[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9638]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           FIGHTING TERRORISM

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, we learned yesterday that our allies in 
Jordan were victims of a terrorist attack. The vehicle-borne IED killed 
Jordanian soldiers and police officers. Although ISIL is not taking 
credit for the attack, the tactics were certainly similar to those 
frequently employed by ISIL. Last week, the terrorist that ISIL called 
a soldier of the caliphate took 49 lives as he proudly proclaimed his 
allegiance to that group. Days later, the CIA Director delivered a 
sobering analysis of ISIL's strength and capabilities.
  ``[Our] efforts have not reduced the group's terrorism capability and 
global reach,'' he said. ``[As] we have seen in Orlando, San Bernardino 
and elsewhere, ISIL is attempting to inspire attacks by sympathizers . 
. . [and it is] training and attempting to deploy operatives for 
further attacks.''
  These are the facts--facts that the Director of Central Intelligence 
did not deliver lightly.
  They are certainly worrying.
  They remind us that this vile, hate-filled terrorist group is going 
to keep bringing tragedies to our doorstep until it is defeated where 
it trains, operates, and prepares--places like Iraq and Syria.
  So we have a choice.
  We can focus on defeating ISIL or we can focus on partisan politics.
  Some of our colleagues may think this is all some game. We have seen 
the ridiculous tweets and the bizarre one-liners about guns and 
terrorists. I believe this is a serious moment that calls for serious 
solutions.
  So I would ask every Senator to consider this statement from one of 
our Democratic colleagues just last week: ``Why have this job, one of 
the most powerful jobs in the world,'' he asked, ``if we are not going 
to exercise it to try to protect Americans from harm?''
  This is the point I am making. He may have meant these words in a 
different context, but the reality is this: We all know that the 
principal way to prevent more ISIL-inspired and ISIL-directed 
heartbreak is to actually defeat ISIL. It is not an easy task. It 
doesn't always make for snappy one-liners. Not only is it going to take 
time, but it is going to take all of our efforts. But that is why our 
constituents sent us here.
  Here is what we need from President Obama: Lead a serious campaign to 
defeat ISIL.
  Here is what we need from each other: Work towards serious solutions 
to fight terror beyond our borders and serious counterterror tools to 
prevent attacks within our borders.
  We will have opportunities to take positive steps forward as we 
resume consideration of the legislation before us.
  This bill will give the FBI and law enforcement more resources to 
track down and defuse terrorist threats. Funding is only one piece of 
the larger puzzle, however. The FBI and law enforcement also need 
smart, targeted tools to help stop terrorist attacks before they happen 
in the first place.
  We will have the opportunity to consider more good ideas this morning 
as part of the McCain amendment. One of these good ideas--ECTR reform--
will allow law enforcement to connect the dots of terrorist 
communications in order to disrupt their plans. The inability to 
connect the dots has been one of the problems the FBI has had in 
identifying homegrown terrorists like the one in Orlando. The FBI 
Director calls this smart, targeted reform, ``enormously helpful'' and 
recently identified it as a top legislative priority. It will not allow 
for the collection of any content, nor will it infringe on civil 
liberties or civil rights. What it will do is give law enforcement a 
critical helping hand in the midst of ISIL's sophisticated Internet 
campaign to direct and inspire attacks right here in our communities. 
Given all we know about ISIL and its ability to radicalize people on 
the Internet, doesn't that just make good sense?
  Here is another idea that makes sense: the McCain amendment's lone-
wolf provision.
  ISIL's spokesman recently issued a call for lone-wolf attacks against 
the West during Ramadan. Its followers heard the call last Sunday in 
Orlando, last Monday in France, and days later in Belgium--a near miss 
in what appears to be an ISIL-directed attack planning. We need to 
better address this threat of lone-wolf terrorists. That means 
providing law enforcement with the tools and the certainty necessary to 
do so. That is what the lone-wolf provision will provide. It is an idea 
that has passed Congress before. Now we can enact it into law on an 
enduring basis as a part of the McCain amendment. Unfortunately, 
threats from lone-wolf attacks are not going away. The legal authority 
to help prevent them should not go away, either.
  Smart, targeted counterterrorism ideas like these were Republican 
priorities well before the terrorist attack in Orlando. They continue 
to be at the forefront of our efforts now. We also remain focused on 
doing what we can to help this President and the next one take down 
ISIL.
  These kinds of ideas should be all of our priorities moving forward--
for Republicans, for Democrats, and for the President of the United 
States.
  We can spend our time redacting and reacting, or we can acknowledge 
the threats before us and work to prevent more ISIL-fueled atrocities.

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