Today, Rep. Pete Aguilar’s bill, the Reporting Efficiently to Proper Officials in Response to Terrorism (REPORT) Act, passed the House of Representatives unanimously by a voice vote. The REPORT Act requires the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United States Attorney General and the head of the National Counterterrorism Center, to submit a report to Congress after an act of terrorism occurs in the U.S. The goal is to generate a report with detailed analysis about how the attack occurred and how to prevent future assaults. There is currently no legal requirement to produce this type of report.

Rep. Aguilar spoke on the House floor this afternoon and urged his colleagues to vote in favor of the REPORT Act, stating, “I introduced the REPORT Act a year after the San Bernardino terrorist attack. Our community has seen more than its fair share of gun violence, but this terrorist mass shooting claimed 14 lives, injured another 22 people and shook our community. In the days and weeks after, we pledged to do all we could to prevent another attack like this from ever happening again, and that is what this bill will help us do.” He continued, “The REPORT Act is a commonsense bill that will empower lawmakers with the facts they need to create meaningful laws to thwart future acts of terror. This bill is for the 14 killed and 22 injured in San Bernardino. It is for my community. It is also for every American city touched by these heinous acts of terrorism. We can and we must work together to protect our homeland, and I believe this is a smart, bipartisan step to achieve just that.”

The REPORT Act has regional support from Inland Empire Reps. Calvert and Cook, as well as nine other Republican Members of Congress. Last month, local law enforcement leaders expressed support for the bill, including San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan and San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon, when the bill was unanimously voted out of the Homeland Security Committee on May 3, 2017.

Pete Aguilar represents the City of San Bernardino and authored the bill following the domestic act of terror in his community that killed 14 and wounded 22 on December 2, 2015 at the Inland Regional Center. The legislation was developed through feedback with victims’ families. Last year, Rep. Aguilar worked with Rep. Ken Calvert to help return $1 million in federal funds to help offset the costs incurred from local law enforcement’s heroic response to the terror attack. Rep. Aguilar also assisted in securing a $4 million federal grant from the Department of Justice to help victims’ families and survivors access health care and other resources to recover. Rep. Aguilar’s remarks on the House floor were streamed on Facebook Live and can be viewed in full here.