Senators Hassan, Lee Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Help Prevent Terrorist Attacks

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH), a senior member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Mike Lee (R-UT), reintroduced the Reporting Efficiently to Proper Officials in Response to Terrorism (REPORT) Act, which requires federal agencies to report to Congress after a terrorist attack with information about exactly what happened and recommendations to prevent future attacks.

The bipartisan bill requires the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department, the FBI, and/or the National Counterterrorism Center to work together to submit a report to Congress after a foreign or domestic terrorist attack, which must include an explanation of what happened, any gaps in national security, and recommendations for additional measures to improve homeland security and prevent future terrorist attacks.

“Strengthening our counterterrorism efforts is crucial to keeping America safe, secure, and free, and to do that we must be committed to working together, across the aisle and across federal agencies. This bipartisan bill will ensure that in the event of a terrorist attack there is a system in place to understand what went wrong so that we can do everything possible to help prevent future attacks,” said Senator Hassan.

“This legislation will aid our government in understanding what went wrong in the event of a terrorist attack and ensure we implement the proper oversight and transparency needed to prevent such an attack from happening again. The REPORT Act would establish an effective system to provide our counterterrorism efforts with as much information as possible. I am proud to join Senator Hassan in introducing this important bill that will help strengthen our national security,” said Senator Lee.

As a senior member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Senator Hassan has prioritized protecting national security and keeping Granite Staters and all Americans safe. Senator Hassan and Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) recently sounded the alarm on potential terrorist threats following the release of a convicted American Taliban fighter. Senator Hassan successfully worked to pass the bipartisan DHS Data Framework Act – which is now law – to help ensure that analysts at the Department of Homeland Security can more efficiently identify terrorist threats. Former President Trump also signed into law bipartisan legislation cosponsored by Senator Hassan to codify in law that grant funding for houses of worship and nonprofit organizations must be available for small states like New Hampshire, not just major metropolitan areas, and Senator Hassan successfully worked to quadruple funding for the program.

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