[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 105 (Monday, July 22, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H4837-H4839]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WMD INTELLIGENCE AND INFORMATION SHARING ACT OF 2013
Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 1542) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to
establish weapons of mass destruction intelligence and information
sharing functions of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis of the
Department of Homeland Security and to require dissemination of
information analyzed by the Department to entities with
responsibilities relating to homeland security, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1542
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``WMD Intelligence and
Information Sharing Act of 2013''.
SEC. 2. WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION INTELLIGENCE AND
INFORMATION SHARING.
(a) In General.--Subtitle A of title II of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 121 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 210G. WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION INTELLIGENCE AND
INFORMATION SHARING.
``(a) In General.--The Office of Intelligence and Analysis
of the Department of Homeland Security shall--
``(1) support homeland security-focused intelligence
analysis of terrorist actors, their claims, and their plans
to conduct attacks involving chemical, biological,
radiological, and nuclear materials against the Nation;
``(2) support homeland security-focused intelligence
analysis of global infectious disease, public health, food,
agricultural, and veterinary issues;
``(3) support homeland security-focused risk analysis and
risk assessments of the homeland security hazards described
in paragraphs (1) and (2) by providing relevant quantitative
and nonquantitative threat information;
``(4) leverage existing and emerging homeland security
intelligence capabilities and structures to enhance
prevention, protection, response, and recovery efforts with
respect to a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear
attack;
``(5) share information and provide tailored analytical
support on these threats to State, local, and tribal
authorities as well as other national biosecurity and
biodefense stakeholders; and
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``(6) perform other responsibilities, as assigned by the
Secretary.
``(b) Coordination.--Where appropriate, the Office of
Intelligence and Analysis shall coordinate with other
relevant Department components, others in the Intelligence
Community, including the National Counter Proliferation
Center, and other Federal, State, local, and tribal
authorities, including officials from high-threat areas, and
enable such entities to provide recommendations on optimal
information sharing mechanisms, including expeditious sharing
of classified information, and on how they can provide
information to the Department.
``(c) Report.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date
of the enactment of this section and annually thereafter, the
Secretary shall report to the appropriate congressional
committees on--
``(A) the intelligence and information sharing activities
under subsection (a) and of all relevant entities within the
Department to counter the threat from weapons of mass
destruction; and
``(B) the Department's activities in accordance with
relevant intelligence strategies.
``(2) Assessment of implementation.--The report shall
include--
``(A) a description of methods established to assess
progress of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis in
implementing this section; and
``(B) such assessment.
``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `appropriate congressional committees' means
the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives and any committee of the House of
Representatives or the Senate having legislative jurisdiction
under the rules of the House of Representatives or Senate,
respectively, over the matter concerned.
``(2) The term `Intelligence Community' has the meaning
given that term in section 3(4) of the National Security Act
of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401a(4)).
``(3) The term `national biosecurity and biodefense
stakeholders' means officials from the Federal, State, local,
and tribal authorities and individuals from the private
sector who are involved in efforts to prevent, protect
against, respond to, and recover from a biological attack or
other phenomena that may have serious health consequences for
the United States, including wide-scale fatalities or
infectious disease outbreaks.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section
1(b) of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items
relating to such subtitle the following:
``Sec. 210G. Weapons of mass destruction intelligence and
information sharing.''.
SEC. 3. DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION ANALYZED BY THE
DEPARTMENT TO STATE, LOCAL, TRIBAL, AND PRIVATE
ENTITIES WITH RESPONSIBILITIES RELATING TO
HOMELAND SECURITY.
Section 201(d)(8) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6
U.S.C. 121(d)(8)) is amended by striking ``and to agencies of
State'' and all that follows and inserting ``to State, local,
tribal, and private entities with such responsibilities, and,
as appropriate, to the public, in order to assist in
preventing, deterring, or responding to acts of terrorism
against the United States.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Meehan) and the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr.
Thompson) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
General Leave
Mr. MEEHAN. 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.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I want to thank Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul
and former Chairman Peter King, as well as Ranking Member Higgins and
Congresswoman Jackie Speier, for joining me in introducing this
bipartisan legislation.
I urge the support for H.R. 1542, the Weapons of Mass Destruction
Intelligence and Information Sharing Act of 2013.
The legislation provides important guidance for disseminating WMD--
that's weapons of mass destruction--intelligence information at the
Department of Homeland Security. Weapons of mass destruction are
considered for the purposes of this act to be chemical, biological,
radiological, and nuclear weapons.
Mr. Speaker, in 2010, the Congress established the Commission on the
Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism.
The Commission was chaired by former Senators Bob Graham and Jim
Talent. A principal but, as of yet, unfilled recommendation from the
Graham-Talent Commission was to assure that critical collaboration take
place--collaboration among Homeland Security intelligence assets and
other Federal, State and local partners--in protecting the homeland.
It's time for Congress to do its part right now to ensure that the
Nation is meeting its WMD detection and prevention responsibilities in
a meaningful way.
Mr. Speaker, when I stood before this body on this bill last year, I
had recently returned from the Middle East, and one of the takeaways
from the trip was the number of chemical weapons stockpiled in Syria.
{time} 1715
I raised the concern that during this extraordinary time of
insecurity in the region, these weapons could wind up in the hands of
al Qaeda or other terrorists. Since that time, we've tragically learned
that Bashar al-Assad has indeed used chemical weapons on his own
people, and we have the fear and concern of the threat of those who
have expressed a desire in Iran to use weapons of mass destruction to
assure that Israel does not exist.
Chemical weapons have completely changed the way our military
prepares for operations. Just last week, the Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey told the Senate Armed Services Committee
that the military is preparing for the possibility of encountering
chemical weapons in Syria. The risk of these weapons getting into the
hands of terrorists continues to grow, and our military continues to
become more vigilant. These risks and the current nature of the threat
makes this legislation all the more relevant.
We must be doing more to assure that local and State law enforcement
are privy to intelligence that could stop an attack. In fact, the
potential for homegrown radicalization has increased, and therefore the
need for law enforcement and Federal authorities to work together has
increased all the more. I think we're all aware of the tragic
circumstances of the attack in Boston that occurred all too recently.
Although the FBI closed its case on Tamerlan Tsarnaev, a Treasury
Enforcement Communications System, or TECS, alert was placed on him. It
should have immediately pinged Homeland Security and Customs and Border
Patrol. Therefore, when Tamerlan traveled to Russia in 2012 and
subsequently returned to the U.S. only to set up a jihadist YouTube
account, a red flag should have been raised, and Federal, State, and
local officials should have been notified.
One of the purposes of this bill is to enhance the communication and
collaboration between our Federal intelligence assets, particularly
those of Homeland Security, and our Federal, State, and local partners.
Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear materials can be
quite difficult to detect and to prevent. However, the danger they pose
is unimaginable. My legislation is with recommendation from the
Commission, and it will ensure sustained Department of Homeland
Security commitment to facilitate the partnership across the
intelligence community and the first responder community.
I urge support for this bill, and reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1542, the WMD Intelligence and
Information Sharing Act of 2013.
This bill would strengthen information-sharing at all levels of
government regarding chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear
terrorist threats.
Since the attacks of September 11, 2011, concerns about an attack on
U.S. soil with a weapon of mass destruction or dirty bomb has come into
sharp focus. The Director of National Intelligence has stated that the
intelligence community remains concerned about the prospect that a
terrorist organization or non-state actor could exploit a weapon of
mass destruction and, with little or no warning, inflict significant
damage to our Nation's citizens and economy.
The potentially devastating nature of WMD attacks has come into
greater focus in recent months. In particular,
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there's evidence that chemical weapons were used in the Syrian civil
war. Worries persist that in the chaos of this war, dangerous chemical
agents could fall into the hands of terrorists or other rogue
operators. The prospect that biological and nuclear weapons could fall
into the wrong hands is also very concerning.
Recognizing that effective information-sharing is essential to
preventing a WMD attack, H.R. 1542 requires the Department of Homeland
Security to support homeland security-focused analysis of terrorist
actors and their plans to conduct attacks involving chemical,
biological, and nuclear materials against the Nation.
This bill requires DHS to coordinate with other components and the
intelligence community and other Federal, State, local, and tribal
authorities to provide recommendations on information-sharing
mechanisms.
Robust partnership between DHS and local law enforcement is critical
to enhancing situational awareness with respect to terrorism
prevention, including prevention of a WMD attack.
I'm pleased to support this bipartisan bill and would like to
acknowledge that the language under consideration today originated in
comprehensive WMD legislation authored by my former committee
colleague, Representative Bill Pascrell of New Jersey.
While I support this measure, I would hope that this Congress could
move forward on more comprehensive WMD prevention legislation in the
very near future.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I thank the gentleman from Mississippi for his comments, and I also
want to recognize, as he does, the great work that was done by
Congressman Pascrell on this issue, as well, here in this House. And
when I had the good fortune to begin to do work on the House Homeland
Security Committee, it was Congressman Pascrell who was among those who
brought this issue to our attention and the failure or the lack of the
ability to see the issues that the Commission put forward be put into
place. So I want to thank him for his good work on this issue, as well.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers at this point. So if the
gentleman from Mississippi has no further speakers, I'm certainly
prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, as I have no further
speakers and I am prepared to close, I yield myself the balance of my
time.
Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 1542 today. Enactment of this
measure will strengthen the partnership between the Department of
Homeland Security and our Nation's first preventers against one of the
most vexing homeland security threats, weapons of mass destruction.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I thank the gentleman from Mississippi, and I want to thank my
colleagues for their support of H.R. 1542. This is a vitally important
piece of legislation, as has been identified in the earlier comments of
the gentleman from Mississippi, and I echo them myself, particularly
this concern, as we engage in a world in which the proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction, particularly those which are chemical
weapons, which we do not know whether they may have fallen into the
hands of not only Syria, but Libya, as well, creates a heightened sense
of need and awareness on the part of those in our intelligence
committees to do all to assure there is collaboration on intelligence
that they derive in these areas with the partners on the Federal,
State, and local levels.
So I urge Members to support this legislation, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meehan) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1542.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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