Chairman Jamie Raskin's Opening Statement [PDF]

Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney's Opening Statement [PDF]

On Wednesday, September 29, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. ET, Rep. Jamie Raskin, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, will hold a hybrid hearing to examine the Biden Administration’s whole-of-government strategy to combat domestic terrorism and how the Administration will seek to balance civil rights and civil liberties with the people’s need to address the rise of violent white supremacists and other forms of violent extremism threatening democratic government. 

On June 15, 2021, the Biden Administration released a whole-of-government counter-extremism strategy, which is the first time a federal counterterrorism strategy has focused explicitly on the increasing dangers of domestic terrorism.  The strategy builds on a March 2021 assessment by the Director of National Intelligence that identified violent white supremacist and anti-government militia extremists as the “most lethal” domestic threats facing the country.  For years, the Subcommittee has called for a more robust federal response to violent white supremacy and other forms of domestic extremism. 

The sweeping objectives outlined in this strategy—from increased state-federal coordination on extremism to reduction of potential insider threats—will require enormous implementation efforts and oversight.  In addition, civil liberties advocates have raised concerns that the strategy does not clearly establish safeguards to curtail federal government’s use of counterterrorism powers to infringe on the privacy of Americans.  Prior counterextremism initiatives, such as the Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) program, have come under fire for their tendency to target and surveil minority populations.

This hearing will focus on the Administration’s plan to balance these new investigative and enforcement priorities with safeguards that will protect the civil liberties of all Americans.