,,ii #aadth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #bcfi ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,december #h1 #bjae,mr4 ,carper introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb to establish an ,office for ,community ,partnerships4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,community ,partnership ,act of #bjae4 #b4 ,authorization of the ,office for ,community ,partnerships of the ,department of ,homeland ,security 7a7 ,in general ,title ,i of the ,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb 7#f ,u4,s4,c4 #aja et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #ajd4 ,office for ,community ,partnerships 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section-- 7#a7 the term countering violent extremism means proactive and relevant actions to counter efforts by extremists to radicalize1 recruit1 and mobilize followers to violence and to address the conditions that allow for violent extremist recruitment and radicalization2 and 7#b7 the term violent extremism means ideologically motivated violence as a method of advancing a cause4 7b7 ,establishment ,there is in the ,department an ,office for ,community ,partnerships4 7c7 ,head of ,office ,the ,office for ,community ,partnerships shall be headed by an ,assistant ,secretary for ,community ,partnerships1 who shall be designated by the ,secretary4 7d7 ,deputy ,assistant ,secretary2 assignment of personnel ,the ,secretary shall-- 7#a7 designate a career ,deputy ,assistant ,secretary for ,community ,partnerships2 and 7#b7 assign or hire1 as appropriate1 permanent staff to the ,office for ,community ,partnerships4 7e7 ,responsibilities ,the ,assistant ,secretary for ,community ,partnerships shall be responsible for the following3 7#a7 ,leading the efforts of the ,department to counter violent extremism across all the components and offices of the ,department that conduct strategic and supportive efforts to counter violent extremism4 ,such efforts shall include the following3 7,a7 ,partnering with communities to address vulnerabilities that can be exploited by violent extremists in the ,united ,states and explore potential remedies for government and nongovernment institutions4 7,b7 ,working with civil society groups and communities to counter violent extremist propaganda1 messaging1 or recruitment4 7,c7 ,in coordination with the ,office for ,civil ,rights and ,civil ,liberties of the ,department1 managing the outreach and engagement efforts of the ,department directed toward communities at risk for radicalization and recruitment for violent extremist activities4 7,d7 ,ensuring relevant information1 research1 and products inform efforts to counter violent extremism4 7,e7 ,developing and maintaining ,departmentwide plans1 strategy guiding policies1 and programs to counter violent extremism4 ,such plans shall1 at a minimum1 address each of the following3 7i7 ,the ,department's plan to leverage new and existing ,internet and other technologies and social media platforms to improve nongovernment efforts to counter violent extremism1 as well as the best practices and lessons learned of other ,federal1 ,state1 local1 tribal1 territorial1 and foreign partners engaged in similar counter-messaging efforts4 7ii7 ,the ,department's countering violent extremism-related engagement efforts4 7iii7 ,the use of cooperative agreements with ,state1 local1 tribal1 territorial1 and other ,federal departments and agencies responsible for efforts relating to countering violent extremism4 7,f7 ,coordinating with the ,office for ,civil ,rights and ,civil ,liberties of the ,department to ensure all of the activities of the ,department related to countering violent extremism fully respect the privacy1 civil rights1 and civil liberties of all persons4 7,g7 ,in coordination with the ,under ,secretary for ,science and ,technology and in consultation with the ,under ,secretary for ,intelligence and ,analysis1 identifying and recommending new research and analysis requirements to ensure the dissemination of information and methods for ,federal1 ,state1 local1 tribal1 and territorial countering violent extremism practitioners1 officials1 law enforcement1 and nongovernmental partners to utilize such research and analysis4 7,h7 ,assessing the methods used by violent extremists to disseminate propaganda and messaging to communities at risk for recruitment by violent extremists4 7#b7 ,developing a digital engagement strategy that expands the outreach efforts of the ,department to counter violent extremist messaging by-- 7,a7 exploring ways to utilize relevant ,internet and other technologies and social media platforms2 and 7,b7 maximizing other resources available to the ,department4 7#c7 ,serving as the primary representative of the ,department in coordinating countering violent extremism efforts with other ,federal departments and agencies and nongovernmental organizations4 7#d7 ,serving as the primary ,department-level representative in coordinating with the ,department of ,state on international countering violent extremism issues4 7#e7 ,in coordination with the ,administrator of the ,federal ,emergency ,management ,agency1 providing guidance regarding the use of grants made to ,state1 local1 and tribal governments under sections #bjjc and #bjjd under the allowable uses guidelines related to countering violent extremism4 7#f7 ,developing a plan to expand philanthropic support for domestic efforts related to countering violent extremism1 including by identifying viable community projects and needs for possible philanthropic support4 7#g7 ,administering the assistance described in subsection 7f74 7f7 ,grants ,to counter violent extremism 7#a7 ,in general ,in accordance with this subsection1 the ,secretary may award grants or cooperative agreements directly to eligible recipients identified in paragraph 7#b7 to support the efforts of local communities in the ,united ,states to counter violent extremism4 7#b7 ,eligible recipients ,the ,secretary may award competitive grants or cooperative agreements based on need directly to-- 7,a7 ,states2 7,b7 local governments2 7,c7 tribal governments2 7,d7 nonprofit organizations2 or 7,e7 institutions of higher education4 7#c7 ,use of ,funds ,each entity receiving a grant or cooperative agreement under this subsection shall use the grant or cooperative agreement for one or more of the following purposes3 7,a7 ,to train or exercise for countering violent extremism1 including building training or exercise programs designed to improve cultural competency and to ensure that communities1 government1 and law enforcement receive accurate1 intelligence-based information about the dynamics of radicalization to violence4 7,b7 ,to develop1 implement1 or expand programs or projects with communities to discuss violent extremism or to engage communities that may be targeted by violent extremist radicalization4 7,c7 ,to develop and implement projects that partner with local communities to prevent radicalization to violence4 7,d7 ,to develop and implement a comprehensive model for preventing violent extremism in local communities1 including existing initiatives of ,state or local law enforcement agencies and existing mechanisms for engaging the resources and expertise available from a range of social service providers1 such as education administrators1 mental health professionals1 and religious leaders4 7,e7 ,to educate the community about countering violent extremism1 including the promotion of community-based activities to increase the measures taken by the community to counter violent extremism4 7,f7 ,to develop or assist social service programs that address root causes of violent extremism and develop1 build1 or enhance alternatives for members of local communities that may be targeted by violent extremism4 7,g7 ,to develop or enhance ,state or local government initiatives that facilitate and build overall capacity to address the threats post by violent extremism4 7,h7 ,to support such other activities1 consistent with the purposes of this subsection1 as the ,secretary determines appropriate4 7#d7 ,grant guidelines 7,a7 ,in general ,for each fiscal year1 before awarding a grant or cooperative agreement under this subsection1 the ,secretary shall develop guidelines published in a notice of funding opportunity that describe-- 7i7 the process for applying for grants and cooperative agreements under this subsection2 7ii7 the criteria that the ,secretary will use for selecting recipients based on the need demonstrated by the applicant2 and 7iii7 the requirements that recipients must follow when utilizing funds under this subsection to conduct training and exercises and otherwise engage local communities regarding countering violent extremism4 7,b7 ,considerations ,in developing the requirements under subparagraph 7,a77iii71 the ,secretary shall consider the following3 7i7 ,training objectives should be clearly defined to meet specific countering violent extremism goals1 such as community engagement1 cultural awareness1 or community-based policing4 7ii7 ,engaging diverse communities in the ,united ,states to counter violent extremism may require working with local grassroots community organizations to develop engagement and outreach initiatives4 7iii7 ,training programs should-- 7,i7 be sensitive to constitutional values1 such as protecting fundamental civil rights and civil liberties1 and eschew notions of racial and ethnic profiling2 and 7,,ii7 adhere to the standards and ethics of the ,department1 ensuring that the clearly defined objectives are in line with the strategies of the ,department to counter violent extremism4 7iv7 ,establishing vetting procedures for self-selected countering violent extremism training experts who offer programs that may claim to counter violent extremism1 but serve to demonize certain individuals or whole cross sections of a community4 7v7 ,providing a review process to determine if countering violent extremism training focuses on community engagement and outreach4 7vi7 ,providing support to law enforcement to enhance knowledge1 skills1 and abilities to increase engagement techniques with diverse communities in the ,united ,states4 7g7 ,annual report ,beginning in the first fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of this section1 and in each of the next #e fiscal years1 the ,assistant ,secretary of the ,office for ,community ,partnerships shall submit to ,congress an annual report on the ,office for ,community ,partnerships1 which shall include-- 7#a7 a description of the status of the programs and policies of the ,department for countering violent extremism in the ,united ,states2 7#b7 a description of the efforts of the ,office for ,community ,partnerships to cooperate with and provide assistance to other ,federal departments and agencies2 7#c7 qualitative and quantitative metrics for evaluating the success of such programs and policies and the steps taken to evaluate the success of such programs and policies2 and 7#d7 an accounting of-- 7,a7 grants awarded by the ,department to counter violent extremism2 and 7,b7 all training specifically aimed at countering violent extremism sponsored by the ,department4 4 7b7 ,technical and conforming amendment ,the table of contents in section #a7;b7 of the ,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb 7,public ,law #ajg-bif2 #aaf ,stat4 #bace7 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #ajc the following3 ,sec4 #ajd4 ,office for ,community ,partnerships4 4