Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) was among legislators who condemned recent domestic terrorism attacks and told a Senate committee that the nation must do more to put an end to the proliferation of white supremacy.
Peters cited recent domestic attacks at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York; a classroom in Uvalde, Texas; and a hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, during his opening statement at the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs' hearing on June 9 titled "Domestic Extremism in America: Examining White Supremacist Violence in the Wake of Recent Attacks." In addition to condemning white supremacist attacks, the committee discussed possible solutions to gun violence.
Citing the Anti-Defamation League, Peters, chairman of the committee, said white supremacists committed 244 of the 443 extremist murders during the past 10 years.
"Despite clear data showing the threat posed by domestic extremism, particularly white supremacist and anti-government violence, our nation's counterterrorism agencies have not been as nimble or as proactive as needed to effectively track or address this pernicious threat," Peters said at the hearing. "While I am grateful to the Biden Administration for laying out the first national strategy to address domestic terrorism, there is more we must do as a nation to stop the spread of the hateful and insidious ideologies of white supremacy that are leading to real-world violence."
The "National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism," released in June 2021 by the White House, outlined a plan based on "four pillars" of how the U.S. government would address domestic terrorism.
"First are efforts to understand and share information regarding the full range of domestic terrorism threats," the strategy said. " Second are efforts to prevent domestic terrorists from successfully recruiting, inciting, and mobilizing Americans to violence. Third are efforts to deter and disrupt domestic terrorist activity before it yields violence. Finally, the long–term issues that contribute to domestic terrorism in our country must be addressed to ensure that this threat diminishes over generations to come."
In his opening statement, Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) condemned the violence and pledged to work in a bipartisan way to find solutions.
"Domestic extremist violence makes up a large proportion of the acts of terror committed in the United States," Portman said at the hearing. "These acts of violence are abhorrent and should be condemned to the fullest extent. These acts of hate go against our American values and serves as a reminder that domestic violent extremism continues to threaten and harm our communities. My heart goes out to the victims’ families, and I hope that the conversation had today will shed light on solutions for preventing future violence."
Witnesses at the hearing included Elizabeth Yates, senior researcher on antisemitism for Human Rights First; Eric K. Ward, executive director of the Western States Center; Michael German, fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice; and Nathan A. Sales, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, the committee said on its site.
