1014 of the USA 
        PATRIOT Act (42 U.S.C. 3714).
          (2) Allocation.--The allocation of grants authorized 
        under section 2003 or 2004 shall be governed by the 
        terms of this subtitle and not by any other provision 
        of law.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 2009. NONPROFIT SECURITY GRANT PROGRAM.

  (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Department a 
program to be known as the ``Nonprofit Security Grant Program'' 
(in this section referred to as the ``Program''). Under the 
Program, the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, shall 
make grants to eligible nonprofit organizations described in 
subsection (b), through the State in which such organizations 
are located, for target hardening and other security 
enhancements to protect against terrorist attacks.
  (b) Eligible Recipients.--Eligible nonprofit organizations 
described in this subsection (a) are organizations that are--
          (1) described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 
        501(a) of such Code; and
          (2) determined to be at risk of a terrorist attack by 
        the Administrator.
  (c) Permitted Uses.--The recipient of a grant under this 
section may use such grant for any of the following uses:
          (1) Target hardening activities, including physical 
        security enhancement equipment and inspection and 
        screening systems.
          (2) Fees for security training relating to physical 
        security and cybersecurity, target hardening, terrorism 
        awareness, and employee awareness.
          (3) Any other appropriate activity, including 
        cybersecurity resilience activities, as determined by 
        the Administrator.
  (d) Period of Performance.--The Administrator shall make 
funds provided under this section available for use by a 
recipient of a grant for a period of not less than 36 months.
  (e) Report.--The Administrator shall annually for each of 
fiscal years 2020 through 2024 submit to the Committee on 
Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
Senate a report containing information on the expenditure by 
each grant recipient of grant funds made under this section.
  (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--
          (1) In general.--There is authorized to be 
        appropriated $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 
        through 2024 to carry out this section.
          (2) Specification.--Of the amounts authorized to be 
        appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1)--
                  (A) $50,000,000 is authorized for eligible 
                recipients located in jurisdictions that 
                receive funding under section 2003; and
                  (B) $25,000,000 is authorized for eligible 
                recipients in jurisdictions not receiving 
                funding under section 2003.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


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