[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 77 (Monday, May 16, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H2413-H2415]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              COUNTERTERRORISM ADVISORY BOARD ACT OF 2016

  Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 4407) 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.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4407

       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 ``Counterterrorism Advisory 
     Board Act of 2016''.

     SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY COUNTERTERRORISM 
                   ADVISORY BOARD.

       (a) In General.--At the end of subtitle A of title II of 
     the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 121 et seq.) 
     insert the following new section:

     ``SEC. 210G. DEPARTMENTAL COORDINATION ON COUNTERTERRORISM.

       ``(a) Establishment.--There is in the Department a board to 
     be composed of senior representatives of departmental 
     operational components and headquarters elements. The purpose 
     of the board shall be to coordinate and integrate 
     departmental intelligence, activities, and policy related to 
     the counterterrorism mission and functions of the Department.
       ``(b) Charter.--There shall be a charter to govern the 
     structure and mission of the board. Such charter shall direct 
     the board to focus on the current threat environment and the 
     importance of aligning departmental counterterrorism 
     activities under the Secretary's guidance. The charter shall 
     be reviewed and updated every four years, as appropriate.
       ``(c) Members.--
       ``(1) Chair.--The Secretary shall appoint a Coordinator for 
     Counterterrorism within the Department who will serve as the 
     chair of the board.
       ``(2) Additional members.--The Secretary shall appoint 
     additional members of the board from among the following:
       ``(A) The Transportation Security Administration.
       ``(B) United States Customs and Border Protection.
       ``(C) United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
       ``(D) The Federal Emergency Management Agency.
       ``(E) The Coast Guard.
       ``(F) United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
       ``(G) The United States Secret Service.
       ``(H) The National Protection and Programs Directorate.
       ``(I) The Office of Operations Coordination.
       ``(J) The Office of the General Counsel.
       ``(K) The Office of Intelligence and Analysis.
       ``(L) The Office of Policy.
       ``(M) The Science and Technology Directorate.
       ``(N) Other Departmental offices and programs as determined 
     appropriate by the Secretary.
       ``(d) Meetings.--The board shall meet on a regular basis to 
     discuss intelligence and coordinate ongoing threat mitigation 
     efforts and departmental activities, including coordination 
     with other Federal, State, local, tribal, territorial, and 
     private sector partners, and shall make recommendations to 
     the Secretary.
       ``(e) Terrorism Alerts.--The board shall advise the 
     Secretary on the issuance of terrorism alerts pursuant to 
     section 203 of this Act.
       ``(f) Prohibition on Additional Funds.--No additional funds 
     are authorized to carry out this section.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 
     1(b) of such Act is amended by inserting after the item 
     relating to section 210F the following new item:

``Sec. 210G. Departmental coordination on counterterrorism.''.

       (c) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary, acting through the 
     Coordinator for Counterterrorism, shall submit to the 
     Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
     Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
     Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on the status and 
     activities of the board established under section 210G of the 
     Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by subsection (a).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from

[[Page H2414]]

New York (Mr. Katko) and the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and 
to include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Since the tragic events of 9/11, this body has endeavored to better 
integrate intelligence and law enforcement agencies to react to new and 
evolving threats and to reduce duplicative efforts and waste. To a 
large extent, we have succeeded in producing a more integrated security 
apparatus that properly reflects the terrorist threats of the 21st 
century. However, we must continue to make improvements to counter 
fast-changing threats like those posed by ISIS.
  Mr. Speaker, we are seeing the greatest convergence of radical 
Islamic threats in history, with more than 40,000 jihadist fighters 
traveling to the battlefield in Syria and Iraq.
  Furthermore, the United States faces the highest threat level since 
9/11--with open counterterrorism investigations in all 50 States in 
this great country of ours and with more than 80 ISIS-related arrests 
in the past 2 years, including one just up the road from my district on 
New Year's Eve.
  With the current threat environment in mind, I offer H.R. 4407, the 
Counterterrorism Advisory Board Act of 2016.
  Initially established at the end of 2010, this panel brings together 
the Department of Homeland Security's top counterterrorism 
decisionmakers to respond to threats. However, I led a bipartisan task 
force, which found that the Counterterrorism Advisory Board, or CTAB, 
had neither been codified nor had its charter kept pace with today's 
evolving terrorist threats. That is why we need to pass this bill--to 
ensure that the DHS is effectively integrating intelligence, 
operations, and policy to fight terrorism and that it is quickly 
exchanging threat information.
  This legislation formally establishes the CTAB in law, and it makes 
it the Department's central coordination body for counterterrorism 
activities. The bill also updates the Board's charter to better enable 
it to confront tomorrow's challenges today, and it requires the 
Secretary to appoint a Coordinator for Counterterrorism to oversee the 
Board's activities. It is an important change to the current structure.
  Additionally, the legislation requires the CTAB to advise the 
Secretary on the issuance of terrorism alerts, ensuring that top 
counterterrorism and intelligence officials play a key role in 
developing these critical notices to the public.
  Finally, H.R. 4407 ensures continued congressional oversight by 
requiring the DHS to report on the status and activities of the CTAB so 
that we can be certain it is meeting its mandate.
  I thank Chairman McCaul for appointing me to lead the bipartisan Task 
Force on Combating Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel, which 
formulated, roughly, 50 recommendations for making our country safer, 
one of which serves as the basis for this legislation.
  I also thank Ranking Member Thompson and his great staff for all of 
the work we have been doing to get a lot of these bills passed into 
law, and I very much appreciate our bipartisan work together.
  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 
other members of the task force and their willingness to reach across 
the aisle and do what is right for our country.
  I urge my colleagues to support this measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 4407, the Counterterrorism Advisory Board 
Act of 2016.
  H.R. 4407 authorizes, within the Department of Homeland Security, the 
Counterterrorism Advisory Board, or CTAB, to coordinate and integrate 
Departmental intelligence, activities, and policy related to 
counterterrorism.
  Since 2010, the internal body, which is comprised of top DHS 
officials, has helped to harmonize counterterrorism programs and 
activities across the DHS. H.R. 4407 directs the CTAB to meet on a 
regular basis to coordinate and integrate the Department's 
counterterrorism efforts, and it sets forth the leadership and 
composition of the Board. H.R. 4407 also requires the DHS to report to 
Congress on the Board's status and activities.
  This legislation is a product of the House Committee on Homeland 
Security's bipartisan Task Force on Terrorist and Foreign Fighter 
Travel, which learned that the CTAB, which has operated for 6 years, 
was never authorized in law.

                              {time}  1800

  To ensure that the board remains an integral part of counterterrorism 
policy recommendations and responses across the Department, the task 
force recommended that the board be codified in law. Codification of 
the board is consistent with the task force's finding that information 
sharing is critical to preventing foreign fighter travel.
  I believe that the CTAB should be a permanent fixture in the 
Department to help inform the counterterrorism decisionmaking of future 
Department Secretaries. As such, I support this legislation, which 
tackles an important task force recommendation and finding, and commend 
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Katko) for introducing it as well as 
making it here for the hearing of this bill today.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time to close.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance 
of my time.
  Again, H.R. 4407 will authorize within the Department of Homeland 
Security the counterterrorism advisory board to coordinate and 
integrate departmental intelligence activities and policies related to 
counterterrorism. The board already plays a central and necessary role 
within DHS.
  Enactment of H.R. 4407 will ensure that, no matter what happens in 
the upcoming election or who is the head of the Department, the 
counterterrorism advisory board will remain intact.
  I urge passage of H.R. 4407.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I once again urge my colleagues to support this strong bipartisan 
piece of legislation. It is commonsense legislation, but it is very 
important to institutionalize things that are working to some extent 
within the Department of Homeland Security and the counterterrorism 
advisory board. The tweaks that we have in this legislation are going 
to make it a good, firm setting for fighting the counterterrorism 
activity going forward.
  I do want to note for a moment as well that there have been an awful 
lot of bills that came out of Homeland Security this term, and the vast 
majority of those bills have had bipartisan support. I am proud of the 
work we are doing together with our colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle, and we are going to continue to do that moving forward to keep 
this country safe.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4407, 
Counterterrorism Advisory Board Act of 2016, because it will establish 
a board to coordinate and integrate DHS's intelligence, activities, and 
clarify policy related to its counterterrorism mission and functions.
  As a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security since its 
establishment, and current Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee 
on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security this bill is of importance to 
me.
  It was said of the George W. Bush Administration by the 9-11 
Commission that it did not connect the dots that would have allowed the 
intelligence and law enforcement communities to detect and possibly 
deter the September 11, 2001 attack against our nation.
  We have learned a great deal over the nearly 15 years since Al Qaeda 
attacked our nation.
  One of the more important lessons is the need to have coordination 
and unity of effort among and within intelligence and law enforcement 
agencies in our battle to defeat terrorists.

[[Page H2415]]

  H.R. 4407 establishes a board that will:
  (1) advise the Secretary of DHS on the issuance of terrorism alerts, 
and meet on a regular basis to discuss intelligence; and
  (2) coordinate ongoing threat mitigation efforts and departmental 
activities.
  The terrorism alert system initiated following September 2001, caused 
confusion and uncertainty.
  In November 2002, I was proud to join my colleagues in voting to 
create the Department of Homeland Security.
  H.R. 4407 will develop a process for determining when alerts should 
be issued, which will make it easier for the Department of Homeland 
Security to develop messages that will guide public and interagency 
actions.
  My work on the Homeland Security Committee has allowed me the 
privilege of serving as Chair of the Subcommittee on Transportation 
Security, and the Ranking Member of the Border and Maritime Security 
Subcommittee.
  The Homeland Security Committee has worked over the years since its 
founding to ensure that this agency is prepared and staffed to meet the 
challenges and demands of its mandate.
  As we have worked to define and support the mission of the Department 
of Homeland Security we have worked to keep the efforts of the agency 
focused not only on the threats we have faced, but also the new ones 
that may come.
  It is the responsibility of Congress not only to provide DHS with new 
guidelines, but also to provide the agency with the funding it needs to 
do the work of protecting this great nation.
  For several Congresses DHS has faced a government shutdown and 
sequestration that has depleted its resources and stranded its efforts 
to do all of the work members of this body demands.
  Mr. Speaker, since DHS initiated its headquarters consolidation in 
2006, it has progressed despite changes in senior leadership and waning 
funding support from Congress.
  As I urge my colleagues to support this bill, I also remind them that 
the passage of new laws that require more of the agency should also 
mean that we should require more of ourselves as members of Congress.
  We should support the work of the men and women of DHS as they stand 
on the front line of our nation's domestic security by making sure that 
they have the tools and the skills needed to do the job we require.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 4407.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Katko) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4407, 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. KATKO. 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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