U.S. Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Redlands, has introduced the Shielding Our Military from Extremists Act, legislation to help prevent white supremacists and other domestic extremists from enlisting in the U.S. military.

The introduction of the bill follows the publication of a recent report by the Department of Defense, which was commissioned by language Aguilar previously secured in the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2020.

The report confirms that white supremacist organizations have actively worked to infiltrate the military in recent years in order to gain combat and tactical training, identify new recruits and use the presence of active duty service members to bring recognition to their organizations.

“This report confirms that white supremacist extremists are attempting to use our military to acquire training, new recruits and validity for their hateful and violent causes,” Aguilar said.

He is introducing the act to codify the recommendations laid out by the Department of Defense to prevent extremists from putting service members in harm’s way for their own gain, he said in a press release.

“It’s clear that we need cooperation across our government to solve this problem, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress, the Department of Defense and the Biden administration to get it done,” Aguilar said.