Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5094, the Enhancing Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative Act. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5094 would require the Department of Homeland Security to develop a strategy to improve the training, outreach, and information it provides on Suspicious Activity Reporting to prevent acts of terrorism. Since the September 11 attacks, we have seen that sharing information regarding suspicious activity can help local, State, and Federal law enforcement connect the dots about threats in the communities that they serve. While it is important that ordinary citizens say something when they see something that could be a threat to their community, we must recognize that there have been instances where there have been abuses. On occasion, we have seen allegations of suspicious activity made against individuals solely based on biases regarding race, ethnicity, or religion. H.R. 5094 seeks to prevent such discriminatory reporting by directing DHS to disseminate examples of reporting that meet the guidelines for action. Further, it instructs DHS to outline the types of suspicious activity reporting, including reporting based on race, religion, and nationality, that is prohibited. More broadly, H.R. 5094 seeks to build numerous safeguards for privacy, civil liberties, and civil rights into the suspicious activity reporting regime.…”