Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act of 2017

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1302) to require an exercise related to terrorist and foreign fighter travel, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1302, the Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act.

This legislation furthers the efforts that I and several of my colleagues on the House Homeland Security Committee engaged in last Congress as members of the bipartisan Task Force on Combating Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel. For 6 months, our task force investigated our security vulnerabilities and the threat posed by ISIS. Our work produced 32 key findings and over 50 recommendations to make Americans safer.

In our findings, the task force found that the growing complexity and changing nature of the foreign fighter phenomenon may be creating unseen gaps in our defenses. Yet, it has been years since any large- scale stress test has been conducted on U.S. Government protection and prevention programs against terrorist travel.

The last major government exercise on terrorist travel occurred in 2009 when the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, conducted an exercise focused on the aftermath of a national terrorist event outside of the United States and how to prevent subsequent efforts by the terrorists to enter the United States and carry out additional attacks. The objective of the exercise was to determine how government agencies at all levels would respond in such an environment.

However, the threat environment has changed considerably and relying on information gathered during an exercise that took place nearly a decade ago is simply unacceptable and puts American lives at risk.

The exercise conducted in 2009 also focused primarily on terrorists attempting to infiltrate the United States. However, our task force found that officials today should be just as concerned about Americans leaving the country to train overseas with terrorist groups as foreign fighters and then come back.

The ability of these hardened fighters to return to the United States is a legitimate security threat to the homeland. Catching individuals who are looking to join the ranks and train with ISIS and other terrorist organizations prior to their initial departure is equally important and should be a goal for law enforcement as well.

As such, H.R. 1302 would require that the executive branch conduct an exercise to evaluate the Nation's preparedness against all phases of foreign fighter planning and travel. Carrying out such attacks would be beneficial in understanding how partners at all levels of government and abroad are currently responding to these scenarios.

We must take decisive action to defeat the threat of ISIS and other terrorist organizations. The findings of the exercise required by this legislation will identify weaknesses at home and abroad that may be exploited by terrorists and foreign fighters, particularly to infiltrate the United States to conduct attacks. These findings will also be provided to Congress and Federal law enforcement and intelligence officials to provide information on how we can best address these weaknesses.

Passage of the Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act today represents continued action by this body to fight against ISIS and ensure we keep Americans safe. I urge all Members to join me in supporting this commonsense, bipartisan bill.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to join me in supporting this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of

Representatives,

Washington, DC, March 10, 2017.

Hon. Michael T. McCaul,

Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman McCaul: I write concerning H.R. 1302, the

``Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act of

2017.'' This

legislation includes matters that fall within the Rule X

jurisdiction of the Committee on Transportation and

Infrastructure.

In order to expedite Floor consideration of H.R. 1302, the

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure will forgo

action on this bill. However, this is conditional on our

mutual understanding that forgoing consideration of the bill

does not prejudice the Committee with respect to the

appointment of conferees or to any future jurisdictional

claim over the subject matters contained in the bill or

similar legislation that fall within the Committee's Rule X

jurisdiction. I appreciate you working with us on the base

text of the bill and request you urge the Speaker to name

members of the Committee to any conference committee named to

consider such provisions.

Please place a copy of this letter and your response

acknowledging our jurisdictional interest in the

Congressional Record during House Floor consideration of the

bill. I look forward to working with the Committee on

Homeland Security as the bill moves through the legislative

process.

Sincerely,

Bill Shuster,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Correa) on the Committee on Homeland Security for supporting this bill, and I urge the rest of my colleagues to support H.R. 1302.

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

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

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

I rise in support of H.R. 1302, the Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act of 2017.

Every day, communities across this country are confronted by evolving threats. Since the beginning of the year, we have seen a number of bomb threats against Jewish Community Centers. A year and a half ago, a 21- year-old White gunman hoping to start a race war opened fire at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine of its parishioners. The year 2015 went on record as the year with most threats, reports of harassments, and vandalism against mosques in the United States.

In light of the emboldened White nationalist, anti-Semitic, and antigovernment movements, as well as ongoing threats from abroad, we must ensure that our first responders are prepared to respond to the evolving threats to our great country.

This bill will direct FEMA's national exercise program to design scenarios that include emerging terrorist threats. To be clear, the legislation does not require FEMA's national exercise program to focus exclusively on terrorist threats, but, rather, seeks to ensure that FEMA continues to develop exercises that are responsive to threats as they may emerge.

The bill also requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to carry out exercises related to terrorist threats domestically and abroad.

H.R. 1302 was passed unanimously and approved by the Committee on Homeland Security earlier this month and the full House in the last Congress, in July 2016.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1302 is commonsense legislation that will prepare first responders, as well as State and local government partners, for the challenges that lie ahead.

At this time, when first responder programs are slated for the chopping block under the administration's budget blueprint, it is more important than ever that Congress stand together to support them. Exercises like the ones authorized under this legislation contribute to our preparedness.

As such, I urge Members to support this bill once again.

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

Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the House Committee on Homeland Security I rise in support of H.R. 1302, Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act of 2017 to require an exercise to terrorist and foreign fighter travel.

This bipartisan bill would expand the scope of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Exercise Program by requiring additional scenarios to address emerging terrorist threats.

Among the scenarios to be included are those involving U.S. citizens enlisting with or providing support to terrorists organizations abroad, as well as terrorist infiltration in the United States.

A nationwide exercise would be held within a year of enactment to evaluate the threat of individuals traveling from the United States to join a terrorist organization.

The exercise would also test scenarios involving terrorist infiltration into the U.S. by United States citizens and foreign nationals.

DHS would coordinate with other federal departments, foreign governments, state and local governments, and the private sector to conduct the exercise.

The growing complexity of the threat may be creating unseen gaps in our defenses, yet it has been years since any large-scale ``stress test'' has been conducted against terrorist travel.

Federal officials suspect that Todd Wolfe, an American citizen from Texas, planned to fly his family to Europe where he would meet up with an ISIS handler and take them all to Syria.

In March of 2014, Hanad Abdullahi Mohallim, an American from Minnesota, entered Syria at Tel Abyad and recruited other fellow Somali-Americans in Minnesota to leave the United States and join ISIS.

Also in 2014, Abdi Nur left the U.S. for Syria to join ISIS. He was later reported to have attempted to recruit other men here in the U.S. to join the terrorist organization.

We need to be gravely concerned about Americans leaving the country to train overseas with terrorist organizations who then return to the United States as foreign fighters.

I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 1302.