Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told Jewish leaders on Wednesday that he vowed to continue increasing funding for the lifesaving Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP).

"As long as I'm majority leader, I will keep fighting to increase and continue to increase the funding and availability of NSGP to our synagogues, shuls, and Jewish institutions in America," he said at a briefing on High Holiday Security at Capitol Hill sponsored by Jewish Federations of North America, ADL, Secure Community Network, Orthodox Union, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

Last year, the appropriation for NSGP was cut by 10% to $274.5 million, but received an additional $180 million (out of a $400 million multi-year supplemental appropriation), resulting in a record $454.5 million of Nonprofit Security Grants being awarded. But despite the record investment, fewer than half of all applicants were able to receive funding, a result of skyrocketing antisemitic incidents and other attacks on houses of worship and nonprofit institutions.

Jewish Federations of North America President and CEO Eric Fingerhut said the increasing government investment was critical to maintaining Jewish security, but also noted that years of investment in Jewish security--both through NSGP and initiatives such as LiveSecure to provide security to every Jewish community in North America--meant that Jews should feel comfortable participating in communal events.

"In recent years, the level of investment and the level of expertise and the level of sophistication that is required to maintain the security of our communities has increased," he said. "But the Jewish community in America should know that this infrastructure is in place, and should feel confident and safe engaging in the prayers and the communal events coming up in the coming days and the coming weeks."

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt noted that the threat, and the protections of NSGP, were not limited to the Jewish community.

"I could give you a dozen different examples from the past week, of Hillels or synagogues that have been targeted, protested, threatened. But in addition, I could tell you, over the past year, year and a half, about bomb threats at black churches, about arson threats and attacks at HBCUs. And we've seen in recent years from Sikh gurdwara to Hispanic-serving institutions to Chinese and AAPI American churches, they're also being targeted," he said.

The event was hosted by Senate Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee Chair Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), who noted the broad, bipartisan support for NSGP in a Congress that is so often divided. 

"I'm really glad that this work has almost nothing to do with partisan politics," he said.

Other champions of the Jewish community and NSGP, including Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC), and Rep. Gabe Amo (D-RI), participated in the program as well.