III 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 118 

Condemning hate crime and any other form of racism, religious or ethnic 

bias, discrimination, incitement to violence, or animus targeting a minority in the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 5 (legislative day, APRIL 4), 2017 

Ms. HARRIS (for herself, Mr. RUBIO, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and Ms. COLLINS) 

submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning hate crime and any other form of racism, religious or ethnic bias, discrimination, incitement to violence, or animus targeting a minority in the United 

States. 

Whereas, in the past several years, violent crimes, threats of 

violence, and other incidents of hate-motivated targeting 

of religious, racial, and ethnic minorities have increased 

across the United States; 

Whereas, in 2015, hate crimes targeting Muslims in the 

United States increased by 67 percent, reaching a level 

of violence targeting Muslim Americans that the United 

States had not experienced since the aftermath of the 

September 11, 2001, attacks, according to the Federal 

Bureau of Investigation; 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 118 ATS 

Whereas, in 2015, anti-Semitic incidents increased in the 

United States for the second straight year, according to 

the Anti-Defamation League’s 2015 Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, which describes trends such as the tripling of assaults targeting Jews since 2012 and the rise 

of online harassment and hate speech directed at Jewish 

journalists and individuals through social media; 

Whereas, in 2015, anti-Semitic incidents at institutions of 

higher education nearly doubled compared to the number 

of those incidents in 2014, and during the 2016–2017 

school year there has been an increase in white supremacist activity on college campuses across the United 

States, according to the Anti-Defamation League; 

Whereas, in 2015, among single-bias hate crime incidents in 

the United States, 59.2 percent of victims were targeted 

due to racial, ethnic, or ancestry bias, and among those 

victims, 52.2 percent were victims of crimes motivated by 

their offenders’ anti-Black or anti-African American bias, 

according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation; 

Whereas, in 2017, there have been more than 100 reported 

bomb threats against Jewish community centers, Jewish 

day schools, and other Jewish organizations and institutions in more than 38 States; 

Whereas, in 2017, Islamic centers and mosques have been 

burned in the States of Texas, Washington, and Florida, 

and Jewish cemeteries have been desecrated in the States 

of Missouri and Pennsylvania; 

Whereas, in 2017, there has been harassment and hate-based 

violence against individuals who are perceived to be Arab 

or Muslim, including members of South Asian communities in the United States, and Hindu and Sikh AmeriVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Apr 06, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR118.ATS SR118

SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 118 ATS 

cans have been the target of hate-based violence targeting 

religious minorities; and 

Whereas, on February 28, 2017, President Donald Trump, 

before a joint session of Congress, acknowledged threats 

targeting Jewish community centers and the vandalism of 

Jewish cemeteries, and stated that ‘‘we are a country 

that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all of 

its very ugly forms’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) affirms that the United States stands 

3 united in condemning hate and evil in all forms; 

4 (2) rejects hate-motivated crime as an attack on 

5 the fabric of the society of the United States and the 

6 ideals of pluralism and respect; 

7 (3) condemns hate crime and any other form of 

8 racism, religious or ethnic bias, discrimination, in9 citement to violence, or animus targeting a minority 

10 in the United States; 

11 (4) calls on Federal law enforcement officials, 

12 working with State and local officials— 

13 (A) to expeditiously investigate all credible 

14 reports of hate crimes and incidents and threats 

15 against minorities in the United States; and 

16 (B) to hold the perpetrators of those 

17 crimes, incidents, or threats accountable and 

18 bring the perpetrators to justice; 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 118 ATS 

1 (5) encourages the Department of Justice and 

2 other Federal agencies— 

3 (A) to work to improve the reporting of 

4 hate crimes; and 

5 (B) to emphasize the importance of the 

6 agencies’ collection and reporting of data pursu7 ant to Federal law; 

8 (6) encourages the development of an inter9 agency task force led by the Attorney General to col10 laborate on the development of effective strategies 

11 and efforts to detect and deter hate crime in order 

12 to protect minority communities; and 

13 (7) calls on the executive branch— 

14 (A) to continue to offer Federal assistance 

15 that may be available for victims of hate crimes; 

16 and 

17 (B) to continue to carry out safety and 

18 preparedness programs for religious institu19 tions, places of worship, and other institutions 

20 that have been targeted because of the affili21 ation of the institutions with any particular reli22 gious, racial, or ethnic minority in the United 

23 States. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS