[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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