Congressman Fitzpatrick Issues Statement on Vote Against Bill He Originally Co-Sponsored

Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick voted with Republican peers against the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act, a bill he originally co-sponsored last year.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 222-203 late last week to pass the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022, which Republicans in the U.S. Senate want to block. Congressman Adam Kinzinger, a Republican from Illinois, was the the only member of that party to vote for the latest iteration of the bill in the House.

In a statement, Fitzpatrick, a former FBI special agent, said changes to the legislation that were made without consultation of supporters of the original 2021 bill led to his vote against it. He said the changes were made due pressure from “far-left” members of the Democratic caucus.

The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act is designed to set up offices inside the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the FBI. The offices would work to track and probe domestic terrorism threats. One of the goals is for government officials to look at how to prevent domestic terrorism events.

“House Democratic leaders had planned to bring an earlier version of the bill to the floor in April, but the effort was derailed after progressive members objected to the measure, which they said could be used to target civil rights activists or left-leaning groups. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he believes those issues have been resolved,” according to a CNN report.

The passage of the bill in the House followed a shooting in Buffalo where 13 people were shot and other high-profile domestric terrorism attacks. The 18-year-old man charged with the Buffalo shooting appeared to have targeted people who were Black and had embraced the racist “great replacement theory.”

Below is Fitzpatrick’s full statement that was posted on his congressional website:

“Unfortunately … Democratic leadership made changes to the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act – a bill that I originally cosponsored and previously voted for. The bill, which was supposed to be voted on weeks ago, had been pulled from floor consideration due to objections by the far-left Members of “The Squad.” The changes, which were made in order to accommodate this small far-left group, include a last minute change to the original definition of domestic terrorism and a rule of construction that would give DOJ too much leeway in picking and choosing what it considers to constitute domestic terrorism. These changes were made by one person without any debate or consultation with supporters of the original bill. This change opens the door to a potentially troubling subjective standard in the implementation of the legislation, and ultimately strays away from the intent and objectivity of the original introduced version. The House unanimously passed the original version of this bill last Congress. In making these changes, Democratic leadership has pushed the bill away from its original, bipartisan text and instead chose a single-party solution in an effort to appease the Far Left. They knew in advance that making changes to appease “The Squad” would cost them bipartisan support. The serious issue of domestic terrorism deserves a bipartisan solution, which I will continue to insist on.”

Ashley Ehasz, Fitzpatrick’s Democratic opponent in the November election, said the congressman is playing “DC parlor tricks” with his vote.

“Fitzpatrick can claim to have introduced legislation to stop domestic terrorism, or he can score points with the far-right and say he voted against it. He’s two-timing us. It’s as simple as that,” she said.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee also hit Fitzpatrick on the vote and said it “makes no sense beyond the cowardly political calculations of Brian Fitzpatrick once against falling in line with MAGA Republican leadership.”

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