House bill aims to improve coordination among federal agencies to track, target domestic terrorist groups

Federal agencies would be given new tools to track white supremacist and other extremist groups and to coordinate multi-agency efforts under a bill introduced in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

Under the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act, H.R. 4918, the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice and FBI would be required to report annually on domestic terrorist groups.

Additionally, the bill would codify the Domestic Terrorism Executive Committee (DTEC) task force, which helps streamline training and efforts to combat domestic terrorism at the federal, state and local levels.

U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), who sponsored the bill, said the national consciousness has been “seared by the violence of white supremacy and domestic hate groups” with attacks in Charleston and Charlottesville, Virginia.

“As this vile and dangerous extremist ideology grows in strength, we need to take steps to protect Americans from the threat,” Schneider said. “This bill makes smart changes to ensure our federal agencies are effectively coordinating on monitoring these terrorist organizations and able to prevent acts of violence.”

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said domestic terrorism and white supremacist extremism have been on the rise in recent years, and the federal government doesn’t have the resources or authority to address it.

“Countering all forms of violent extremism should be our top priority and we must focus our efforts on stopping all terrorist threats — not just those from foreign terrorist organizations,” Thompson said. “The legislation we are introducing today will ensure that DHS, DOJ, and FBI have the tools they need to fully track domestic terrorism incidents and are properly coordinating their counterterrorism efforts.”