Congressional Record, Volume 162 Issue 28 (Tuesday, February 23, 2016)

[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 23, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H833-H834]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

FOREIGN FIGHTER REVIEW ACT OF 2016

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass
the bill (H.R. 4402) to require a review of information regarding
persons who have traveled or attempted to travel from the United States
to support terrorist organizations in Syria and Iraq, and for other
purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:

H.R. 4402

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 ``Foreign Fighter Review Act
of 2016''.

SEC. 2. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT REVIEW OF CERTAIN FOREIGN
FIGHTERS.

(a) Review.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the President, acting through the
Secretary of Homeland Security, shall initiate a review of
known instances since 2011 in which a person has traveled or
attempted to travel to a conflict zone in Iraq or Syria from
the United States to join or provide material support or
resources to a terrorist organization. Such review shall--
(1) include relevant unclassified and classified
information held by the United States Government related to
each instance;
(2) ascertain which factors, including operational issues,
security vulnerabilities, systemic challenges, or other
issues that may have undermined efforts to prevent the travel
of such persons to a conflict zone in Iraq or Syria from the
United States, including the timely identification of
suspects, information sharing, intervention, and
interdiction; and
(3) identify lessons learned and areas for improvement to
prevent additional travel by such persons to a conflict zone
in Iraq or Syria, or other terrorist safe havens abroad, to
join or provide material support or resources to a terrorist
organization.
(b) Information Sharing.--If necessary, the President shall
direct the heads of relevant Federal agencies to provide the
appropriate information necessary for the Secretary of
Homeland Security to complete the review required under
subsection (a).
(c) Submission to Congress.--Not later than 120 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall, consistent with the protection of
classified information, submit to the appropriate
congressional committees the results of the review required
under subsection (a), which may include information on travel
routes of greatest concern.
(d) Prohibition on Additional Funding.--No additional funds
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) in the House of Representatives--
(i) the Committee on Homeland Security;
(ii) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence;
(iii) the Committee on the Judiciary;
(iv) the Committee on Armed Services;
(v) the Committee on Foreign Affairs;
(vi) the Committee on Financial Services; and
(vii) the Committee on Appropriations; and
(B) in the Senate--
(i) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs;
(ii) the Select Committee on Intelligence;
(iii) the Committee on the Judiciary;
(iv) the Committee on Armed Services;
(v) the Committee on Foreign Relations;
(vi) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs;
and
(vii) the Committee on Appropriations.
(2) Material support or resources.--The term ``material
support or resources'' has the meaning given such term in
section 2339A of title 18, United States Code.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Hurd) and the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson
Coleman) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.

General Leave

Mr. HURD of Texas. 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 materials on the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, there have been over 250 cases of Americans attempting
to travel to Syria and Iraq in order to support terrorist groups since
2011. Overall, 85 percent of Westerners attempting to join groups like
ISIS are succeeding without being apprehended by law enforcement
officials.
The ability to make it to a war zone has grave consequences. Those
who have been radicalized gain firsthand knowledge and training, making
them an even greater threat.
There is a clear breakdown in our ability to identify and then
prevent these individuals from leaving the country in the first place.
That is why I introduced the Foreign Fighter Review Act of 2016.
The bill requires the Department of Homeland Security to study and
identify all known foreign fighter travel in an effort to highlight the
specific challenges and impediments that law enforcement faces in its
attempts to stop individuals from joining terrorist groups in Iraq and
Syria.
DHS should already be collecting this kind of data and conducting
this type of analysis. The findings from this type of study are crucial
to informing Congress on additional steps we can take to improve the
security of our Nation. This was a key finding in the bipartisan Task
Force on Combating Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel, of which I was
a member.
It is imperative that we get the right information to the right
people at the right time to catch those who have been radicalized
before they leave the country, not after they have gained combat
experience and returned to the homeland. The Foreign Fighter Review Act
of 2016 is the first step towards getting our law enforcement agencies
the tools that they need to do just that.
I urge all Members to join me in supporting this bill.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4402, the Foreign Fighter
Review Act of 2016.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4402 requires the President, through the Department
of Homeland Security, to review information regarding persons who have
traveled or attempted to travel from the United States to Syria and
Iraq since 2011 to support terrorist organizations. This legislation
reflects a recommendation issued by the Committee on Homeland
Security's Task Force on Combating Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel
in its final report.
The report found that a large number of U.S. persons have been able
to travel to dangerous terrorist safe havens in Iraq and Syria and
return to the United States without interdiction. I believe there is a
lot to be learned from the instances where we failed to interdict
persons who traveled to terrorist safe havens. These ``lessons
learned'' could reveal systematic weaknesses in our security programs
and highlight areas for enhancements.
While many Federal agencies have completed individual reviews of
cases within their purview, a coordinated and comprehensive interagency
after-action review has never been undertaken. H.R. 4402 would require
just such a review.

[[Page H834]]

H.R. 4402 has the potential to strengthen coordination across the
Federal Government to help prevent U.S. persons from exploiting
vulnerabilities in our security apparatus to travel under the radar to
terrorist camps and safe havens in the future. As such, Mr. Speaker, I
urge the passage of H.R. 4402.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Katko).
Mr. KATKO. I thank the distinguished gentleman from Texas for
yielding.
Mr. Speaker, after having spent much of the last year heading a
bipartisan task force with the author of this bill, Mr. Hurd, it became
clear that we are not winning the fight to keep Americans from being
recruited by terrorist groups.
The majority of our citizens who have tried to go to join ISIS have
succeeded in doing so. They were not stopped by law enforcement. And
while authorities have worked hard and have disrupted serious plots, we
have got to do more to shut down the foreign fighter pipeline.
On the House Homeland Security Committee, we are constantly briefed
about the new threat streams, the soaring number of terror
investigations here at home, and the Americans being lured to fight in
places like Syria alongside ISIS.
We cannot simply listen to this information and sit on our hands. We
need to act. I commend my colleague for this bill and for implementing
one of our important task force recommendations.
We need to conduct a top-to-bottom review of instances where
Americans were recruited to fight with jihadist groups abroad, and we
need to figure out where we could have done more to stop it. This is
why I rise in strong support of H.R. 4402, the Foreign Fighter Review
Act of 2016. This legislation will ensure that our government takes a
hard look at how to better deter, detect, and disrupt terrorist travel,
especially when it involves our own citizens.
But this will not be some review that is ordered and then forgotten.
The administration is required to return to Congress with the ``lessons
learned'' from these recent cases so that we can fix the problem,
rather than allow it to persist.

My colleague has a wealth of knowledge that proved to be invaluable
during the past year on the task force when we focused on these issues.
I would like to conclude by thanking Mr. Hurd for his steadfast
leadership, especially on national security issues.
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I again urge passage of H.R. 4402, a bill that seeks to
improve the Federal Government's understanding of the circumstances
surrounding travel or attempted travel from the U.S. to terrorist safe
havens in Syria and Iraq.
Under this measure, the review is to be submitted to Congress within
120 days of enactment. The findings of that review have the potential
to inform policymakers as we work to strengthen our ability to prevent
travel to terrorist sanctuaries and terrorism at large.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I once again urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4402. I
would like to thank both the gentleman from New York for his leadership
on the task force and my colleague from New Jersey for her work on the
Homeland Security Committee.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4402 the
``Foreign Fighter Review Act of 2016,'' which requires the president,
acting through the Homeland Security Secretary, to initiate a review of
known instances since 2011 in which a person has traveled or attempted
to travel from the United States to a conflict zone in Iraq or Syria to
join or provide material support or resources to a terrorist
organization.
As a senior member of the House Committee on Homeland Security and
the Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism,
Homeland Security and Investigations, I take seriously threats to the
security of the homeland and our responsibility to put in place
adequate measures to defeat them.
That is why in the first session of this Congress I introduced H.R.
48 ``No Fly for Foreign Fighters Act,'' which reviews the completeness
of the Terrorist Screening Database and the terrorist watch list
utilized by the Transportation Security Administration.
I support H.R. 4402 because it would evaluate any flaws in existing
programs or procedures that aim to prevent such travel and identify
ways to improve their effectiveness.
Since 2011, more than 30,000 foreign fighters from over 100 different
countries have traveled to Syria and Iraq to fight for ISIL.
In the last 18 months, the number of foreign fighters traveling to
Syria and Iraq has more than doubled.
In the first six months of 2015, more than 7,000 foreign fighters
have arrived in Syria and Iraq.
According to a report issued last year by the Committee on Homeland
Security's Foreign Fighter Task Force, U.S. officials apprehended less
than 20 percent (28/250) of Americans who sought to travel to the
region.
The report also found that while information sharing had improved,
there is currently no comprehensive global database of foreign
fighters.
It is estimated that at 250 persons who have traveled to Syria or
Iraq to join ISIS hold American citizenship.
Since these persons who identify with the terrorist aims of ISIS can
leave and enter the United States, it is critically important that
American customs and security officials have the most accurate and
effective terrorist screening tools available.
H.R. 4402 helps address this problem by identifying areas for
improvement to prevent additional travel by ``Foreign Fighters'' to
conflict zones in areas such as Iraq, Syria, or other terrorist safe
havens abroad, to join or provide material support or resources to a
terrorist organization.
Specifically, H.R. 4402 directs the Secretary of the Department of
Homeland Security to conduct a review and report to the Congress on the
following:
1. Relevant unclassified and classified information held by the U.S.
government related to each instance:
2. The factors including operational issues, security vulnerabilities
and systemic challenges that may have undermined efforts to prevent the
travel of such persons to a conflict zone in Iraq or Syria, including
the timely identification of suspects, information sharing,
intervention and interdiction.
3. The lessons learned and areas for improvement to prevent
additional travel by such persons to conflict zones or other terrorist
safe havens.
The bill also requires the President to direct the heads of relevant
federal agencies to provide to the Homeland Security Secretary the
information needed to complete the review, which is due within 120 days
of enactment.
Mr. Speaker, it is encouraging that progress has been made in
preventing individuals inspired by the Islamic State and other Islamic
extremist groups to either travel to Syria and Iraq or carry out
attacks on U.S. soil, but we need to do more and remain ever vigilant
to protect the security of our homeland.
H.R. 4402 is a positive step in the right direction and I urge all
Members to support this important legislation.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hurd) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 4402, as amended.
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. HURD of Texas. 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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