Rep. John James (R-MI), the GOP nominee for governor of Michigan, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) visited Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich., the site of an attempted shooting and bombing attack earlier this year, on Thursday.

“I appreciate Leader Scalise coming here to see the site of the attack first-hand, and to talk with community leaders,” James said in a statement. “To have a top member of Congress visit signals that we are treating the rise in threats seriously, and that this is an urgent national concern.”

The pair were joined by other members including Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO), Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) and Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN).

In a release, James’ office noted that he is cosponsoring the Jewish American Security Act which aims to protect the Jewish community by increasing security grant funding, among other measures.

“There is a sickness in a certain segment of our population that reacted to the Oct. 7 terrorist attack with sympathy for the attackers, and which has spent the past few years irrationally targeting members of the Jewish community here in Michigan with hateful words and actions,” James continued. “I fought extremists in Iraq; we cannot let that kind of violent thinking take root here in Michigan. Everyone should be able to live and worship in peace.”

The visit was arranged in cooperation with the Jewish Federations of North America.

“Leader Scalise and his colleagues sent an unmistakable message when they walked through the doors of Temple Israel to tour the site of the terrible terrorist act against our children: We see the threat Jewish Americans are facing and we will not look away from it,” Dennis Bernard, the national chair of government relations for the JFNA, said in a statement. “They understand that violence against the Jewish community has reached unacceptable levels, and that it is time for action.”

Bernard, a Michigan resident, urged Congress to promptly pass the Jewish American Security Act.