I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4065 
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 
OCTOBER 12, 2017 
Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ (for herself, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. TAKANO, and Ms. SCHA-
KOWSKY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee 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 2017’’. 
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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