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On The Floor  »  Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act

Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act

On October 23, 2007, the House passed the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act, H.R. 1955.  This bill is designed to take steps to better understand violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism in order to prevent them. 

Recent incidents highlight that homegrown terrorism is a threat here in the United States.  There have been recent incidents here in the United States that point out that homegrown terrorism is a concern – ranging from the arrest in Georgia of Christopher Riendeau, who had a large arsenal of firearms and bomb-making materials and much Nazi paraphernalia, to a potential al Qaeda-inspired cell in New Jersey.

For example, in early June, five people were indicted for plotting to attack Fort Dix in New Jersey with automatic weapons.  On June 5, Mohamed Shnewer, a U.S. citizen and Philadelphia cabdriver, and four other men were indicted by a federal grand jury in New Jersey for plotting to attack Fort Dix in New Jersey with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, vowing in taped conversations “to kill as many soldiers as possible.”

The bill creates a National Commission to study the causes of homegrown terrorism and recommend corrective actions.  The bill creates a 10-member National Commission on the Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Ideologically-Based Violence to study the causes of these dangerous trends in our country and recommend corrective actions.  The members would be appointed by the President, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and congressional leaders, including the chairman and ranking members of the House and Senate Homeland Security Committees.  The Commission must submit a report to Congress within 18 months on its recommendations for measures that can be taken to prevent violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism from developing and spreading within the United States.

The bill also establishes a “Center of Excellence” at a university to study violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism.  The bill requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to create or to designate an existing university-based institution as a “center of excellence” which will study the problems of violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism over the long-term.

In addition, the bill calls upon the U.S. government to work with our allies who have also been dealing with homegrown terrorism to learn what successful strategies they employ.  Some of our key allies – including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia – have had significant experience dealing with homegrown terrorism.  The bill calls upon the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and other relevant federal agencies to conduct a survey of the methodologies used by key allies to prevent violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism in their nations.

Finally, the bill requires the Department of Homeland Security to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans.  The legislation emphasizes that any action by the Administration to prevent domestic terrorism “shall not violate the constitutional rights, civil rights and civil liberties of U.S. citizens and legal residents.”  The bill also emphasizes that the examination of radical ideology “should not be targeted based solely on race, ethnicity or religion.”

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