[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 31, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H781-H782]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              COUNTERTERRORISM ADVISORY BOARD ACT OF 2017

  Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 526) 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. 526

       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 2017''.

     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 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 
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.
  Mr. Speaker, nearly 16 years after September 11th, our country 
continues to face the persistent threat of terrorism. From ISIS to al 
Qaeda, radical groups continue to target the United States and our way 
of life. Last year alone, we saw more than 131 plots by ISIS alone 
against the West.
  As terrorists continue to evolve, this body must ensure that the 
security measures in place to protect the United States and its 
citizens adapt to meet these threats.
  Faced with the most dangerous threat environment since 9/11, the 
Department of Homeland Security needs to continue to focus on its core 
mission of protecting Americans from these threats in an increasingly 
expeditious manner. I am proud that this body is working to continue to 
strengthen our national security by debating the bill before us today.
  H.R. 526, the Counterterrorism Advisory Board Act of 2017, will help 
integrate intelligence, operations, and policy decisions to ensure the 
Department of Homeland Security remains adaptable, while eliminating 
waste and duplication. This same bill was introduced last year and 
passed the House by overwhelming majority.
  Mr. Speaker, with open investigations in all 50 States and more than 
119 arrests, this body must continue to take action to protect our 
homeland. Further, these threats will likely expand as foreign fighters 
flee places like Raqqa and Mosul.
  Mr. Speaker, the world is witnessing the greatest convergence of 
radical Islamic threats in its history. More than 40,000 jihadists 
fighters, many of whom came from the West, have traveled to

[[Page H782]]

the battlefield in Syria and Iraq. With this threat environment in 
mind, I have introduced H.R. 526.
  Initially established at the end of 2010, the Counterterrorism 
Advisory Board brings together the Department of Homeland Security's 
top echelon counterterrorism decisionmakers to quickly respond to 
threats.
  While my colleagues and I were conducting the bipartisan Task Force 
on Combating Terrorists and Foreign Fighter Travel, we found that the 
Counterterrorism Advisory Board, or CTAB as it is referred to, had 
neither been codified nor had its charter kept pace with evolving 
terrorist threats.
  That is why we need to pass this bill: to ensure that DHS is 
effectively integrating intelligence, operations, and policy to better 
compile and understand threat information to successfully fight 
terrorism.
  This legislation formally establishes the CTAB in law and makes it 
the Department's central coordination body for counterterrorism 
activities.

                              {time}  1500

  The bill also updates the Board's charter to effectively respond to 
tomorrow's challenges and requires the Secretary to appoint a 
coordinator for counterterrorism to oversee the Board's activities.
  Additionally, this legislation requires the CTAB to advise the 
Secretary of Homeland Security on the issuance of terrorism alerts, 
ensuring that top counterterrorism intelligence officials play a key 
role in developing these critical notices and providing them to the 
public.
  Finally, this bill ensures continued congressional oversight by 
requiring DHS to report on the status and activities of the CTAB so 
that they can be certain it is meeting its mandate.
  I thank Chairman McCaul from the Homeland Security Committee for 
appointing me to lead the bipartisan Task Force on Combating Terrorist 
and Foreign Fighter Travel last year. This task force produced 32 key 
findings and more than 50 recommendations, one of which serves as a 
basis of the legislation before us today.
  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 
members of the task force and their willingness to work across the 
aisle in a bipartisan manner.
  I also thank Mr. Thompson, my colleague in the minority, for working 
in a bipartisan manner on this and many other bills that we have before 
us today.
  I will end by urging my colleagues to support this measure.
  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. 526, the Counterterrorism Advisory Board 
Act of 2017.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 526 authorizes, within the Department of Homeland 
Security, the Counterterrorism Advisory Board, or CTAB, to coordinate 
and integrate the Department's intelligence policies and activities as 
related to counterterrorism.
  Since 2010, this internal body, comprised of top DHS officials, has 
helped to harmonize counterterrorism programs and activities across 
DHS.
  H.R. 526 directs the Board to meet on a regular basis to coordinate 
and integrate the Department's counterterrorism efforts and set forth 
the leadership and composition of the Board.
  H.R. 526 also requires DHS to report to Congress on the Board's 
status and activities.
  To ensure that the Board remains an integral part of counterterrorism 
policy recommendations and responses across the Department, H.R. 526 
would codify it in law.
  At this time, when the Homeland Security challenges we face are, in 
many ways, more complex and diverse than ever before, it is essential 
that the new DHS Secretary and any successors have a mature, stable 
mechanism for counterterrorism decisionmaking just as his predecessors 
had.
  Mr. Speaker, again, H.R. 526 will authorize, within the Department of 
Homeland Security, the Counterterrorism Advisory Board to coordinate 
and integrate the Department's intelligence activities and policies as 
related to counterterrorism.
  This Board already plays a central and necessary role within DHS.
  Enactment of H.R. 526 will ensure that the Counterterrorism Advisory 
Board will remain in place for years and decades to come.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 526.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I urge 
Members to support this bill.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. McClintock). 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. 526, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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