Pascrell and Katko Leads Effort to Double Nonprofit Security Grant Funding

Requests $360 million in FY22 to protect houses of worship and tax-exempt organizations from terror threats

PATERSON, NJ – U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) and John Katko (R-NY-24) today led 143 House colleagues requesting a significant increase in Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) funding for Fiscal Year 2022. In a letter to the Homeland Security Subcommittee, the members officially requested that the NSGP program be funded at $360 million, to be split evenly among the NSGP’s Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) and State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP).

“The NSGP supports critical security investments, such as physical security enhancements, emergency preparedness planning, training and exercises, and enhanced engagement and collaboration between public and private community representatives as well as their state and local homeland security and emergency management government agencies,” the Members wrote. “The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has recommended these types of investments to secure these targets within the faith-and community-based sector because DHS recognizes their vulnerability to attack is elevated and nonprofit institutions often lack the needed resources to invest in protective measures. In today’s quickly evolving threat environment, these investments are needed more than ever.”

The Members continued, “[u]nfortunately, today’s threat environment provides a compelling public interest in protecting against attacks on the nonprofit sector that would disrupt the vital health, human, social, cultural, religious, and other humanitarian services and practices they provide to communities, and which threaten the lives and well-being of millions of Americans who operate, utilize, live, and work in proximity to them. For these reasons, we respectfully urge you to strengthen the Nonprofit Security Grant Program by funding the UASI NSGP at $180 million and $180 million for the SHSGP NSGP.”

“As law enforcement continues to raise concerns about the threat of domestic terrorism, the NSGP serves a compelling public interest in protecting against attacks on houses of worship and other at-risk communal organizations that would disrupt the vital human and religious services they provide and threaten the lives and well-being of millions of Americans who use these agencies or live and work in proximity to them,” said Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA). “Thanks to Congress, the program has funded some 5,000 grants over the past 15 years and about 2,000 more pending this year. Increased funding will help to close the perennial gap between requests for assistance and available funding. In this regard, the Jewish Federations strongly commend Representatives Bill Pascrell, Jr. and John Katko for leading one-third of all House Members in requesting appropriators to provide significantly increased funding to the program in the coming fiscal year.”

The full text of the Members’ letter is available here.

This letter was signed by Reps. Alma S. Adams, Ph.D., Colin Z. Allred, Troy Balderson, Joyce Beatty, Ami Bera, M.D., Donald S. Beyer Jr., Earl Blumenauer,  Suzanne Bonamici, Mike Bost, Jamaal Bowman, Brendan F. Boyle,  Anthony G. Brown, Julia Brownley, Cheri Bustos, Salud Carbajal, André Carson, Sean Casten, Steve Chabot, David N. Cicilline, Yvette D. Clarke, Steve Cohen, Gerald E. Connolly, Jim Cooper, Joe Courtney, Angie Craig, Jason Crow, Danny K. Davis, Rodney Davis, Madeleine Dean, Peter A. DeFazio, Diana DeGette, Suzan K. DelBene, Antonio Delgado, Val Butler Demings, Mark DeSaulnier, Ted Deutch, Debbie Dingell, Mike Doyle, Anna G. Eshoo, Brian Fitzpatrick, Lizzie Fletcher, Bill Foster, Andrew R. Garbarino, Sylvia R. Garcia, Jesús G. “Chuy” García, Carlos A Gimenez, Anthony Gonzalez, Jenniffer González-Colón, Josh Gottheimer, Jahana Hayes, Jim Himes, Steven Horsford, Chrissy Houlahan, Sheila Jackson Lee,  Pramila Jayapal, Hakeem Jeffries, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Mondaire Jones, William R. Keating, Robin L. Kelly, Andy Kim, Adam Kinzinger, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ann McLane Kuster, David Kustoff,  Darin LaHood,  Conor Lamb, Doug Lamborn, Rick Larsen, John B. Larson, Barbara Lee, Andy Levin, Mike Levin, Ted W. Lieu, Zoe Lofgren, Alan Lowenthal, Elaine G. Luria, Tom Malinowski, Nicole Malliotakis, Carolyn B. Maloney, Sean Patrick Maloney, Kathy Manning, Brian Mast,  Lucy McBath, A. Donald McEachin, James P. McGovern, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Jerry McNerney, Gregory W. Meeks, Gwen Moore, Joseph D. Morelle, Seth Moulton, Jerrold Nadler, Richard E. Neal, Joe Neguse, Marie Newman, Donald Norcross, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Burgess Owens,  Frank Pallone, Jr., Donald M. Payne, Jr.,  Scott H. Peters, Dean Phillips, Stacey E. Plaskett, Jamie Raskin, Kathleen M. Rice, Bobby L. Rush, Maria Elvira Salazar, John P. Sarbanes, Jan Schakowsky, Bradley S. Schneider, Kim Schrier, M.D.,  David Schweikert, David Scott, Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, Terri A. Sewell, Brad Sherman, Mikie Sherrill, Albio Sires, Elissa Slotkin, Christopher H. Smith, Adam Smith, Abigail D. Spanberger, Jackie Speier, Michelle Steel, W. Gregory Steube, Haley Stevens, Steve Stivers, Marilyn Strickland, Thomas R. Suozzi,  Claudia Tenney, Bennie G. Thompson,  Dina Titus, Paul D. Tonko, Ritchie Torres, Jeff Van Drew, Juan Vargas, Nydia M. Velazquez, Peter Welch, Brad R. Wenstrup, D.P.M., Susan Wild, Frederica S. Wilson, and John Yarmuth.

Rep. Pascrell regularly leads the fight to increase NSGP funding in the House and works around the clock to secure needed anti-terror grants for New Jersey. He recently helped secure more than $9.5 million in Nonprofit Security Grant Program funding for New Jersey, including $1.08 million for community centers in the Ninth Congressional District. Rep. Pascrell also helped pass the Securing American Nonprofit Organizations Against Terrorism Act (H.R.2476), which officially authorized the Nonprofit Security Grant Program. While the NSGP was previously funded through annual appropriations, most recently at $90 million for Fiscal Year 2020 as requested by Rep. Pascrell, the program had never been officially authorized. Rep. Pascrell served an original cosponsor of the bipartisan measure to authorize the program.

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