[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 16, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E50]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        DHS INTERAGENCY COUNTERTERRORISM TASK FORCE ACT OF 2017

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                  HON. HENRY C. ``HANK'' JOHNSON, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 9, 2018

  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4555, 
DHS Interagency Counterterrorism Task Force Act.
  This legislation provides the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 
with the authorization to assign their workforce to participate in 
overseas interagency counterterrorism task forces. Participation in 
these task forces will aid in counterterrorism information sharing and 
combat the threat of terrorism and associated risks to the United 
States, as determined by DHS.
  To continue to fight terrorism domestically and worldwide, I believe 
it is critical for agencies overseas to have open communications with 
one another. The more counterterrorism information that the DHS and 
other task forces overseas share, the more effectively these agencies 
can strategize. We must provide our security agencies with this 
critical asset to defend our country and citizens. Encouraging DHS 
personnel to participate in international task forces could create new 
solutions and help save the lives of our armed forces and personnel 
overseas. This task force could also assist the DHS in being more 
properly prepared to take on any counterterrorism efforts in the U.S.
  As a former member of the Armed Services Committee, I have long 
advocated for protecting our personnel overseas. I strongly believe in 
providing our U.S. security agencies with the proper training and 
communication tools to successfully fight terrorism. This legislation 
will provide the DHS with the appropriate authorization to share 
information with allies overseas and will bring us one step closer to 
rooting out terror worldwide. H.R. 4555 will allow DHS personnel to not 
only build relationships with allied counterterrorism task forces 
overseas but also help better prepare them to take on terrorism at 
home.