[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7921 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7921
To strengthen Federal efforts to counter antisemitism in the United
States.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 10, 2024
Ms. Manning (for herself, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr.
Weber of Texas, Ms. Meng, Mr. Lieu, and Mr. Veasey) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary,
and in addition to the Committees on Education and the Workforce,
Homeland Security, Oversight and Accountability, and Transportation and
Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To strengthen Federal efforts to counter antisemitism in the United
States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Countering Antisemitism Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Antisemitism, which is often called ``the oldest
hatred'', is a serious and growing danger for Jews in the
United States and around the world.
(2) In 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation found that
anti-Jewish hate crime incidents increased by more than 37
percent from 2021 to 2022.
(3) In 2022, the Anti-Defamation League reported nearly
3,700 antisemitic incidents in the United States, including
assault, vandalism, and harassment, which is a 36 percent
increase from 2021 and represents the highest number on record
of antisemitic incidents reported by the Anti-Defamation
League, and the American Jewish Committee reported that 25
percent of Jewish Americans were personally targeted by
antisemitism in 2023.
(4) Jewish Americans are facing an unprecedented rise in
antisemitic incidents following the October 7, 2023 Hamas
terrorist attacks on Israel.
(5) Rising antisemitism is in part being driven by the
spread and amplification of antisemitic comments, tropes, and
conspiracies on social media platforms, which can lead to
physical acts of harassment, assault, and vandalism.
(6) Holocaust denial and distortion, including intentional
efforts to excuse or minimize the impact of the Holocaust,
dishonor Holocaust victims and survivors, and reinforce the
need for advancing accurate and comprehensive Holocaust
education globally.
(7) Protecting the history of the Holocaust and recognizing
and confronting Holocaust denial and distortion are critical to
preventing antisemitism.
(8) Jewish houses of worship are increasingly the targets
of violent attacks in the United States, as evidenced by the
deadly assaults on synagogues in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in
2018 and Poway, California, in 2019.
(9) Antisemitic incidents have increased dramatically in
many educational settings over the past several years, with
many Jewish students facing discrimination or a hostile
environment at schools, yet these incidents remain
underreported.
(10) The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights
is tasked with ensuring that all students are protected on
campus, yet there is a backlog of discrimination complaints
that remain pending before the Office for Civil Rights.
(11) On May 25, 2023, the Biden Administration issued the
U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, which outlines
the Administration's whole-of-society approach to tackle
antisemitism and includes actions for Federal agencies to take
and calls to action for Congress.
(12) Antisemitism can have unique characteristics,
including the evolving use of conspiracy theories that blame
the various ills of society on Jews or attribute to individual
Jews a variety of evil and harmful characteristics, and
including the portrayal of Jews as too powerful or controlling
and deserving of hatred and mistrust. Antisemitism can also
exist when individual Jews are held responsible for the
policies of the Israeli government, or attacked, disparaged, or
demonized based on their real or perceived connection to,
affiliation with, or support for, the state of Israel as a
Jewish state. Antisemitism can manifest distinctively and
require a tailored response.
(13) While antisemitism most directly and intensely
threatens Jewish Americans, it also undermines democracy and
threatens the safety and rights of all Americans.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY AND SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(a) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States
to--
(1) raise awareness and educate the United States public
about the history of Jewish Americans and antisemitism in all
of its forms and various manifestations;
(2) use all available authorities to oppose antisemitism;
and
(3) ensure that the implementation of Federal Government
strategies to counter antisemitism are ongoing and multi-year
whole-of-government and whole-of-society efforts, including
through close and consistent collaboration between the Federal
Government, the private sector, civil society, faith leaders,
and community leaders.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the non-
legally binding working definition of antisemitism adopted in 2016 by
the 31 member states of the International Holocaust Remembrance
Alliance, a definition which the United States has embraced--
(1) is a valuable tool to raise awareness and increase
understanding of antisemitism; and
(2) should be utilized by Federal, State, and local
agencies.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this section
(1) Antisemitism.--The term ``antisemitism'' has the
meaning given the term in section 3 of the Never Again
Education Act (36 U.S.C. 2301 note).
(2) Relevant agency.--The term ``relevant agency'' means--
(A) the Domestic Policy Council;
(B) the Department of State;
(C) the Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and
Combat Antisemitism of the Department of State;
(D) the Department of Homeland Security;
(E) the Department of Justice;
(F) the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
(G) the Department of Education;
(H) the National Counterterrorism Center;
(I) the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum;
(J) the Department of Health and Human Services;
(K) the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission;
(L) the Small Business Administration;
(M) the Department of Housing and Urban
Development;
(N) the Department of Transportation;
(O) the Department of Agriculture;
(P) the Corporation for National and Community
Service;
(Q) the National Endowment for the Arts;
(R) the National Endowment for the Humanities;
(S) the Department of the Interior;
(T) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
(U) the Department of Defense;
(V) the Department of the Treasury;
(W) the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence;
(X) the Institute of Museum and Library Services;
(Y) the Office of Personnel Management;
(Z) the United States Mission to the United
Nations;
(AA) the General Services Administration;
(BB) the Department of Commerce;
(CC) the Department of Labor;
(DD) the National Science Foundation;
(EE) the Smithsonian Institution; and
(FF) the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood
Partnerships of the White House.
(3) U.S. national strategy to counter antisemitism.--The
term ``U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism'' means
the document entitled ``U.S. National Strategy to Counter
Antisemitism'' issued by the White House on May 25, 2023.
SEC. 5. NATIONAL COORDINATOR TO COUNTER ANTISEMITISM.
(a) Establishment.--There is established within the Executive
Office of the President the position of National Coordinator to Counter
Antisemitism (in this section referred to as the ``National
Coordinator''). The individual serving in the position of National
Coordinator shall not have, or be assigned, duties in addition to the
duties of the position of National Coordinator.
(b) Duties of the National Coordinator.--Subject to the authority,
direction, and control of the President, the National Coordinator
shall--
(1) serve as the principal advisor to the President on
countering domestic antisemitism;
(2) coordinate Federal efforts to counter antisemitism,
including ongoing and multi-year implementation of Federal
Government strategies to counter antisemitism, across the
relevant agencies;
(3) conduct a biennial review of the implementation of
Federal Government strategies to counter antisemitism for a
period of 10 years, including--
(A) an evaluation of all actions that have been
implemented; and
(B) recommendations for any updates to those
actions, as necessary; and
(4) review the internal and external antisemitism training
and resource programs of the relevant agencies and ensure that
such programs include training and resources to assist relevant
agencies in understanding, deterring, and educating people
about antisemitism.
SEC. 6. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE TO COUNTER ANTISEMITISM.
(a) Establishment.--The President shall establish an Interagency
Task Force to Counter Antisemitism.
(b) Appointment.--The President shall appoint the members of the
Task Force, which shall include representatives from the relevant
agencies.
(c) Chair.--The National Coordinator established in section 5(a)
shall be the Chair of the Task Force.
(d) Activities of the Task Force.--The Task Force shall carry out
each of the following activities:
(1) Coordinate implementation of Federal Government
strategies to counter antisemitism.
(2) Measure and evaluate the progress of the United States
in the areas of--
(A) providing education about antisemitism;
(B) countering antisemitism; and
(C) providing support, protection, and assistance
to individuals and communities targeted by
antisemitism.
(3) Create and implement interagency procedures for
collecting and organizing data, including research results and
resource information from relevant agencies and researchers, on
domestic antisemitism, while--
(A) respecting the confidentiality of individuals
targeted by antisemitism; and
(B) complying with any Federal, State, or local
laws affecting confidentiality, such as laws applying
to court cases involving juveniles.
(4) Measure and evaluate the use of the Nonprofit Security
Grant Program of the Department of Homeland Security
established under section 2009 of the Homeland Security Act of
2002 (6 U.S.C. 609a) to secure Jewish nonprofit organizations
that are at high risk of terrorist attack.
(5) Engage in consultation with Congress, nonprofit
organizations, and Jewish community advocacy organizations,
among other entities, to advance the purposes of this Act.
(e) Activities of the Chair.--Not later than 6 months after the
date of enactment of this Act, and every 6 months thereafter until the
date that is 10 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Chair of the Task Force shall provide a briefing on the activities of
the Task Force to--
(1) the majority leader and minority leader of the Senate;
and
(2) the Speaker and minority leader of the House of
Representatives.
SEC. 7. REPORTS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF U.S. NATIONAL STRATEGY TO COUNTER
ANTISEMITISM.
(a) Reports From Relevant Agencies.--Not later than 90 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the head of each relevant agency, in
coordination with the National Coordinator to Counter Antisemitism,
shall submit to Congress and make publicly available a report detailing
how the relevant agency is implementing the U.S. National Strategy to
Counter Antisemitism, which report shall include each of the following:
(1) Detailed descriptions of any programs, activities, or
policies established to carry out the strategy.
(2) Identification of the obstacles to implementation.
(3) Opportunities for improved coordination, during the
implementation, with other relevant agencies, State and local
authorities, civil society, community and faith leaders, the
private sector, and individual citizens, as relevant.
(b) Annual Threat Assessment.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until the date
that is 10 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Secretary
of Homeland Security, and the Director of the National
Counterterrorism Center, in coordination with the National
Coordinator to Counter Antisemitism, shall jointly produce an
annual threat assessment of antisemitic violent extremism.
(2) Contents.--Each threat assessment required under
paragraph (1) shall include, for the period covered by the
report--
(A) an overview of transnational violent extremist
ideologies that include antisemitic components,
including international and domestic extremism;
(B) a review of the violence committed on behalf of
the ideologies described in subparagraph (A),
including--
(i) violent acts committed with explicit
antisemitic sentiment;
(ii) an overview of propaganda facilitating
the spread of those ideologies, including an
in-depth assessment of the antisemitic
components of the propaganda; and
(iii) the commonalities of the threat
across several different violent extremist
ideologies;
(C) an assessment of the threat that antisemitic
violence described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) poses
to the United States homeland, United States citizens
abroad, and United States military personnel; and
(D) an overview of how antisemitic violent threats
impact the interests and the global standing of the
United States.
(3) Dissemination.--
(A) In general.--The Director of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, the Secretary of Homeland Security,
and the Director of the National Counterterrorism
Center, in coordination with the National Coordinator
to Counter Antisemitism, shall submit each threat
assessment required under paragraph (1), including any
classified annexes, to--
(i) the Committee on Armed Services of the
Senate;
(ii) the Select Committee on Intelligence
of the Senate;
(iii) the Committee on the Judiciary of the
Senate;
(iv) the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
(v) the Committee on Appropriations of the
Senate;
(vi) the Committee on Armed Services of the
House of Representatives;
(vii) the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence of the House of Representatives;
(viii) the Committee on the Judiciary of
the House of Representatives;
(ix) the Committee on Homeland Security of
the House of Representatives; and
(x) the Committee on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives.
(B) Declassified version.--The Director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation shall make publicly
available a declassified version of each threat
assessment required under paragraph (1) on the public
website of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
concurrently with the version submitted under
subparagraph (A).
(4) Limitation.--No version of the threat assessment
required under paragraph (1) shall include personally
identifiable information.
SEC. 8. ONLINE ANTISEMITISM, HOLOCAUST DENIAL, AND DISTORTION.
(a) Study.--In order to assess steps to counter the spread of
antisemitism online, not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, and every year thereafter for a period of 10
years, the National Coordinator to Counter Antisemitism, in conjunction
with the Interagency Task Force to Counter Antisemitism, shall conduct
a study and prepare a report that shall include each of the following:
(1) An analysis of the prevalence of online antisemitic
content, including Holocaust denial and Holocaust distortion
content.
(2) Recommendations to Congress to counter the spread of
antisemitism online, including options for greater transparency
requirements relating to algorithmic systems, content
moderation, enforcement of community standards, accountability
for individuals, and accountability for online platforms