[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 5 (Tuesday, January 9, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H48-H49]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                              {time}  1400
      COUNTERTERRORISM INFORMATION SHARING IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2017

  Mr. GALLAGHER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4569) to require counterterrorism information sharing 
coordination, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4569

       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 Information 
     Sharing Improvement Act of 2017''.

     SEC. 2. COUNTERTERRORISM INFORMATION SHARING COORDINATION.

       (a) In General.--The President, acting though the Secretary 
     of Homeland Security, shall ensure that, for counterterrorism 
     purposes, the Department of the Homeland Security has access 
     to biographic and biometric data collected by the United 
     States Government on individuals associated with a terrorist 
     organization.
       (b) Coordination.--The President shall direct the heads of 
     relevant Federal departments and agencies to coordinate with 
     the Secretary of Homeland Security to minimize and overcome 
     any administrative, technical, capacity, or classification 
     challenges to carrying out subsection (a).
       (c) Protections.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
     ensure that all relevant laws, rules, and procedures, 
     including the section 552(a) of title 5, United States Code 
     (commonly referred to as the ``Privacy Act'' or the ``Privacy 
     Act of 1974''), regarding classification levels and civil 
     rights and civil liberties are followed while seeking to 
     carry out subsection (a).
       (d) Report to Congress.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 90 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 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 implementation of this section.
       (2) Contents.--The report required under paragraph (1) 
     shall include a description of how the data referred to in 
     subsection (a) is utilized for Department of Homeland 
     Security screening and vetting purposes and any challenges 
     associated with incorporating such data into departmental 
     screening and vetting systems.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Gallagher) and the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Correa) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GALLAGHER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days 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 Wisconsin?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GALLAGHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  As we destroy the caliphate in the Middle East, foreign fighters and 
terrorist sympathizers have fled the battlefield and are looking for 
new ways to spread their hatred, recruit new followers, instill fear, 
kill innocent people, and disrupt our way of life.
  The December 11 bombing at the New York City Port Authority Bus 
Terminal was the second terror attack in New York in less than 2 months 
and a grave reminder of the reality of this threat.
  Given this current environment, at the direction of Chairman McCaul, 
I led a task force to identify specific national security challenges 
and examine how terrorists might infiltrate our homeland and bring harm 
to our people. Subsequently, we produced a report with a series of 
solutions to fix any identified weaknesses that may be exploited by our 
enemies.
  This report resulted in several pieces of legislation that have come 
before the House today. To that end, my bill, the Counterterrorism 
Information Sharing Improvement Act, seeks to enhance the current 
information-sharing environment that exists within the Federal and 
military communities. Throughout the task force, we heard time and time 
again about the incredible amount of biometric and biographic data 
being pulled off battlefields in Syria and Iraq, as U.S. forces and our 
allies continue to roll back the territories once held by ISIS.
  It is often DOD personnel that encounter ISIS fighters on the 
battlefield, which often leads to the collection of valuable data. 
However, if these fighters and their associates move back to the West 
or try to enter the U.S., the DHS becomes the primary entity that will 
engage them. Therefore, it is critical that the data recovered by the 
DOD in the battlefield is able to reach the DHS and its systems for 
effective frontline screening and vetting of known or suspected 
terrorists.
  In order to verify we are utilizing this information to support our 
counterterrorism efforts, we must ensure that the Department of 
Homeland Security gets access to that data in a timely manner, 
particularly so that it can be used for screening and vetting purposes. 
My bill directs the President, acting through the Secretary of Homeland 
Security, to ensure that the DHS has access to biographic and biometric 
data collected by the U.S. Government on individuals associated with a 
terrorist organization. The bill also directs the Secretary to report 
to Congress on these efforts.
  The U.S. must prioritize any opportunity to identify bad actors 
outside the country and expand our ability to identify and deter 
threats before they reach the homeland. Unfortunately, information-
sharing challenges among U.S. agencies can prevent valuable information 
from becoming available for frontline screening and vetting. Not only 
is this a bureaucratic challenge, given the number of separate 
government agencies and components involved, but legal capacity and 
technical issues exist as well.
  This bill will address these challenges and create improved 
collaborations between the Department of Homeland Security and its 
other Federal and military partners.
  Mr. Speaker, I therefore urge my colleagues to support this bill, and 
I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CORREA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4569, the Counterterrorism 
Information Sharing Improvement Act of 2017. This bill seeks to ensure 
that the DHS gets access to biometric and biographic data collected by 
the United States Government to carry out its counterterrorism efforts.
  Since 9/11, the Democratic members of this committee have been 
committed to bolstering terrorism information sharing within our 
government. Today, terrorist threats are decentralized, spreading 
beyond al-Qaida, al Shabaab, and ISIL to a patchwork of small cells and 
lone wolves who stand ready to carry out violence to our country at 
their whim. Increasingly, this threat also includes homegrown violent 
extremists and domestic terrorists.
  Ensuring that the DHS has access to biographic and biometric data on 
individuals associated with a terrorist organization is critical to 
comprehensive assessing of all forms of terrorism and threats to our 
government.
  This legislation also requires that the DHS report on how the data is 
being received and utilized for screening and vetting purposes. This 
report will help Congress ensure that screening and vetting of 
travelers to the United States is conducted in a risk-based manner.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation and I am prepared to close.
  Again, Mr. Speaker, this legislation ensures that the DHS have access 
to biographic and biometric data collected by our government on 
individuals associated with terrorist organizations. It is important 
that this information be integrated into the DHS' screening and vetting 
programs to protect our country, our citizens, from all forms of 
terrorism and extremism.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this legislation, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. GALLAGHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I thank my 
colleagues for their hard work in generating the task force report and 
all of the ideas that led to the variety of bills we are doing here 
today.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaHood). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from

[[Page H49]]

Wisconsin (Mr. Gallagher) that the House suspend the rules and pass the 
bill, H.R. 4569.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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