[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2369 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2369
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish an Office for
Community Partnerships.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 8, 2015
Mr. Carper introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish an Office for
Community Partnerships.
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 ``Community Partnership Act of 2015''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF THE OFFICE FOR COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.
(a) In General.--Title I of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6
U.S.C. 101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 104. OFFICE FOR COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
``(1) the term `countering violent extremism' means
proactive and relevant actions to counter efforts by extremists
to radicalize, recruit, and mobilize followers to violence and
to address the conditions that allow for violent extremist
recruitment and radicalization; and
``(2) the term `violent extremism' means ideologically
motivated violence as a method of advancing a cause.
``(b) Establishment.--There is in the Department an Office for
Community Partnerships.
``(c) Head of Office.--The Office for Community Partnerships shall
be headed by an Assistant Secretary for Community Partnerships, who
shall be designated by the Secretary.
``(d) Deputy Assistant Secretary; Assignment of Personnel.--The
Secretary shall--
``(1) designate a career Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Community Partnerships; and
``(2) assign or hire, as appropriate, permanent staff to
the Office for Community Partnerships.
``(e) Responsibilities.--The Assistant Secretary for Community
Partnerships shall be responsible for the following:
``(1) Leading the efforts of the Department to counter
violent extremism across all the components and offices of the
Department that conduct strategic and supportive efforts to
counter violent extremism. Such efforts shall include the
following:
``(A) Partnering with communities to address
vulnerabilities that can be exploited by violent
extremists in the United States and explore potential
remedies for government and nongovernment institutions.
``(B) Working with civil society groups and
communities to counter violent extremist propaganda,
messaging, or recruitment.
``(C) In coordination with the Office for Civil
Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department, managing
the outreach and engagement efforts of the Department
directed toward communities at risk for radicalization
and recruitment for violent extremist activities.
``(D) Ensuring relevant information, research, and
products inform efforts to counter violent extremism.
``(E) Developing and maintaining Departmentwide
plans, strategy guiding policies, and programs to
counter violent extremism. Such plans shall, at a
minimum, address each of the following:
``(i) The Department's plan to leverage new
and existing Internet and other technologies
and social media platforms to improve
nongovernment efforts to counter violent
extremism, as well as the best practices and
lessons learned of other Federal, State, local,
tribal, territorial, and foreign partners
engaged in similar counter-messaging efforts.
``(ii) The Department's countering violent
extremism-related engagement efforts.
``(iii) The use of cooperative agreements
with State, local, tribal, territorial, and
other Federal departments and agencies
responsible for efforts relating to countering
violent extremism.
``(F) Coordinating with the Office for Civil Rights
and Civil Liberties of the Department to ensure all of
the activities of the Department related to countering
violent extremism fully respect the privacy, civil
rights, and civil liberties of all persons.
``(G) In coordination with the Under Secretary for
Science and Technology and in consultation with the
Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis,
identifying and recommending new research and analysis
requirements to ensure the dissemination of information
and methods for Federal, State, local, tribal, and
territorial countering violent extremism practitioners,
officials, law enforcement, and nongovernmental
partners to utilize such research and analysis.
``(H) Assessing the methods used by violent
extremists to disseminate propaganda and messaging to
communities at risk for recruitment by violent
extremists.
``(2) Developing a digital engagement strategy that expands
the outreach efforts of the Department to counter violent
extremist messaging by--
``(A) exploring ways to utilize relevant Internet
and other technologies and social media platforms; and
``(B) maximizing other resources available to the
Department.
``(3) Serving as the primary representative of the
Department in coordinating countering violent extremism efforts
with other Federal departments and agencies and nongovernmental
organizations.
``(4) Serving as the primary Department-level
representative in coordinating with the Department of State on
international countering violent extremism issues.
``(5) In coordination with the Administrator of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, providing guidance regarding the
use of grants made to State, local, and tribal governments
under sections 2003 and 2004 under the allowable uses
guidelines related to countering violent extremism.
``(6) Developing a plan to expand philanthropic support for
domestic efforts related to countering violent extremism,
including by identifying viable community projects and needs
for possible philanthropic support.
``(7) Administering the assistance described in subsection
(f).
``(f) Grants To Counter Violent Extremism.--
``(1) In general.--In accordance with this subsection, the
Secretary may award grants or cooperative agreements directly
to eligible recipients identified in paragraph (2) to support
the efforts of local communities in the United States to
counter violent extremism.
``(2) Eligible recipients.--The Secretary may award
competitive grants or cooperative agreements based on need
directly to--
``(A) States;
``(B) local governments;
``(C) tribal governments;
``(D) nonprofit organizations; or
``(E) institutions of higher education.
``(3) Use of funds.--Each entity receiving a grant or
cooperative agreement under this subsection shall use the grant
or cooperative agreement for one or more of the following
purposes:
``(A) To train or exercise for countering violent
extremism, including building training or exercise
programs designed to improve cultural competency and to
ensure that communities, government, and law
enforcement receive accurate, intelligence-based
information about the dynamics of radicalization to
violence.
``(B) To develop, implement, or expand programs or
projects with communities to discuss violent extremism
or to engage communities that may be targeted by
violent extremist radicalization.
``(C) To develop and implement projects that
partner with local communities to prevent
radicalization to violence.
``(D) To develop and implement a comprehensive
model for preventing violent extremism in local
communities, including existing initiatives of State or
local law enforcement agencies and existing mechanisms
for engaging the resources and expertise available from
a range of social service providers, such as education
administrators, mental health professionals, and
religious leaders.
``(E) To educate the community about countering
violent extremism, including the promotion of
community-based activities to increase the measures
taken by the community to counter violent extremism.
``(F) To develop or assist social service programs
that address root causes of violent extremism and
develop, build, or enhance alternatives for members of
local communities that may be targeted by violent
extremism.
``(G) To develop or enhance State or local
government initiatives that facilitate and build
overall capacity to address the threats post by violent
extremism.
``(H) To support such other activities, consistent
with the purposes of this subsection, as the Secretary
determines appropriate.
``(4) Grant guidelines.--
``(A) In general.--For each fiscal year, before
awarding a grant or cooperative agreement under this
subsection, the Secretary shall develop guidelines
published in a notice of funding opportunity that
describe--
``(i) the process for applying for grants
and cooperative agreements under this
subsection;
``(ii) the criteria that the Secretary will
use for selecting recipients based on the need
demonstrated by the applicant; and
``(iii) the requirements that recipients
must follow when utilizing funds under this
subsection to conduct training and exercises
and otherwise engage local communities
regarding countering violent extremism.
``(B) Considerations.--In developing the
requirements under subparagraph (A)(iii), the Secretary
shall consider the following:
``(i) Training objectives should be clearly
defined to meet specific countering violent
extremism goals, such as community engagement,
cultural awareness, or community-based
policing.
``(ii) Engaging diverse communities in the
United States to counter violent extremism may
require working with local grassroots community
organizations to develop engagement and
outreach initiatives.
``(iii) Training programs should--
``(I) be sensitive to
constitutional values, such as
protecting fundamental civil rights and
civil liberties, and eschew notions of
racial and ethnic profiling; and
``(II) adhere to the standards and
ethics of the Department, ensuring that
the clearly defined objectives are in
line with the strategies of the
Department to counter violent
extremism.
``(iv) Establishing vetting procedures for
self-selected countering violent extremism
training experts who offer programs that may
claim to counter violent extremism, but serve
to demonize certain individuals or whole cross
sections of a community.
``(v) Providing a review process to
determine if countering violent extremism
training focuses on community engagement and
outreach.
``(vi) Providing support to law enforcement
to enhance knowledge, skills, and abilities to
increase engagement techniques with diverse
communities in the United States.
``(g) Annual Report.--Beginning in the first fiscal year beginning
after the date of enactment of this section, and in each of the next 5
fiscal years, the Assistant Secretary of the Office for Community
Partnerships shall submit to Congress an annual report on the Office
for Community Partnerships, which shall include--
``(1) a description of the status of the programs and
policies of the Department for countering violent extremism in
the United States;
``(2) a description of the efforts of the Office for
Community Partnerships to cooperate with and provide assistance
to other Federal departments and agencies;
``(3) qualitative and quantitative metrics for evaluating
the success of such programs and policies and the steps taken
to evaluate the success of such programs and policies; and
``(4) an accounting of--
``(A) grants awarded by the Department to counter
violent extremism; and
``(B) all training specifically aimed at countering
violent extremism sponsored by the Department.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents in
section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296;
116 Stat. 2135) is amended by inserting after the item relating to
section 103 the following:
``Sec. 104. Office for Community Partnerships.''.
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