Rep. Kustoff: ‘Religious Intolerance Has No Place in America’

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative David Kustoff (TN-08) today delivered remarks on the House floor before final passage of his bill, the Protecting Religiously Affiliated Institutions Act of 2017 (H.R. 1730). This legislation is Congressman Kustoff's first to pass in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The full text of Congressman Kustoff's remarks follows:

I rise today in support of H.R. 1730, the Protecting Religiously Affiliated Institutions Act of 2017.

I introduced this bipartisan bill with the support of my friend, Representative Derek Kilmer of Washington state.

Our legislation is essential in safeguarding religious institutions of all kinds from atrocious threats and acts of violence.

Earlier this year, we saw a disturbing rise in bomb threats at Jewish Community Centers, churches and other religious institutions across the country.

Our communities were in distress as cemeteries were vandalized because of their religious affiliation.

This kind of hate crime is simply unacceptable.

After all, religious tolerance is the bedrock on which this great nation was founded.

According to a report by the Anti-Defamation League, the number of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States increased dramatically by 86 percent in the first three months of 2017.

We can attribute this year's increase to 155 vandalism incidents, including three cemetery desecrations and 161 hoax bomb threats against religious community centers.

This is a dramatic increase of 127 percent over the same quarter in 2016.

On November 13, 2017, the FBI released their 2016 Annual Hate Crime Statistics Act data documents.

The study found that more than 100 hate crimes occurred at churches in the United States in 2016 alone.

Unfortunately, hate crimes motivated by religious affiliation accounted for 1,538 total offenses and 1,273 incidents that were reported by law enforcement.

Hate crimes do not just hurt one person—they cause grave distress to our families, communities and society as a whole.

In my home state of Tennessee, we sadly experienced multiple bomb threats at a local Jewish Community Center.

These events shook the entire community.

In addition to the fear inflicted upon these institutions after a threat, there are tangible ramifications for the centers.

Many community centers and places of worship are forced to temporarily close their doors as a result of these threats.

Families who rely on the center's services, such as bible study and early-childhood education programs, have been forced to choose between their faith community and their safety.

Here, in the United States of America, people should not have to make that choice.

Our nation was founded on the idea of religious freedom, and our commitment to religious freedom must remain unshakeable.

It is time we say enough is enough –

Religious intolerance has no place in this country.

The Protecting Religiously Affiliated Institutions Act of 2017 would ensure that individuals who make credible threats of violence against religious community centers and places of worship can be prosecuted for committing a hate crime under federal law.

This bipartisan bill strengthens federal criminal statutes to prevent threats, while preserving our First Amendment rights.

It is our moral imperative to protect the right of all Americans to worship freely and without fear, a right that is sewn into our nation's very fabric.

We must strongly condemn any acts of hate against people and all institutions of faith.

I want to thank Representative Kilmer for his hard work on this legislation.

I am proud of this bipartisan effort that we have led.

I also want to thank all of the cosponsors of this bill and Chairman Goodlatte for his leadership on the Judiciary Committee.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this very important legislation.