Counterterrorism Advisory Board Act of 2017

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 526) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish in the Department of Homeland Security a board to coordinate and integrate departmental intelligence, activities, and policy related to counterterrorism, and for other purposes, as amended.

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, nearly 16 years after September 11th, our country continues to face the persistent threat of terrorism. From ISIS to al Qaeda, radical groups continue to target the United States and our way of life. Last year alone, we saw more than 131 plots by ISIS alone against the West.

As terrorists continue to evolve, this body must ensure that the security measures in place to protect the United States and its citizens adapt to meet these threats.

Faced with the most dangerous threat environment since 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security needs to continue to focus on its core mission of protecting Americans from these threats in an increasingly expeditious manner. I am proud that this body is working to continue to strengthen our national security by debating the bill before us today.

H.R. 526, the Counterterrorism Advisory Board Act of 2017, will help integrate intelligence, operations, and policy decisions to ensure the Department of Homeland Security remains adaptable, while eliminating waste and duplication. This same bill was introduced last year and passed the House by overwhelming majority.

Mr. Speaker, with open investigations in all 50 States and more than 119 arrests, this body must continue to take action to protect our homeland. Further, these threats will likely expand as foreign fighters flee places like Raqqa and Mosul.

Mr. Speaker, the world is witnessing the greatest convergence of radical Islamic threats in its history. More than 40,000 jihadists fighters, many of whom came from the West, have traveled to

the battlefield in Syria and Iraq. With this threat environment in mind, I have introduced H.R. 526.

Initially established at the end of 2010, the Counterterrorism Advisory Board brings together the Department of Homeland Security's top echelon counterterrorism decisionmakers to quickly respond to threats.

While my colleagues and I were conducting the bipartisan Task Force on Combating Terrorists and Foreign Fighter Travel, we found that the Counterterrorism Advisory Board, or CTAB as it is referred to, had neither been codified nor had its charter kept pace with evolving terrorist threats.

That is why we need to pass this bill: to ensure that DHS is effectively integrating intelligence, operations, and policy to better compile and understand threat information to successfully fight terrorism.

This legislation formally establishes the CTAB in law and makes it the Department's central coordination body for counterterrorism activities.

The bill also updates the Board's charter to effectively respond to tomorrow's challenges and requires the Secretary to appoint a coordinator for counterterrorism to oversee the Board's activities.

Additionally, this legislation requires the CTAB to advise the Secretary of Homeland Security on the issuance of terrorism alerts, ensuring that top counterterrorism intelligence officials play a key role in developing these critical notices and providing them to the public.

Finally, this bill ensures continued congressional oversight by requiring DHS to report on the status and activities of the CTAB so that they can be certain it is meeting its mandate.

I thank Chairman McCaul from the Homeland Security Committee for appointing me to lead the bipartisan Task Force on Combating Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel last year. This task force produced 32 key findings and more than 50 recommendations, one of which serves as a basis of the legislation before us today.

I am proud to say we have now acted legislatively on more than half of the task force's findings, largely thanks to the hard work of the members of the task force and their willingness to work across the aisle in a bipartisan manner.

I also thank Mr. Thompson, my colleague in the minority, for working in a bipartisan manner on this and many other bills that we have before us today.

I will end by urging my colleagues to support this measure.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I urge Members to support this bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

I rise in support of H.R. 526, the Counterterrorism Advisory Board Act of 2017.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 526 authorizes, within the Department of Homeland Security, the Counterterrorism Advisory Board, or CTAB, to coordinate and integrate the Department's intelligence policies and activities as related to counterterrorism.

Since 2010, this internal body, comprised of top DHS officials, has helped to harmonize counterterrorism programs and activities across