Senators urge Homeland Security subcommittee to strength security at places of worship

U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) recently sent a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security urging funding to strengthen security at places of worship.

The senators asked the committee to maintain the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program’s (NSGP) funding at $60 million. The Fiscal Year 2019 appropriations bill for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security slashes nonprofit security grants by more than 40 percent at $35 million.

The letter follows the Oct. 27 attack at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Penn., where eleven people were killed and seven injured. The funding could be the difference between a close call and another tragedy, the letter said.

“The program also promotes emergency preparedness coordination and collaboration activities between responders at the state and local level, as well as public and private community representatives,” the letter said. “Implementing the core capabilities of the National Preparedness System is essential to achieving success in the five mission areas – to prevent, protect, mitigate, respond, and recover – and is critical to a secure and resilient nation. For some communities, success may only be possible to achieve with funding provided by NSGP.”

Hate crimes in the United States grew 17 percent in 2017 with anti-Semitic attacks spiking 37 percent, according to the Department of Justice.