Combatting Violent Extremism in the United States
Adopted at the 83rd Annual Meeting in 2015
WHEREAS, In August 2011, the White House releasedthe first national strategy to prevent violent extremism domestically, and the underlying premise of its approach to countering violent extremism in the United States is that communities provide the solution to violent extremism and efforts to counter violent extremism are best pursued at the local level, tailored to local dynamics, where local officials continue to build relationships within their communities through established community policing and community outreach mechanisms; and
WHEREAS, that strategy also calls for empowering community efforts to disrupt the radicalization process before an individual engages in criminal activity; and
WHEREAS, top national security officials from both the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department advised the mayors during the Conference s 2015 Winter Meeting that the current threat environment is serious and emphasized that local officials and law enforcement are absolutely critical to identifying domestic terror threats and deterring incidents; and
WHEREAS, the current suite of homeland security grant programs provides vital resources to local agencies that helps them to do this, particularly the 25 percent set aside for law enforcement terrorism prevention in the two largest programs, but in its last four budget proposals, the Obama Administration has proposed to consolidate these programs into a National Preparedness Grant Program-state-administered block and competitive grant programs in which funding decisions are based on state and multistate threat assessments; and
WHEREAS, the Conference has been leading a coalition of 16 national organizations representing local elected officials, emergency managers, homeland security administrators, port operators, transit operators, police chiefs, sheriffs, and the fire service that has been successful thus far in working with Congress to stop this consolidation by registering the strong support of the organizations for the existing menu of homeland security grant programs and their deep concerns with the NPGP proposal; and
WHEREAS, current and potential Justice Department resources, including the COPS Hiring Program and the funding requested by the President in his FY 2016 budget for the Justice Department to support community-led efforts to build resilience and counter violent extremism, can provide vital assistance to local officials and law enforcement in their efforts to counter violent extremism,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors applauds the Administration s recognition that local officials and law enforcement are critical to the nation s efforts to preventing terrorist acts within the United States and urges the Administration to expand its efforts to work with local officials to prevent domestic terrorism and reduce violent extremism; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors again registers its strong opposition to consolidating the current suite of homeland security grant programs into a single National Preparedness Grant Program and instead urges the Administration and Congress to increase funding for these programs to strengthen the ability of local officials to prevent violent extremism; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors also calls for expansion of Justice Department grant programs, including COPS Hiring Grants, which can contribute to this mission.
Projected Cost: Unknown