Long Awaited DHS & DOJ Domestic Terrorism Data Report Finally Released
(WASHINGTON) – Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, issued the following statement on the release of the overdue Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice report on data concerning acts of terrorism, including domestic terrorism, and the Federal government’s response. The unclassified report, which is required by law, was due more than 10 months ago – on June 17, 2020.
“As someone who has long championed the urgent need for robust, centralized, and transparent government data to inform counterterrorism policymaking, I appreciate that the Biden Administration responded to our call for this report to be released after the Trump Administration failed to produce it.
“That said, there will likely need to be more conversations and supplemental data submissions from the Biden Administration for Congress to get a more complete picture of the domestic terrorism threat landscape. Congress needs data to help guide future legislative and oversight efforts to address the persistent scourge of domestic terrorism. The Executive Branch has this data; the biggest takeaway here is that presenting it in an aggregated manner that communicates to Congress and the American people the current threat picture continues to be a challenge. I look forward to continuing to work with the Biden Administration to ensure this long-overdue statutory mandate is finally fulfilled.”
Background:
On June 5, 2019, Chairman Thompson introduced H.R. 3106, the Domestic Terrorism Documentation and Analysis of Threats in America Act, or the DT DATA Act, to foster transparency surrounding domestic terrorism data and increase research on the issue with domestic terrorism attacks clearly on the rise. The bipartisan piece of legislation passed the House of Representatives, as amended, on September 26, 2019. The report issued today, pursuant to Section 5602 of FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act, was largely modeled after the DT DATA Act.
After the Trump Administration failed to produce this report, Chairman Thompson, along with Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism Chairwoman Elissa Slotkin and leadership from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on the Judiciary, sent a letter to President Biden this March urging him to expedite the production of this critical report.
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