Promoting Antiterrorism Capabilities Through International Cooperation Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4942) to establish a capability and office to promote cooperation between entities of the United States and its allies in the global war on terrorism for the purpose of engaging in cooperative endeavors focused on the research, development, and commercialization of high-priority technologies intended to detect, prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against acts of terrorism and other high consequence events and to address the homeland security needs of Federal, State, and local governments, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and insert extraneous material on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I proudly rise in support of H.R. 4942. This is really legislation whose time has come. Let me at the very outset commend Ranking Member Thompson, Chairman Reichert of the Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee, and my good friend from New Jersey, Mr. Pascrell, for their tremendous cooperation and leadership on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, we are engaged in a battle for survival. There is a war against international terrorism. It is a war in which we must know who our allies are, who our friends are. We have to know those who will stand with us through the tough times. We must know those who are willing to work with us and take risks with us.

The purpose of H.R. 4942 is to codify the right to assist in the sharing and developing of technologies, sharing of technologies between and among countries who share common values and who are dedicated to defeating international terrorism.

This legislation refers to certain specific allies in the global war on terrorism, such as Israel, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Singapore. They have extensive experience with and technical expertise in homeland security, and we can benefit from them and they can benefit from us.

Really, the time has come for us to break down artificial barriers, artificial walls, and use the commonality of our cultures, of our traditions, of our beliefs, and use the benefit of our technological expertise to form a common bond as we go forward to defeat international terrorism.

This bill has a wide variety of support, as I believe it should. It is an aggressive step forward. It is a commonsense step forward.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, let me just concur in what the gentleman from New Jersey said about the bipartisan cooperation; and I want to especially thank him and the ranking member for the tremendous cooperation he gave us on this legislation.

I yield as much time as he may consume to the author of the legislation, the Chairman of the Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee, Sheriff Reichert from the State of Washington.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, as we stated, H.R. 4942 will enable us to work with certain allies, Israel, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Singapore, to engage with them in cooperative endeavors, focus on research, development, the commercialization of high-priority technologies, and enable us to prevent acts of terrorism and address the homeland security needs of Federal, State and local governments.

The gentleman from New Jersey referenced the $25 million for each of the fiscal years from 2007 to 2010. That money is to be matched in each instance by the foreign partner organizations who participate in this international cooperative activity. This is very significant legislation. It is very vital. I would certainly urge the passage of the bill.

But before I yield back my time, I would like to include for the Record letters exchanged between the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Science regarding jurisdiction over H.R. 4942. I certainly thank the Science Committee and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert) for their input on this bill and thank my colleagues for their bipartisan support.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Homeland Security,

Washington, DC, September 22, 2006.

Hon. Sherwood Boehlert,

Chairman, Committee on Science,

Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for your recent letter

expressing the Science Committee's jurisdictional interest in

H.R. 4942, the ``Promoting Antiterrorism Capabilities Through

International Cooperation Act.'' The Committee on Homeland

Security acknowledges your claim to jurisdiction over

provisions contained in this bill, as amended, and

appreciates your agreement not to request a sequential

referral. The Committee on Homeland Security understands that

nothing in this legislation or your decision to forgo a

sequential referral waives, reduces or otherwise affects the

jurisdiction of the Science Committee, and that a copy of

this letter and of our response will be included in the

Committee report and in the Congressional Record when the

bill is considered on the House Floor. The Committee on

Homeland Security will also support your request to be

conferees during any House-Senate conference on this

legislation.

Thank you for your cooperation as we work towards the

enactment of H.R. 4942.

Sincerely,

Peter T. King,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I remember the day when this legislation first kind of came to our attention. I attended a meeting with some good friends from our Israeli community, Jewish community, and we had this idea. And to watch it come from that day many months ago, just a discussion around a concept, to today when the legislation has finally come together is indeed exciting; and to know, too, that it is a bipartisan effort.

I congratulate the chairman, Mr. King, and his wisdom and foresight in seeing that this is an important project, an important piece of legislation and moving it forward; and his good friend and my good friend, Mr. Bennie Thompson, the ranking member of that committee; and also my good friend, my colleague from the subcommittee, Mr. Pascrell; all working hard together, the staff of the Democrats and Republicans working hard on this legislation to make it come to the floor of the House of Representatives today.

As the chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science and Technology, I rise today to express my strong support for H.R. 4942, the Promoting Antiterrorism Capabilities Through International Cooperation Act. My subcommittee passed H.R. 4942 on March 15; and on June 14, 2006, it was approved by the full Homeland Security Committee.

I congratulate again the chairman of the full committee and the ranking member and Mr. Pascrell for all their hard work and all members of the committee for their support.

In just over 2 weeks since the 5-year anniversary of September 11, the 9/11 Commission's recommendations have taken center stage again as a principal guide to our Nation's homeland security measures. It is important that they take that role.

In its report, the 9/11 Commission recommended, and I quote, ``the United States should engage other nations in developing a comprehensive coalition strategy against Islamist terrorism. There are several multilateral institutions in which such issues should be addressed, but the most important policies should be discussed and coordinated in a flexible contact group of leading coalition governments.''

There is no question that one of these important policies is the development of homeland security technologies that keep our country safe. H.R. 4942 implements the Commission's recommendations by applying it to the homeland security technology we develop to help our Nation's first responders prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism, national disasters, and other emergencies.

Echoing the 9/11 Commission recommendation on international cooperation in the war on terrorism, the title of 4942 says it all: The Promoting Antiterrorism Capabilities Through International Cooperation Act.

The United States, Israel, and our allies confront a common enemy and share similar homeland security challenges. Cooperation inside our government among Federal agencies and cooperation outside our government with Israel and our allies could very well prove to be the deciding factor in the war on terror.

Specifically, H.R. 4942 enables the Department of Homeland Security's research and development arm, the Science and Technology Directorate, to coordinate international cooperative programs with our allies to advance homeland security research. The Science and Technology Directorate at the Department would coordinate joint research studies, scientist exchange programs, cooperative field exercises, and technology sharing with our strongest and most trusted allies in the war on terrorism, including Israel, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Singapore.

Today, the United States cooperates with these nations to develop the best technologies to defeat our shared terrorist threat. H.R. 4942 makes those partnerships even stronger, with the force of law and the will of Congress behind them.

H.R. 4942 is modeled after a partnership created by Congress in 1977 between the United States and Israel called the Bi-national Industrial Research and Development Foundation, or the so-called BIRD Foundation.

The mission of the BIRD Foundation is to stimulate, promote, and support industrial research and development of mutual benefit to both nations. In 29 years, the BIRD Foundation has invested $225 million in 690 cooperative research and development projects mutually beneficial to the United States and Israel. The BIRD model serves as a solid foundation of international cooperation in homeland security research and development.

The international cooperation enabled by H.R. 4942 will give our Nation access to a worldwide library of lessons

learned and scientific expertise that will no doubt strengthen our own homeland security measures. It is our duty, as allies united under a common purpose, to defeat terrorism, that we join forces in the laboratory to combat our shared adversaries and meet our similar technology needs.

H.R. 4942 incorporates the wisdom of the 9/11 Commission and the BIRD Foundation partnership between the United States and Israel to strengthen our hand in developing technologies that will make us all, the United States and its allies alike, safer and more secure.

I urge my colleagues to join me in voting in favor of this critical legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4942, the Promoting Antiterrorism Capabilities Through International Cooperation Act. This is a true product of bipartisan effort and collegial dedication.

I am heartened at the process by which this bill has moved forward.

In particular, I want to commend the hard work of both the chairman and the ranking member, Mr. King, Mr. Thompson, and my counterpart, Chairman David Reichert, chairman of the Emergency Preparedness, Science, and Technology Subcommittee. Their commitment to this vitally important legislation has been unwavering, and the collaboration offered epitomizes the very best of what the Homeland Security Committee can, should, and must be. Indeed, it is a tremendous achievement to see this proposal move forward.

This legislation will help to ensure that the Department of Homeland Security works with our allies in the war on terror to develop and share the best homeland security technologies possible, and we will all be the better off because of it. This must be part of a global strategy in order to finish off terror.

H.R. 4942 will establish what we call the Science and Technology Homeland Security International Cooperative Programs Office. Its objective will be to facilitate international cooperative activities throughout the Directorate of Science and Technology within the Department of Homeland Security.

The Director of the Office, who shall report directly to the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, will be responsible for developing mechanisms and legal frameworks to allow and support international cooperative activity in support of homeland security research;

To identify and match domestic entities engaged in homeland security research with foreign entities so that they may partner in homeland security research activities;

To ensure coordination of international cooperative activities carried out by the Office with the activities of other components of the Department and other relative research agencies; and

Holding international homeland security technology workshops and conferences.

We saw in a recent trip of the Homeland Security Committee to Europe the significance of working closely with our allies. These international cooperative activities will be supported through grants, cooperative agreements, contracts with U.S. governmental organizations and businesses, federally funded research and development centers, institutions of higher education, and foreign public and private entities.

The bill seeks to strengthen ongoing partnerships as well as encourage new ones. And the bill specifically says that we should seek to partner with our allies in this global war, as the chairman has pointed out. This global war or terrorism includes our closest allies, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Israel, and Singapore.

To be sure, the United States would greatly benefit from joint international homeland security development programs between the United States and our allies in the war on terror. The fact is this: Many of our allies have substantial experience dealing with terrorism. By necessity, they have become hotbeds for counterterrorism research.

The bill authorizes $25 million for international cooperation and cooperative activities for each of the fiscal years 2007 to 2010. It requires that the funds come out of the existing budget of the directorate of Science and Technology. $25 million is not a lot of money when we consider the vast array of benefits that such cooperation can produce.

Forming partnerships and working together in a way that will ultimately help secure America is the main objective of the bill, again, of global strategy, and it should always be the main objective of this body. Passage of the legislation today shows that the House takes this austere responsibility seriously.

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he wishes to consume to the ranking member of Homeland Security, my friend, and a gentleman in all sense of the word, from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson).

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 4942 and thank the cosponsors and sponsors of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from New Jersey for those kind words.

I rise this evening in strong support of H.R. 4942, the Promoting Antiterrorism Capabilities Through International Cooperation Act, which Chairman King and I introduced along with Chairman Reichert and Ranking Member Pascrell and other Members. I am happy to see this bill finally make it to the House floor.

I first raised the idea of this bill in January 2005, soon after I became ranking member. I know my Democratic colleagues had pushed for it in the 108th Congress as well. While it took a while to get my colleagues on board, I was glad when they finally did. The product before us today is a good one.

Personally, I expressly want to thank Chris Beck and Todd Gee from my staff and Andy Weiss from the majority staff for their hard work on this bill.

The threat of terrorism is an international one. Terrorist attacks occur all over the world, and we must promote international cooperation to stop them.

Cooperation in developing antiterrorism technology should be a top priority. The different challenges faced by our many friends around the world have resulted in new approaches that the United States should leverage to protect our citizens.

In fact, Mr. Speaker, the United States has a history of conducting scientific and technological collaborations with Israel, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and others. The Department of Homeland Security has participated in some of these partnerships with foreign governments and others. This legislation will encourage and further strengthen those efforts, as well as direct the Department to look to new partners beyond those we already have.

I am especially heartened that this bill will strengthen the means for protecting our Nation's agriculture and public health from exotic diseases. Emerging diseases that can affect both animals and humans are a threat to the world's population. Active collaboration with scientists in Africa, where many of these diseases originate, should be promoted. I am glad this bill encourages that collaboration.

Too often, Mr. Speaker, the United States presents a posture of unilateralism to the world. I hope that through programs like the one authorized in this legislation we encourage a more cooperative approach.

I strongly support this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.