A bipartisan coalition of 33 senators sent a letter this week urging that $75 million be provided in the 2020 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program.
The letter was sent to Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security.
The program helps nonprofit organizations prepare for terrorist attacks by providing funding and by promoting emergency preparedness coordination between public and private community representatives and state and local government agencies.
Funds must be allocated for the program annually. The $75 million request is a $15 million increase from previous funding levels. The bulk, $50 million, would be given to the Urban Area Security Initiative, and the remainder would be used for state-based grants.
Domestic and foreign terrorists, hate crimes and violent extremists will continue to be a lethal threat to faith-based communities, according to a February Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, and NCTC National Counterterrorism Center Joint Intelligence Bulletin.
“According to the public record, recent incidents targeting synagogues, churches, mosques, and other religious centers and nonprofit organizations include shooting and mass shooting, arson, and firebombing, attempted bombing, assault, death threats, hoaxes, vandalism, and property damage,” the letter said.