Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act of 2019

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my bill, H.R. 1590, the Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act of 2019. This legislation seeks to better position the United States Government and relevant State, local, and private-sector agencies to detect and prevent terrorist and foreign fighter travel.

In 2015, the Committee on Homeland Security developed a bipartisan task force to investigate the threat from individuals leaving the United States to join terrorist groups abroad. The task force reported that nearly 4,500 individuals from Western countries, with over 250 from the United States, traveled to join Islamic terrorist groups. It goes on to detail 32 findings and over 50 recommendations to address this national security issue.

During both the 114th Congress and the 115th Congress, former Representative and now Senator Martha McSally introduced this legislation. Both times, the bill passed unanimously in the House.

Senator McSally previously stated: ``The abilities of these hardened fighters to return to the United States is a legitimate security concern 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.''

Mr. Speaker, these words still ring true today. Just last year, an Ohio man was arrested at the John Glenn International Airport trying to fly to Kazakhstan. His intent was to be smuggled into Afghanistan to train with ISIS with the possibility of conducting terrorist projects in the United States.

According to an FBI release on this matter, when the terrorist was asked what sort of training he wished to receive, he allegedly stated that he wanted to receive ``weapons experts training, planning, executing, hit and run, capturing high-value targets, ways to break into homes and avoid security.''

The ability of these foreign fighters to return to the United States is a legitimate security concern. Preventing their initial departure should be a law enforcement priority as well.

Furthermore, last year, the White House released the National Strategy to Combat Terrorist Travel. It ``outlines how the United States Government will expand coordination and maximize the full capabilities of Federal departments and agencies to identify, detect, and deter terrorists from transiting international borders.''

One of the Strategy's primary goals is to identify and deter terrorists before they travel, to enhance intelligence gathering and analysis, and to improve the sharing of terrorist-related identity data.

H.R. 1590 complements and supports these efforts.

The bill requires the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the appropriate Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial agencies, foreign governments, and appropriate private-sector entities, to develop and conduct an exercise related to the detection and prevention of terrorist and foreign fighter travel.

The bill also requires the Secretary to produce an after-action report to Congress, presenting the findings of the exercise and to quickly incorporate those lessons learned into future operations of the department.

Finally, it requires that the National Exercise Program be designed to include emerging threats.

I cannot stress enough the importance of H.R. 1590. This bill represents continued action in combating terrorism and ensuring the safety of our Nation. As the threats of terrorism continue to evolve, we must remain vigilant in our resolve to combat our enemies.

Our Nation's law enforcement, of all jurisdictions, whether it be Federal or local, need to have access to the valuable information and resources that this bill would provide so that our communities can be protected from terrorist activity.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to join me in supporting this bipartisan and commonsense bill. I urge the adoption of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1590) to require an exercise related to terrorist and foreign fighter travel, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1590, the Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act of 2019.

Mr. Speaker, in the almost 18 years since the September 11 terrorist attacks, threats to the American public have become increasingly complex and today include threats posed by foreign fighters.

In 2015, the Committee on Homeland Security's Task Force on Combating Terrorism and Foreign Fighter Travel issued a bipartisan report that included a number of recommendations.

H.R. 1590 requires the Department of Homeland Security to develop and conduct a foreign fighter exercise that could be built into existing DHS domestic preparedness exercises. Importantly, after the exercise, DHS is required to submit an after-action report to Congress detailing the initial findings, plans for incorporating lessons learned, and any legislative changes informed by this exercise.

A very similar version of this legislation passed the full House last Congress. I am pleased that, through the markup process, modest modifications were made to improve the measure.

Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of H.R. 1590, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, before I close, let me compliment the gentleman on the passage of this bill. This is, I believe, his maiden bill before the House of Representatives, and, from one Mississippian to another, I want to congratulate him for that.

Mr. Speaker, because terrorists are constantly seeking new ways to cause harm and spread fear, we must continuously work to keep pace with the evolving threat landscape.

H.R. 1590 seeks to strengthen the Nation's abilities to close the gaps in how we identify and assess threats from terrorist foreign fighters. As such, I support it and ask my colleagues to support it as well.

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

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I was unavoidably detained on April 1 during roll call no. 137, on the motion to suspend the rules and pass, as amended, H.R. 1593. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.'' I was also unavoidably detained during roll call no. 138, on the motion to suspend the rules and pass, as amended, H.R. 1590. Had I been present, I would have votes ``yea.'' I was also unavoidably detained during roll call no. 139, on approving the Journal. Had I been present, I would have voted, ``aye.''

The descriptions would be, respectively:

137--``On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended, H.R. 1593, the Coordinating and Leveraging Activities for School Security Act'';

138--``On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended, H.R. 1590, the Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act''; and

139--``on approving the Journal''

Madam Speaker, I missed votes on Monday, April 1. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows:

Roll Call Vote Number 137 (Passage of H.R. 1593, the Coordinating and Leveraging for School Security (CLASS) Act of 2019): YES;

Roll Call Vote Number 138 (Passage of H.R. 1590, the Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act of 2019): YES; and

Roll Call Vote Number 139 (Approval of the Journal): YES.