I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 223 
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
establish grants to reduce the incidence of hate crimes, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 3, 2019 
Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ (for herself, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. NORTON, Ms. 
SCHAKOWSKY, and Mr. TAKANO) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
Act of 1968 to establish grants to reduce the incidence 
of hate crimes, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hate Crime Victim 
Assistance Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Hate crimes have been on the rise over the 
previous years across the United States. In 2015, 
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according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
(FBI), 56.9 percent of single-bias incidents were 
motivated by either race, ethnicity or ancestry bias. 
(2) The same report mentions that 21.4 percent 
were prompted by religious bias; 18.1 percent sexual 
orientation bias; 2.0 percent gender-identity bias; 
and 1.3 percent disability bias. 
(3) Out of the 56.9 percent of the single-bias 
incidents that were motivated by race reported to 
the FBI in 2015, 9.4 percent of these were classified 
as anti-Hispanic or Latino, and 3.3 percent of these 
single bias incidents had an anti-Asian bias. 
(4) Previous data from the FBI suggest that 
hate crimes against African Americans have seen a 
dramatic increase over the years. Such trends can be 
traced back to 2003, when hate crimes against Afri-
can Americans were twice as much as all other race 
groups combined. 
(5) A 2015 study conducted by the Los Angeles 
County Commission on Human Relations notes that 
half of the hate crimes in Los Angeles County were 
racially motivated—58 percent of those attacks tar-
geted the County’s African-American population, al-
though they only constituted 4 percent of the coun-
ty’s population. 
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(6) Previous research suggests that Black males 
are also more vulnerable to violent victimization. 
Furthermore, data suggest that communities of color 
continue to be victims of hate crime violence. 
(7) The Los Angeles County Commission on 
Human Relations report found that the number of 
hate crimes targeting Asian and Pacific islanders 
tripled from six to eighteen since 2014. The same 
report notes that Anti-Latino hate crimes also rose 
from 36 in 2014 to 61 in 2015. 
(8) A study conducted by the Human Rights 
Campaign notes that out of the number of hate 
crimes committed against the transgender commu-
nity from 2013–2015, at least 87 percent of victims 
were transgender people of color. 
(9) Only 16, or 30 percent, were killed in 
States that have hate crime laws that account for 
crimes motivated by the victim’s gender identity; but 
despite these provisions and a Federal hate crime 
law, not a single one of these murders was pros-
ecuted or reported to the FBI as a hate crime. 
(10) The United States is currently facing a 
surge in religious bias. According to the Southern 
Poverty Law Center, there are currently 917 hate 
groups operating across the country. 
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(11) A CNN report found that in the first 
months of 2017 the country experienced a substan-
tial increase in Anti-Semitic incidents. In compari-
son to the same period in 2016, Anti-Semitic inci-
dents were 86 percent higher. 
(12) Historically hate crimes have gone under 
reported. On average there are 250,000 hate crime 
victims each year, of which only one-third are re-
ported to the police. 
(13) It is Congress’ responsibility to provide for 
sustainable and feasible solutions to reduce, prevent 
and mitigate underlying factors responsible for bias 
incidents. 
SEC. 3. LOCAL HATE CRIME HOTLINES AND HATE CRIME 
INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE WEB SITES. 
Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3711 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘PART MM—HATE CRIME HOTLINES AND 
WEBSITES 
‘‘SEC. 3031. HATE CRIME HOTLINES AND WEBSITES. 
‘‘(a) GRANT AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney Gen-
eral shall make grants to States, units of local govern-
ment, or any combination thereof, in partnership with 
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stakeholders, service providers, and nonprofit organiza-
tions. 
‘‘(b) MANDATORY GRANT USES.—Grant funds shall 
be expended for each of the following purposes: 
‘‘(1) HATE CRIME INFORMATION AND ASSIST-
ANCE WEBSITE.—To provide for the establishment 
and operation of a hate crime information and as-
sistance website, which shall be a highly secure 
Internet website that provides information and as-
sistance to victims of hate crimes. In establishing 
and operating the hate crime information and assist-
ance website, the grantee shall— 
‘‘(A) use grant funds for startup and oper-
ational costs associated with establishing and 
operating the website; 
‘‘(B) provide accurate information that de-
scribes the services available to victims of hate 
crimes, including health care and mental health 
services, social services, transportation, and 
other relevant services; and 
‘‘(C) make the website available to the op-
erator of the hate crime hotline established or 
expanded pursuant to paragraph (2). 
‘‘(2) HATE CRIME HOTLINES.—To establish or 
expand a hate crime hotline to provide information 
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and assistance to victims of hate crimes. In addition, 
grantees may, in operating the hotline, work in con-
junction with other local programs and activities 
that serve targeted areas and that provide legal, 
health (including physical and mental health), and 
other support services to victims of hate crimes. In 
establishing and operating the hotline, the entity 
shall— 
‘‘(A) contract with a carrier for the use of 
a toll-free telephone line; 
‘‘(B) employ, train (including technology 
training), and supervise personnel to answer in-
coming calls and provide counseling and refer-
ral services to callers on a 24-hour-a-day basis; 
‘‘(C) assemble and maintain a current 
database of information relating to services for 
victims of hate crimes to which callers through-
out the United States may be referred; and 
‘‘(D) be prohibited from asking hotline 
callers about their citizenship status. 
‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to require any shelter or service 
provider, whether public or private, to be linked to the 
hate crime information and assistance website or to pro-
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vide information to the recipient of the grant described 
in paragraph (1) or to the website. 
‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—The Attorney General may ap-
prove an application for a grant under this section only 
if such application— 
‘‘(1) contains such agreements, assurances, and 
information, be in such form, and be submitted in 
such manner, as the Attorney General shall by rule 
require; 
‘‘(2) in the case of an application for a grant 
to carry out activities described in subsection (b)(2), 
includes a complete description of the applicant’s 
plan for the operation of a hate crime hotline, in-
cluding descriptions of— 
‘‘(A) the training program for hotline per-
sonnel, including technology training to ensure 
that all persons affiliated with the hotline are 
able to effectively operate any technological sys-
tems used by the hotline; 
‘‘(B) the hiring criteria for hotline per-
sonnel; 
‘‘(C) the methods for the creation, mainte-
nance, and updating of a resource database; 
‘‘(D) a plan for publicizing the availability 
of the hotline; 
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‘‘(E) a plan for providing service to non- 
English speaking callers that— 
‘‘(i) is based on data from the Bureau 
of the Census and be consistent with the 
local area demographics where the hate 
crime hotline will operate—such plan will 
outline which languages are most prevalent 
and commonly requested for translation 
services; or 
‘‘(ii) is based on qualitative and quan-
titative observation from community serv-
ice providers including those that provide 
health and mental health services, social 
services, transportation, and other relevant 
services; and 
‘‘(F) a plan for facilitating access to the 
hotline by persons with hearing impairments; 
and 
‘‘(3) in the case of an application for a grant 
to carry out activities described in subsection 
(b)(1)— 
‘‘(A) include a complete description of the 
applicant’s plan for the development, operation, 
maintenance, and updating of information and 
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resources of the hate crime information and as-
sistance website; 
‘‘(B) include a certification that the appli-
cant will implement a high-level security system 
to ensure the confidentiality of the website, tak-
ing into consideration the safety of hate crime 
victims; 
‘‘(C) include an assurance that, after the 
third year of the website project, the recipient 
of the grant will develop a plan to secure other 
public or private funding resources to ensure 
the continued operation and maintenance of the 
website; 
‘‘(D) demonstrate that the applicant has 
recognized expertise in the area of hate crimes 
and a record of high quality service to victims 
of hate crimes, including a demonstration of 
support from advocacy groups; and 
‘‘(E) demonstrate that the applicant has a 
commitment to diversity, and to the provision of 
services to the ethnic, racial, religious, and non- 
English speaking minorities, in addition to 
older individuals, individuals with disabilities, 
and individuals of various gender, gender iden-
tity, and sexual orientation. 
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‘‘(e) RENEWAL OF GRANTS.—A grant made under 
this part may be renewed, without limitations on the dura-
tion of such renewal, to provide additional funds, if the 
Attorney General determines that the funds made avail-
able to the recipient were used in a manner required under 
an approved application and if the recipient can dem-
onstrate significant progress in achieving the objectives of 
the initial application. 
‘‘(f) NO-COST EXTENSIONS.—Notwithstanding sub-
section (e), the Attorney General may extend a grant pe-
riod, without limitations as to the duration of such exten-
sion, to provide additional time to complete the objectives 
of the initial grant award. 
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this part: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘hate crime’ means a crime in 
which the defendant intentionally selects a victim, or 
in the case of a property crime, the property that is 
the object of the crime, because of the actual or per-
ceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, 
gender, gender identity, disability, or sexual orienta-
tion of any person. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘targeted area’ means an area 
with a demonstrated lack of resources, as deter-
mined by the Attorney General, for victims of hate 
crimes. 
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