[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 170 (Wednesday, September 30, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H5077-H5078]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          TRANSNATIONAL WHITE SUPREMACIST EXTREMISM REVIEW ACT

  Ms. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5736) to direct the Under Secretary for Intelligence and 
Analysis of the Department of Homeland Security to develop and 
disseminate a threat assessment regarding threats to the United States 
associated with foreign violent white supremacist extremist 
organizations, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5736

       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 ``Transnational White 
     Supremacist Extremism Review Act''.

     SEC. 2. THREAT ASSESSMENT.

       (a) In General.--The Under Secretary for Intelligence and 
     Analysis of the Department of Homeland Security shall, in 
     coordination with appropriate Federal partners, develop a 
     terrorism threat assessment and reference aid regarding 
     threats to the United States associated with foreign violent 
     white supremacist extremist organizations. Consistent with 
     the protection of classified and confidential unclassified 
     information, the Under Secretary shall share the threat 
     assessment developed under this section with State, local, 
     and Tribal law enforcement officials, including officials who 
     operate within State, local, and regional fusion centers 
     through the Department of Homeland Security State, Local, and 
     Regional Fusion Center Initiative established in accordance 
     with section 210A of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 
     U.S.C. 124h).
       (b) Coordination.--The threat assessment and reference aid 
     developed pursuant to subsection (a)--
       (1) shall be developed in coordination with the Office of 
     Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department of 
     Homeland Security and other appropriate Federal agencies; and
       (2) may be informed by existing products developed by such 
     Office and agencies, as appropriate.
       (c) Overview.--The threat assessment and reference aid 
     shall include an overview of symbols, flags, or other 
     references utilized by adherents of foreign violent white 
     supremacist extremist organizations.
       (d) Distribution.--Consistent with the protection of 
     classified and confidential unclassified information, the 
     Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis of the 
     Department of Homeland Security shall share the threat 
     assessment and reference aid with the following:
       (1) State, local, and Tribal law enforcement officials, 
     including officials who operate within State, local, and 
     regional fusion centers through the Department of Homeland 
     Security State, Local, and Regional Fusion Center Initiative 
     established in accordance with section 210A of the Homeland 
     Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 124h).
       (2) Appropriate owners and operators of online platforms to 
     assist in identifying content that may be associated with a 
     foreign violent white supremacist extremist organization that 
     may violate the terms of service of such online platforms, 
     upon request from such online platforms and in consultation 
     with the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the 
     Department.
       (e) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Foreign violent white supremacist extremist 
     organization.--The term ``foreign violent white supremacist 
     extremist organization'' means an organization based outside 
     the United States that seeks, wholly or in part, through 
     unlawful acts of force or violence, to support a belief in 
     the intellectual and moral superiority of the white race over 
     other races.
       (2) Online platform.--The term ``online platform'' means 
     internet-based information services consisting of the storage 
     and processing of information by and at the request of a 
     content provider and the dissemination of such content to 
     third parties.
       (f) Limitation.--The Under Secretary for Intelligence and 
     Analysis of the Department of Homeland Security shall ensure 
     that the threat assessment and reference aid does not contain 
     the name or other identifiable information of any individual 
     or organization engaged in lawful political or public 
     discourse in the United States protected under the United 
     States Constitution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Illinois (Ms. Underwood) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Joyce) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Illinois.


                             General Leave

  Ms. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include extraneous material on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the government's latest reports describe violence by 
white supremacists as a significant terrorist threat to the homeland.
  In fact, it was recently reported that DHS analysts assessed ``the 
threat from white supremacists as the deadliest domestic terror threat 
facing the U.S.''
  Further, this past week, a DHS official testified before a Senate 
committee that attacks by white supremacists are on average the most 
lethal of domestic terrorist actors.
  This statement came on the heels of testimony before the Senate 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee by FBI Director 
Christopher Wray, who stated that racially-motivated violent extremists 
are ``the most lethal of all domestic extremists,'' and that white 
supremacists are the number one threat within that group.
  We have also seen evidence that this threat is increasingly linked to 
individuals and groups abroad.
  Last year, the perpetrators of terror attacks in El Paso, Texas, and 
Poway, California, drew inspiration from the deadly white supremacist 
attack in Christchurch, New Zealand.
  There are indications that the links go beyond mere inspiration.
  Reports have documented that white supremacists have traveled 
internationally to train with neo-Nazi militant groups in war zone 
environments.
  By some accounts, white supremacist groups are drawing on jihadist 
tactics to organize, and the threat they pose is no less deadly.
  The Transnational White Supremacist Extremism Review Act would 
require the Department of Homeland Security to disseminate a terrorist 
threat assessment regarding foreign, violent white supremacist 
extremist groups to State and local law enforcement partners.
  The bill also authorizes DHS to share information regarding symbols 
used by such groups with social media companies to assist in efforts to 
identify content that may violate their terms of service.

[[Page H5078]]

  The bill includes vital civil rights and civil liberties safeguards 
to protect First Amendment rights.
  The first step in confronting a threat is making sure that the people 
on the front lines have the information they need to understand it.
  When it comes to the white supremacist threat, that is exactly what 
this bill would do.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1315

  Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5736, the Transnational White 
Supremacist Extremism Review Act.
  H.R. 5736 requires the Department of Homeland Security Undersecretary 
for Intelligence and Analysis, I&A, to coordinate with Federal partners 
and develop a terrorism threat assessment concerning homeland threats 
related to ``foreign violent white supremacist extremist 
organizations.''
  This bill further requires I&A to share the information with State 
and local law enforcement partners, as well as fusion centers. Ensuring 
that State and local law enforcement and fusion centers have access to 
information on current and emerging threats is a fundamental 
responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security, particularly the 
Office of Intelligence and Analysis.
  The Trump administration has taken significant action to address 
domestic extremism, including white supremacy. The creation of the 
Office of Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention in April 2019 and 
the release of the DHS Strategic Framework for Countering Terrorism and 
Targeted Violence in September 2019 demonstrate a coordinated and 
comprehensive commitment to addressing emerging threats in both 
international and domestic terrorism.
  Subcommittee Ranking Member Walker led our efforts to negotiate 
changes to the base bill during the committee markup. I want to thank 
Subcommittee Chairman Rose for accepting our changes to the bill. I 
urge its passage, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rose), the sponsor of this bill.
  Mr. ROSE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from 
Illinois for yielding her time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 5736, the 
Transnational White Supremacist Review Act.
  Today, our country faces a wide range of complex threats to our 
safety, our security, and our way of life. Not only are American 
families having to keep their communities safe and their economy 
together in the face of COVID, but in large swaths of the country, they 
are doing so while dealing with more frequent and catastrophic natural 
disasters.
  Sadly, though, amidst all of this, terrorism does not stop. The 
homeland security threat posed by white supremacist extremists is 
pervasive and persistent. Extremists exploit such crises as we are in 
right now. Often, this involves the targeting of the most vulnerable in 
society.
  Earlier this year, the Directors of the FBI and the National 
Counterterrorism Center testified before our committee regarding the 
unrelenting nature of bad actors during times like these. Both 
testified to the significant homeland security threat posed by racially 
motivated domestic actors, primarily white supremacist extremists.
  In my capacity as chair of the Intelligence and Counterterrorism 
Subcommittee, I have joined with my colleagues to raise the alarm about 
this threat. In carrying out my work on the committee, I have 
identified a common theme. And that is, plain and simple, that this 
white supremacist domestic terrorist problem is, in fact, not domestic 
at all. It is global in nature.
  Look no further than the deadly attacks in El Paso, Texas, and Poway, 
California, last year. The U.S. experienced firsthand the ramifications 
of an international white supremacist movement when two domestic actors 
independently drew inspiration from the foreign terrorists who 
committed the Christchurch, New Zealand, attack.
  Troublingly, there are reports that white supremacist groups have 
adapted recruitment tactics and begun using training camps modeled 
after jihadist groups like al-Qaida and ISIS.
  Just last week, a former Trump administration counterterrorism 
official confirmed that training by foreign groups is happening when 
she acknowledged that there have been instances when our foreign 
counterterrorism partners have alerted us to the fact that U.S. 
citizens were in their countries to conduct trainings or participate in 
trainings with white supremacist movements.
  These foreign partners told this former official that the U.S. is an 
exporter of this ideology and must address this problem.
  This is exactly what this bill today seeks to address, a bill 
designed to send a message to our foreign partners that Congress hears 
them and is taking action.
  This bill would require DHS to produce and circulate a threat 
assessment on foreign violent white supremacist extremist groups to 
local law enforcement. It would also push social media companies to do 
so much more in addressing this threat. Crucially, this bill includes 
civil rights and civil liberty safeguards as well.
  Countering white supremacy will require a whole-of-society approach, 
education, awareness, and so on.
  Through our work on this committee, we found that Americans stay 
safest when law enforcement at all levels is equipped with the best 
available information. This bill makes sure that our frontline 
responders in the law enforcement community have just that.
  It is endorsed by the ADL, an expert advocacy group that has tracked 
the white supremacist threat for decades. It is also endorsed by the 
Blue Dog Coalition, a group that looks past partisanship and advocates 
for commonsense national security solutions.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on its passage.
  Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the 
bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  As the surge in white supremacist extremist attacks in the United 
States and around world puts all of us at risk, I commend my committee 
colleague Mr. Rose for introducing this legislation, and I urge 
passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Underwood) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5736, 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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