Tester Condemns Racism, Calls on Elected Leaders to Work Together to Stop Violence

As Ranking Member of Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, Tester Calls for Resources to Fight Hate

(Billings, Mont.)­- Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Jon Tester today issued the following statement calling on Congress to allocate resources to combat hate, racism, and violence:

“Racism, hate, and violence have absolutely no place in Montana or anywhere across our country, and I condemn the horrific actions that are dividing our nation. There is a right side and a wrong side to this issue, and all elected leaders must strongly denounce and work against those who promote these dangerous beliefs. Congress and the President must take decisive action to combat white supremacy and neo-Nazism, so that all Americans can experience liberty and justice.”

The Department of Homeland Security, which Tester funds, has several programs at its disposal to counter these types of dangerous hate groups, including the Office of Community Partnerships, the Office and Intelligence and Analysis, and the Office of State and Local Law Enforcement. Tester is working to appropriately fund these programs in the fiscal year 2018 DHS Appropriations Bill and is fighting to ensure state, local, tribal, and territorial governments are fully equipped to prepare, prevent, and respond to this threat.