Title: ALERT Act of 2017
Policy area: Emergency Management

Summary:
Amplifying Local Efforts to Root out Terror Act of 2017 or the ALERT Act of 2017
This bill authorizes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide training at state and major urban area fusion centers for the purpose of administering community awareness briefings and related activities in furtherance of its efforts to counter radicalization, identify and report suspicious activities, and increase awareness of and more quickly identify terrorism threats, including the travel or attempted travel of individuals from the United States to support a foreign terrorist organization abroad. (A "fusion center" serves as a focal point within the state and local environment for the receipt, analysis, gathering, and sharing of threat-related information between the federal government and state, local, tribal, territorial and private sector partners.)
The bill directs DHS to assess its efforts to support countering radicalization at the state, local, tribal, and territorial levels. Such assessment shall include:
DHS shall notify Congress of the number of employees of state, local, tribal, and territorial governments with security clearances sponsored by DHS, including a detailed list of the agencies that employ such employees, the levels of clearance held, and whether such employees are assigned as representatives to state and major urban area fusion centers.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1347 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1347

  To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide counter-
      radicalization training to Department of Homeland Security 
   representatives at State and local fusion centers, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 2, 2017

  Mr. Loudermilk (for himself, Mr. Katko, Mr. Keating, Mr. Hurd, Ms. 
Sinema, Mr. Ratcliffe, and Ms. McSally) introduced the following bill; 
        which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide counter-
      radicalization training to Department of Homeland Security 
   representatives at State and local fusion centers, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Amplifying Local Efforts to Root out 
Terror Act of 2017'' or the ``ALERT Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. COUNTER-RADICALIZATION TRAINING.

    (a) Authorization of Training.--The Secretary of Homeland Security 
is authorized to provide training for personnel, including Department 
of Homeland Security personnel and State, local, tribal, and 
territorial representatives at State and major urban area fusion 
centers for the purpose of administering community awareness briefings 
and related activities in furtherance of the Department's efforts to 
counter radicalization, identify and report suspicious activities, and 
increase awareness of and more quickly identify terrorism threats, 
including the travel or attempted travel of individuals from the United 
States to support a foreign terrorist organization (designated pursuant 
to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189)) 
abroad.
    (b) Coordination.--To the extent practicable, in providing the 
training under subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
coordinate with the heads of other Federal agencies engaged in 
community outreach related to countering radicalization, and shall also 
coordinate with such agencies in the administration of related 
activities, including community awareness briefings.

SEC. 3. COUNTER-RADICALIZATION ASSESSMENT.

    (a) Assessment Required.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
consultation with appropriate State, local, tribal, and territorial 
representatives, shall assess the efforts of the Department of Homeland 
Security to support efforts to counter radicalization at the State, 
local, tribal, and territorial levels. Such assessment shall include 
each of the following:
            (1) A cataloging of Department efforts to assist State, 
        local, tribal, and territorial governments to counter 
        radicalization.
            (2) A review of cooperative agreements between the 
        Department and such governments relating to countering 
        radicalization.
            (3) An evaluation of Department plans and any potential 
        opportunities to better support such governments that are in 
        furtherance of the Department's countering radicalization 
        objectives and are consistent with all relevant constitutional, 
        legal, and privacy protections.
    (b) Submission to Congress.--Not later than 150 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act and consistent with the protection of 
classified information, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit 
to the appropriate congressional committees the findings of the 
assessment required under subsection (a), together with any related 
information regarding best practices for countering radicalization at 
the State, local, tribal, and territorial levels.

SEC. 4. DEPARTMENT-SPONSORED CLEARANCES.

    Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Homeland Security shall notify the appropriate 
congressional committees of the number of employees of State, local, 
tribal, and territorial governments with security clearances sponsored 
by the Department of Homeland Security. Such notification shall include 
a detailed list of the agencies that employ such employees, the levels 
of clearance held by such employees, and whether such employees are 
assigned as representatives to State and major urban area fusion 
centers.

SEC. 5. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.

    No additional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements of 
this Act. Such requirements shall be carried out using amounts 
otherwise authorized.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) The term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Committee on Homeland Security and the 
                Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House 
                of Representatives; and
                    (B) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
                Governmental Affairs and the Select Committee on 
                Intelligence of the Senate.
            (2) The term ``radicalization'' means ideologically 
        motivated international terrorism or domestic terrorism, as 
        such terms are defined in section 2331 of title 18, United 
        States Code.
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