Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007

VIOLENT RADICALIZATION AND HOMEGROWN TERRORISM PREVENTION ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - October 23, 2007)

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Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, homegrown terrorism is a very dangerous threat and must not be overlooked. The United States has an obligation and a solemn duty to guard against the violent radicalization of the American population, a radicalization that has far-reaching, devastating implications.

On September 11, 2001, the world saw firsthand the damage that Islamic extremists can do to the American people. As we look within our own population, there are individuals who promote ideologies under the guise of religion, political, and social benefits that are diametrically opposed to the American values and liberties that we hold so dear. Ideologies of any kind, religious or otherwise, that are based on violence, intolerance, and hatred have no place in America.

In the past 18 months, the United States law enforcement and intelligence agencies have stopped numerous individuals and groups that promote radical political, religious, or social beliefs from carrying out terrorist attacks on American soil. I, for one, would like to know how these individuals are operating and how they are funded. Are foreign entities providing the funding for their activities? Are these individuals who promote radical political ideologies registered as foreign agents? Perhaps we need to reexamine the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938. We need to be more proactive and strike at the roots of the problem.

The bill that we are discussing today, H.R. 1955, is proactive instead of reactive. Britain, Spain, France, and most recently Germany and Denmark have all suffered the deadly effects of a small radicalized population that often use religion as an excuse to engage in violence and murder. The United States, thanks in large part to its alert citizenry and professional law enforcement agencies, has prevented the successful execution of several recent domestic terror threats in New York, Chicago, Florida, and elsewhere.

Studying the causes of radicalization and ideologically based violence will better inform all of us how we can prevent terrorists from spreading their messages of hate.

The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act is the work of a solid bipartisan cooperation at the subcommittee and full committee levels. Such cooperation is readily apparent as the current bill includes major aspects of H.R. 1695, Congressman Reichert's PREVENT Act, which was designed to establish a National Commission on Radicalization. The nonpartisan commission envisioned by Representatives REICHERT and HARMAN will be dedicated to comprehensively examining the phenomenon of violent radicalization so that we might better understand its root causes within the United States.

I urge my colleagues to support this important timely, bipartisan piece of legislation.

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