[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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