SCHUMER: ORLANDO TERRORIST ATTACK UNDERSCORES NEED TO BETTER PROTECT SOFT TARGETS LIKE MALLS, MOVIE THEATERS AND STADIUMS IN UPSTATE NY; SENATOR LAUNCHES MAJOR PUSH TO INCREASE FBI FUNDING FOR ACTIVE SHOOTER TRAINING & TO HELP LOCAL AND STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT PREVENT AND RESPOND TO TERRORIST AND HATE ATTACKS

Senator Says Fed Investment Would Help FBI To Detect, Disrupt, And Prevent Hate-Fueled Acts Of Terrorism, As Well As Provide Local Law Enforcement With Intelligence On Those Who Are Capable Of Doing Harm To The Nation 

From New York To Orlando, Terrorists And Hate-Fueled Murderers Can Kill Scores, Even Hundreds, Of Innocents In Just Minutes – And Our Local Law Enforcement Needs Help To Confront And Eliminate These Awful Threats 

Schumer: We Must Do More To Protect New Yorkers From Terror And Hate 

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced a new push to help law enforcement in Upstate New York prevent and respond to terrorist and hate attacks. This push by Schumer to increase the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) budget and invest in more active shooter training opportunities, comes after this weekend’s hate-fueled terrorist attack on a LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

“These hate-fueled terrorists can kill scores of innocent people in minutes – which is exactly why we need to ramp up our preparedness and response efforts to guard against future attacks and protect our citizens. Increasing FBI funding would allow us to do three things: increase critical information sharing with local law enforcement, beef up FBI agent staffing and invest in active shooter training programs,” said Schumer. “Last weekend’s attack in Orlando proves that hate-fueled terror attacks can – and do – happen anywhere, so we need to make sure the FBI and our communities across NY State have the tools and resources to better confront and eliminate these threats head-on. Lone-wolf terror attacks with self-radicalized killers are a metastasizing threat and we must do more to help our local law enforcement agencies prevent, prepare for and respond to these threats.”

Schumer said he is pushing an amendment – sponsored by Senators Mikulski and Nelson – to the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Fiscal Year 2017 Appropriations bill that would fully fund the Administration’s FY17 request for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) counter-terrorism efforts and provide additional resources for active shooter training. In total, the Mikulski-Nelson amendment would provide an additional $190 million to the CJS Appropriations bill. Of this amount, $175 million would be dedicated to FBI counterterrorism efforts and $15 million to active shooter training for local law enforcement. This would raise funding for the FBI to $73 million above the President’s request and $24 million more than the amount provided by House Republicans. Schumer said this funding is critical, particularly in the wake of last weekend’s hate-fueled terror attack on an Orlando LGBT nightclub that killed 49 people and injured many more. Schumer said the recent attacks in secondary-sized cities like Orlando, FL and San Bernardino, CA show that mass shootings can – and do – happen anywhere, and local law enforcement needs the tools and resources to better combat and eradicate these threats.

As a result, Schumer is pushing his colleagues in Congress to support the emergency funding so the FBI has the resources to track and thwart domestic terrorist attacks. Specifically, Schumer said increasing funding for the FBI would allow it to do three key things:

• First, the Mikulski-Nelson amendment would allow the FBI to better coordinate with local law enforcement on preparedness and security efforts.

o The funding included in the proposed amendment would allow the FBI to make improvements to its transnational crime and terror watch-listing program, as well as increase information sharing efforts at the Terrorist Screening Center.

o This would help local law enforcement more effectively protect vulnerable soft-targets like malls, movie theaters, concert venues, stadiums, nightclubs and more.

• In addition to this information sharing, increased funding for the FBI would allow the agency to beef up staffing and resources at field offices around the country, like those in Upstate New York.

o $175 million included in the amendment would allow the FBI to restore 350 positions, including 225 Special Agents for critical FBI investigations and operations related to Counterterrorism, Cyber, Counterintelligence, and Criminal programs.

o Additional funds would provide for 36 new positions at the FBI, including 18 special agents, fully dedicated to tracking terrorist threats. These investments would enhance the FBI’s surveillance capabilities of the highest priority targets.

• Finally, this proposed amendment would invest in active shooter training programs.

o $15 million for Department of Justice (DOJ) grant programs for active shooter training. The funding would go towards the Preventing Violence Against Law Enforcement and Ensuring Officer Resilience and Survivability (VALOR) program which helps train state, local, and tribal law enforcement officers on how to best to handle violent encounters and mass shooters.

Schumer also highlighted the FBI field offices in New York State that could benefit from these additional resources to help them better combat and prevent future terror- and hate-inspired attacks: 

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