[House Report 115-284]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


115th Congress    }                                     {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session      }                                     {      115-284

======================================================================



 
      JOINT COUNTERTERRORISM AWARENESS WORKSHOP SERIES ACT OF 2017

                                _______
                                

 September 1, 2017.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. McCaul, from the Committee on Homeland Security, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3284]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 3284) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
to establish a Joint Counterterrorism Awareness Workshop 
Series, and for other purposes, having considered the same, 
report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that 
the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Hearings.........................................................     2
Committee Consideration..........................................     2
Committee Votes..................................................     3
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     3
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures     3
Congressional Budget Office Estimate.............................     3
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     4
Duplicative Federal Programs.....................................     4
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
  Benefits.......................................................     4
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     4
Preemption Clarification.........................................     4
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings..............................     5
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     5
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     5
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     6

                          Purpose and Summary

    The purpose of H.R. 3284 is to amend the Homeland Security 
Act of 2002 to establish a Joint Counterterrorism Awareness 
Workshop Series.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    In November 2008, ten members of Lashkar-e-Taiba conducted 
a coordinated terrorist attack on multiple targets in Mumbai, 
India.\1\ These attacks raised the question of how first 
responders prepare for and respond to a coordinated terrorist 
attack on multiple locations. In response to the Mumbai 
attacks, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the 
National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), and the Federal Bureau 
of Investigation (FBI) developed the Joint Counterterrorism 
Awareness Workshop Series (JCTAWS) to assist States and 
localities in preparing for this new threat. The events in 
Paris and Brussels demonstrated that the threat of a 
coordinated terrorist attack is not going away.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Mumbai Massacre Background Information. PBS. Available at: 
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/mumbai-massacre-background-information/
502/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    JCTAWS brings together a wide range of first responders 
including law enforcement, fire, emergency medical services, 
and public health officials, as well as the private sector and 
non-governmental organizations, to prepare for, prevent 
against, and respond to a coordinated terrorist attack. Since 
2011, over 30 cities have hosted these workshops, where they 
test their current plans, policies, and procedures, while 
identifying gaps and best practices. After each workshop, the 
host city, with its Federal partners, develops a summary report 
with key findings and possible gap mitigation strategies.
    H.R. 3284 authorizes this program to ensure FEMA, NCTC, and 
the FBI continue to provide State and local jurisdictions with 
this vital resource.

                                Hearings

    No hearings were held on H.R. 3284 in the 115th Congress. 
However, in both the 115th and 114th Congresses, the Committee 
held hearings and briefings on the evolving terrorist threat, 
including the threat of complex, coordinated terrorist attacks, 
and the activities and resources needed to address threat.

                        Committee Consideration

    The Committee met on July 26, 2017, to consider H.R. 3284, 
and ordered the measure to be reported to the House with a 
favorable recommendation, without amendment, by voice vote.
    The following amendment was offered:
 An amendment offered by Ms. Jackson Lee (#1); was WITHDRAWN by 
unanimous consent.
     Page 5, beginning line 17, insert a new paragraph entitled ``(3) 
Security Assessment Reports.''.

                            Committee Votes

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires the Committee to list the recorded 
votes on the motion to report legislation and amendments 
thereto.
    No recorded votes were requested during Committee 
consideration of H.R. 3284.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee has held oversight 
hearings and made findings that are reflected in this report.

   New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee finds that H.R. 
3284, the Joint Counterterrorism Awareness Workshop Series Act 
of 2017, would result in no new or increased budget authority, 
entitlement authority, or tax expenditures or revenues.

                  Congressional Budget Office Estimate

    The Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared 
by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to 
section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                   Washington, DC, August 17, 2017.
Hon. Michael McCaul,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3284, the Joint 
Counterterrorism Awareness Workshop Series Act of 2017.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Robert Reese.
            Sincerely,
                                                        Keith Hall.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 3284--Joint Counterterrorism Awareness Workshop Series Act of 2017

    H.R. 3284 would authorize the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency (FEMA) to carry out a training program for 
counterterrorism awareness in consultation with the National 
Counterterrorism Center and the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation. The program would provide information, training, 
and other resources related to preventing, responding to, and 
recovering from terrorist attacks. The bill would authorize the 
appropriation of $1 million to implement the program.
    Under current law, FEMA performs most of the activities 
authorized under H.R. 3284 through its Joint Counterterrorism 
Awareness Workshop under the National Exercise Program (NEP). 
In 2017, $1 million was allocated to NEP for those workshops.
    CBO estimates that fully implementing the bill and 
conducting the training program each year over the 2018-2022 
period would cost a total of about $5 million. That estimate is 
based on historical spending needs for the NEP; the spending 
would be subject to the availability of appropriations.
    Enacting H.R. 3284 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO 
estimates that enacting H.R. 3284 would not increase net direct 
spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 
10-year periods beginning in 2028.
    H.R. 3284 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Robert Reese. 
The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

         Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, H.R. 3284 contains the following 
general performance goals and objectives, including outcome 
related goals and objectives authorized.
    The goals and objectives of H.R. 3284 are to ensure 
emergency response providers are able to assess current plans, 
policies, and procedures for a coordinated terrorist attack, 
identity gaps in such plans, and develop mitigation strategies.

                      Duplicative Federal Programs

    Pursuant to clause 3(c) of rule XIII, the Committee finds 
that H.R. 21626 does not contain any provision that establishes 
or reauthorizes a program known to be duplicative of another 
Federal program.

   Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
                                Benefits

    In compliance with rule XXI of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives, this bill, as reported, contains no 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of the rule 
XXI.

                       Federal Mandates Statement

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act.

                        Preemption Clarification

    In compliance with section 423 of the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974, requiring the report of any Committee on a bill or 
joint resolution to include a statement on the extent to which 
the bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt State, 
local, or Tribal law, the Committee finds that H.R. 3284 does 
not preempt any State, local, or Tribal law.

                  Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings

    The Committee estimates that H.R. 3284 would require no 
directed rule makings.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this 
legislation.

                  Applicability to Legislative Branch

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

             Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation


Section 1.   Short title

    This section provides that this bill may be cited as the 
``Joint Counterterrorism Awareness Workshop Series Act of 
2017''.

Sec. 2.   Joint Counterterrorism Awareness Workshop Series

    This section requires the Administrator of FEMA, in 
consultation with the Director of the National Counterterrorism 
Center and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 
to establish a Joint Counterterrorism Awareness Workshop Series 
(JCTAWS) to help State and local jurisdiction prepare for, 
protect against, and respond to coordinated terrorist attacks. 
The Committee believes that it is essential that States and 
localities are prepared for a coordinated terrorist attack and 
the workshops authorized in this bill are one way to meet this 
objective.
    This section also delineates the activities required to be 
part of each workshop, including, but not limited to, a review 
of current plans, policies, and procedures, an examination of 
the roles and responsibilities of participating agencies and 
respective communities, and an analysis of identified gaps and 
an assessment of resources available to mitigate such gaps.
    Additionally, this section authorizes the Administrator to 
select jurisdictions to participate in such workshops from 
among jurisdictions that currently receive, or have previously 
received, funding under the Urban Area Security Initiative 
(UASI) and have requested to host a workshop. State and local 
government officials, emergency response providers, and the 
private sector are eligible to participate in a workshop. 
Private sector participants should include, when appropriate, 
private health care providers, such as hospitals.
    Last, this section requires, after each workshop, FEMA, 
NCTC, the FBI, and officials from the host city to develop a 
summary report that includes key findings and strategies for 
mitigating gaps identified during the workshop. Additionally, 
FEMA is required to submit an annual report to Congress on the 
key themes, lessons learned, and best practices from all of the 
workshops held during the previous year. The Committee 
believes, that if appropriate, the annual report should be 
publicly available to all emergency response providers so they 
can learn from the best practices and lessons learned from the 
previous year's workshops.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is 
printed in italics and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

                     HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002


SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

  (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Homeland 
Security Act of 2002''.
  (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is 
as follows:

     * * * * * * *

                 TITLE V--NATIONAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

     * * * * * * *
Sec. 529. Joint Counterterrorism Awareness Workshop Series.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


TITLE V--NATIONAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 529. JOINT COUNTERTERRORISM AWARENESS WORKSHOP SERIES.

  (a) In General.--The Administrator, in consultation with the 
Director of the National Counterterrorism Center and the 
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, shall 
establish a Joint Counterterrorism Awareness Workshop Series 
(in this section referred to as the ``Workshop Series'') to 
address emerging terrorist threats and to enhance the ability 
of State and local jurisdictions to prevent, protect against, 
respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks.
  (b) Purpose.--The Workshop Series established under 
subsection (a) shall include the following components:
          (1) Reviewing existing preparedness, response, and 
        interdiction plans, policies, and procedures related to 
        terrorist attacks of the participating jurisdictions 
        and identifying gaps in such plans, operational 
        capabilities, response resources, and authorities.
          (2) Identifying Federal, State, and local resources 
        available to address the gaps identified in accordance 
        with paragraph (1).
          (3) Providing assistance, through training, 
        exercises, and other means, to build or sustain, as 
        appropriate, the capabilities to close such identified 
        gaps.
          (4) Examining the roles and responsibilities of 
        participating agencies and respective communities in 
        the event of a terrorist attack.
          (5) Improving situational awareness and information 
        sharing among all participating agencies in the event 
        of a terrorist attack.
          (6) Identifying and sharing best practices and 
        lessons learned from each Workshop Series established 
        under subsection (a).
  (c) Designation of Participating Cities.--The Administrator 
shall select jurisdictions to host a Workshop Series from those 
cities that--
          (1) are currently receiving, or that previously 
        received, funding under section 2003; and
          (2) have requested to be considered.
  (d) Workshop Series Participants.--Individuals from State and 
local jurisdictions and emergency response providers in cities 
designated under subsection (c) shall be eligible to 
participate in the Workshop Series, including the following:
          (1) Senior elected and appointed officials.
          (2) Law enforcement.
          (3) Fire and Rescue.
          (4) Emergency management.
          (5) Emergency Medical Services.
          (6) Public health officials.
          (7) Private sector representatives.
          (8) Other participants as deemed appropriate by the 
        Administrator.
  (e) Reports.--
          (1) Workshop series report.--The Administrator, in 
        consultation with the Director of the National 
        Counterterrorism Center, the Director of the Federal 
        Bureau of Investigation, and officials from the city in 
        which a Workshop Series is held, shall develop and 
        submit to all of the agencies participating in such 
        Workshop Series a report after the conclusion of each 
        such Workshop Series that addresses the following:
                  (A) Key findings about lessons learned and 
                best practices from each such Workshop Series.
                  (B) Potential mitigation strategies and 
                resources to address gaps identified during 
                each such Workshop Series.
          (2) Annual reports.--Not later than one year after 
        the date of the enactment of this section and annually 
        thereafter for the next seven years, the Administrator, 
        in consultation with the Director of the National 
        Counterterrorism Center and the Director of the Federal 
        Bureau of Investigation, shall 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 comprehensive summary report of 
        the key themes, lessons learned, and best practices 
        identified during the Workshop Series held during the 
        previous year.
  (f) Authorization.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
$1,000,000 to carry out this section.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


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