Blumenthal-Moran Legislation to Improve Hate Crimes Reporting, Expand Resources For Victims Heads to the President's Desk for Signature

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, the House of Representatives approved legislation authored by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) to improve hate crimes reporting and expand assistance and resources for victims as part of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act. The Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act was championed in the House by U.S. Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA), Fred Upton (R-MI), Judy Chu (D-CA), and Vern Buchanan (R-FL). The bill now heads to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

“Congress is making history in the fight against hate crimes – sending to the President’s desk the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act. After years of advocacy, I am immensely proud of the solid bipartisan support against the surging scourge of hate crimes, especially abhorrent violence against Asian Americans,” Blumenthal said. “Better hate crime reporting is critical to stopping this scourge. Law enforcement lacks the data to implement comprehensive, meaningful solutions. Local reporting systems are woefully underutilized because of systemic problems in identifying and recording hate crimes. Our bill solves such problems by providing resources to states and localities for training, outreach, and reporting system improvements and by establishing new hotlines victims can directly call to report an attack. It also provides for alternative sentences that will promote community healing, reconciliation, and rehabilitation. I’m grateful to my partner, Jerry Moran, and look forward now to effective enforcement.”

“Hate crimes have no place in our society,” said Moran. “I’m pleased the House took action to advance this important legislation to improve reporting of hate crimes, and I look forward to the President quickly signing it into law.”

The Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act – approved by the House today as part of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act – would help combat the recent surge in hate crimes by:

Improving Reporting of Hate Crimes: This legislation will improve reporting of hate crimes by supporting the implementation of and training for NIBRS, the latest crime reporting standard, in law enforcement agencies without it. This will allow law enforcement agencies to record and report detailed information about crimes, including hate crimes, to the FBI. In 2019, more than 86 percent of agencies that participate in reporting hate crimes to the FBI reported zero hate crimes. Helping law enforcement agencies recognize and report detailed information on hate crimes and report that data to the FBI will help establish a clear picture of the threats that vulnerable communities are facing across the country.

Encouraging Law Enforcement Prevention, Training and Education on Hate Crimes: This legislation will provide support to law enforcement agencies that establish a policy on identifying, investigating and reporting hate crimes, train officers on how to identify hate crimes, develop a system for collecting hate crimes data, establish a hate crimes unit within the agency, and engage in community relations to address hate crimes in that jurisdiction.

Establishing Hate Crime Hotlines: This legislation will provide grants for states to establish and run hate crime hotlines, to record information about hate crimes and to redirect victims and witnesses to law enforcement and local support services as needed. This will make sure that hate crimes don’t go unreported and victims get the help that they need.

Rehabilitating Perpetrators of Hate Crimes through Education and Community Service: This legislation will allow for judges to require individuals convicted under federal hate crime laws to undergo community service or education centered on the community targeted by the crime.

The Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act is endorsed by many of the nation’s leading civil rights advocacy organizations and top law enforcement groups, including:

“With each new story of hate-motivated violence that is splashed across the news, and the knowledge that countless more never make headlines, our family hurts for those who are targeted,” said the Jabara Family. “We applaud this bipartisan effort to accurately collect data in Khalid and Heather's memories. The only way we, as a country, will ever know how to begin to address hate in our society is to collect accurate data. The Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act ensures that hate crimes are accurately reported so we can begin the hard work of stopping hate.”

“Doctors gather a full range of symptoms to make a diagnosis. Mechanics assess a vehicle before making repairs. Only as we have accurate data on hate crimes can we determine how to best allocate resources to solve the problems,” said Susan Bro, President of the Heather Heyer Foundation and mother of Heather Heyer.

“Today, Congress took an important step to address the rise in hate crimes throughout the country by passing the NO HATE Act. This legislation will provide local law enforcement agencies with important resources to enhance their ability to prevent, respond to, and investigate these terrible incidents,” said Chief Art Acevedo, President, Major Cities Chiefs Association and Chief of Police, Miami Police Department. “We thank Senator Blumenthal and Representative Beyer for their continued leadership and efforts to get the NO HATE Act enacted. The MCCA looks forward to President Biden signing this bill into law.”

“Hate is on the rise across our country, and we must act to protect our communities from violence,” said Karl A. Racine, Attorney General for the District of Columbia and President of the National Association of Attorneys General. “That’s why I chose combatting hate as my initiative as President of the National Association of Attorneys General. One of the major challenges in addressing hate is understanding the full scope of the problem because data is oftentimes limited or flawed. This bipartisan legislation is a critical step forward as it would give state and local law enforcement the resources to understand and report hate crimes and to help prevent them. We cannot turn away from the rise of hate in our country, and this bill serves as a data-driven approach to begin addressing the problem.”

Wade Henderson, interim president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights said, “As we witness a devastating spike in hate crimes targeting the Asian American community and other marginalized communities, it is important that President Biden sign this legislation into law to help combat hate through policies that are community-centered and reflect the needs of the people targeted by white supremacist violence. While passage of this bill is an important victory, more must be done to prevent and investigate white nationalist violence. Congress must hold white supremacists accountable for their actions, pass the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act to ensure accurate hate crime reporting, and oppose the creation of any new charge that would criminalize Black and Brown communities targeted for hate by violent white nationalists.”

“We all know the devastating impact hate has had on communities across the country—and we understand that we cannot effectively address the problem given the chronic underreporting of hate crimes,” said Maya Berry, Executive Director of the Arab American Institute. “The Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer NO HATE Act helps put faces to the issue of data collection and reporting. When it becomes law, the Jabara/Heyer NO HATE Act will improve the response to hate crimes on the local level and help guide our national policy. It will help all victims of hate crime.”

“The passage of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which includes the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act, is a victory for the Asian American community and all communities that have been fighting for better reporting and data collection on hate crimes – and especially for communities whose limited-English proficient members have been left out in reporting and data collection on hate crimes for far too long,” said John C. Yang, President and Executive Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC said. “While we know there is still work to do, the passage of this bill today begins a much-needed step forward in prioritizing language access and culturally competent outreach to our communities in reporting and addressing anti-Asian hate. It also gives the communities power to allocate resources for community solutions to hate and discrimination, including non-law enforcement support services for victims and communities. This step forward also improves hate crimes reporting and data collection infrastructure to keep government agencies and law enforcement accountable to our communities’ needs.”

“Hate crimes cause pain and fear, not just for the individuals targeted, but for entire communities,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League. “For decades, ADL has led coalitions to advocate for hate crime laws to better protect marginalized communities, but even as we continue this work we see urgent need for more complete data and a better understanding of the factors that lead to attacks—that is what the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act would give us. We applaud Congress for prioritizing this issue.”

“Combating hate crimes and protecting our freedom of religious expression is the responsibility of all Americans. As Muslims and as Jews, we welcome the bipartisan and bicameral effort to ensure our hate crimes data is complete so that we can improve the ways we combat them,” said Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council (MJAC) Co-Chair Farooq Kathwari.

“Jews, Muslims and all Americans have the responsibility to take action against hate. Thedevastating spike in hate crimes targeting minorities, particularly against the Asian American community, demonstrates the need for working together across the lines of faith, race, and ethnicity. We look forward to President Biden signing the bill into law so that the Department of Justice can implement these much needed measures,” said MJAC Co-Chair Stanley Bergman.

“The myriad American organizations and communities that have joined voices to advocate for this bill -- coupled with the strong bipartisan support garnered in the House of Representatives and the Senate -- shows that Americans urgently need concrete action to defeat hate, and that we can achieve unity over division.” said Julie Rayman, Senior Director of Policy and Political Affairs at the American Jewish Committee.

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