[Senate Report 116-59]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 158
116th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 116-59
_______________________________________________________________________
COUNTERTERRORISM ADVISORY BOARD
ACT OF 2019
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 411
TO ESTABLISH A COUNTERTERRORISM ADVISORY BOARD, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
July 22, 2019.--Ordered to be printed
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
89-010 WASHINGTON : 2019
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin Chairman
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
RAND PAUL, Kentucky THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
MITT ROMNEY, Utah KAMALA D. HARRIS, California
RICK SCOTT, Florida KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
Gabrielle D'Adamo Singer, Staff Director
Joseph C. Folio, III, Chief Counsel
Michelle D. Woods, Co-Director and Chief Policy Advisor for Homeland
Security
David M. Weinberg, Minority Staff Director
Zachary I. Schram, Minority Chief Counsel
Subhasri Ramanathan, Minority Senior Counsel for Technology and
Innovation
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 158
116th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 116-59
======================================================================
COUNTERTERRORISM ADVISORY BOARD ACT OF 2019
_______
July 22, 2019.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Johnson, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 411]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 411) to establish a
Counterterrorism Advisory Board, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an
amendment (in the nature of a substitute) and an amendment to
the title and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................4
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................4
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................5
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................6
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............7
I. Purpose and Summary
The purpose of S. 411, the Counter Threats Advisory Board
Act of 2019, is to establish within the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS or the Department) a Counter Threats Advisory
Board (CTAB) to coordinate the Department's intelligence
activities, policy, and information related to the mission and
functions of the Department that counter threats. The bill
requires the CTAB to meet on a regular basis to discuss
intelligence and coordinate the Department's threat mitigation
efforts. In addition, the bill requires the CTAB to focus on
the current threat environment and advise the Secretary on the
issuance of Terror Alerts. The CTAB is required to report to
Congress its activities, and the Secretary must provide written
notification and a briefing on any changes to or new mechanisms
to coordinate threats across the Department. The CTAB
terminates two years after enactment of this bill.
II. Background and the Need for Legislation
In November 2010, DHS established the Counterterrorism
Advisory Board (the Board) in response to the attempted bombing
of Northwest Flight 253 on December 25, 2009.\1\ The mission of
the Board is to ``further improve coordination on
counterterrorism activities for the Department and components''
and ``prevent terrorist attacks and enhance security.''\2\ This
bill codifies the activities of the Counterterrorism Advisory
Board, and renames it the Counter Threats Advisory Board to
ensure that the activities undertaken by the Board position the
Department to coordinate and respond to ever-changing security
threats and vulnerabilities.
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\1\Ten Years After 9/11: Can Terrorists Still Exploit Our Visa
System?: Hearing Before Subcomm. on Border & Mar. Sec. of the H. Comm.
on Homeland Sec., 112th Cong. (2011) (statement of John Cohen,
Principal Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Department of
Homeland Security), https://www.dhs.gov/news/2011/09/12/statement-john-
cohen-principal-deputy-coordinator-counterterrorism-house-homeland.
\2\Id.
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On December 25, 2009, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian
national, boarded flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit,
Michigan.\3\ While on board, Mr. Abdulmutallab attempted to
detonate an explosive device located in his underwear.\4\ The
device did not explode, but did ignite injuring Mr.
Abdulmutallab and two additional passengers.\5\ Mr.
Abdulmutallab was taken into custody by the U.S. Customs and
Border Protection and subsequently questioned by the Federal
Bureau of Investigation.\6\ In the immediate aftermath of the
incident, the Federal Government determined that while Mr.
Abdulmutallab was known to the U.S. intelligence community and
was in the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (a
database of known or appropriately suspected terrorists), he
was not on the terrorist watchlist which may have prevented him
from boarding the flight to the United States.\7\
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\3\Press Release, The White House Office, White House Review
Summary Regarding 12/25/2009 Attempted Terrorist Attack (Jan. 7, 2010),
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/realitycheck/the-press-office/
white-house-review-summary-regarding-12252009-attempted-terrorist-
attack.
\4\Id.
\5\Id.
\6\Id.
\7\Id.
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This incident prompted the White House to conduct a
preliminary assessment of the events that led to the attempted
attack. In January 2010, the White House released the findings
of its review of the terrorist watchlisting system and
intelligence community's actions preceding and following the
attempted terrorist attack.\8\ The review found that ``human
errors and a series of systematic breakdowns failed to stop Mr.
Abdulmutallab before he was able to detonate an explosive
device on board flight 253.''\9\ Specifically, the review
found, among other things, that the counterterrorism community
(of which DHS is a member) failed to ``connect the dots'' by
identifying, correlating, and fusing together information
relating to the terrorist plot; assign responsibility within
the counterterrorism community for following up on high
priority threat streams; and identify intelligence information
that would have placed Mr. Abdulmutallab on the watchlist.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\Id.
\9\Id.
\10\Id.
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During the 111th Congress, the Committee held hearings on
the lessons learned and implications of the attempted 2009
Christmas Day terrorist attack against Northwest Airlines
Flight 253, also known as the ``Underwear Bomber''
incident.\11\ In January 2010, Mr. Michael E. Leiter, then-
Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, testified
about the counterterrorism system's failure to prevent the
attack:
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\11\Intelligence Reform: The Lessons and Implications of the
Christmas Day Attack-Part 1: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on Homeland
Sec. and Governmental Affairs, 111th Cong. (2010), available at https:/
/fas.org/irp/congress/2010_hr/reform.pdf.
The counterterrorism system collectively failed . . .
[l]et me be clear again. Had all of the information the
United States had available been linked together, his
name undoubtedly would have been watchlisted, and,
thus, he would have been on the visa screening list and
the border inspection list. And whether he would have
been placed on the No Fly or Selectee List then, would
have been based on the existing strength of the
analytic judgments at the time.\12\
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\12\Id. at 6.
Similarly, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Janet
Napolitano testified that ``. . . Umar Abdulmutallab should
have never been allowed to board this U.S.-bound plane with
explosives.'' She outlined improvements to the Department's
aviation security screening processes and efforts to enhance
coordination with its interagency partners ``to reevaluate and
modify the way the terrorist watchlist is created, including .
. . how names are added to the No Fly and Selectee Lists.''\13\
Secretary Napolitano later established the position of
Counterterrorism Advisor and subsequently the Counterterrorism
Advisory Board to improve coordination of the Department's
counterterrorism activities. The mission of the Board aligns
with the Department's central mission--to prevent terrorist
attacks and enhance security.\14\ The Board is composed of
senior representatives of operational and headquarters
components, and aims to facilitate coordinated operational
response to deter and disrupt terrorist operations.\15\
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\13\Id. at 10.
\14\Ten Years After 9/11'' Can Terrorists Still Exploit Our Visa
System?, supra note 1.
\15\Id.
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In the years since the Board's creation, DHS has been
inundated by new, persistent, and emerging threats far beyond
those posed by international terrorist organizations that
executed the September 11 and Christmas Day attacks. Today's
threats to the homeland can be best characterized by pervasive
and relentless threats from transnational criminal
organizations, cybercriminals, and nation-state actors. In
March 2019, Kirstjen Nielsen, then-Secretary of Homeland
Security remarked on the current state of homeland security:
Today, I am more worried about the ability of bad
guys to hijack our networks than their ability to
hijack our flights. And I am concerned about them
holding our infrastructure hostage . . . stealing our
money and secrets . . . exploiting children online . .
. and even hacking our democracy.\16\
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\16\Press Release, Dep't of Homeland Sec., Sec'y Nielsen Remarks on
the State of Homeland Sec.: As Prepared for Delivery (Mar. 18, 2019),
https://www.dhs.gov/news/2019/03/18/secretary-nielsen-remarks-state-
homeland-security-prepared-delivery.
In May 2018, then-Secretary Nielsen testified before the
Committee about DHS's need for additional authorities to
counter emerging threats such as those posed by malicious
unmanned aircraft systems, or drones.\17\ Ms. Nielsen noted
that, ``We have already seen transnational criminals adopt this
technology to move drugs across the border. Terrorist groups
overseas have used drones to conduct attacks on the battlefield
and have plotted to use them in terrorist attacks
elsewhere.''\18\
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\17\Authorities and Resources Needed to protect and Secure the
United States: Hearing Before S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. and
Governmental Affairs, 115th Cong. (2018) (statement of Kirstjen M.
Nielsen, Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Homeland Sec.), https://
www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/authorities-and-resources-needed-to-
protect-and-secure-the-united-states.
\18\Id.
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S. 411 codifies the Counterterrorism Advisory Board and
renames it the Counter Threats Advisory Board to better
position the Department's leadership and its components to
address new and emerging threats. The legislation sets
requirements for the membership of the CTAB, frequency of
meetings to discuss intelligence and coordinate ongoing threat
mitigation efforts and departmental activities, and directs the
CTAB to focus on the current threat environment. The
legislation requires a report to Congress on the status and
activities of the CTAB, which will facilitate stakeholders'
understanding of any new mechanisms DHS may develop to
coordinate threats across the Department.
III. Legislative History
Senators Marco Rubio and Margaret Wood Hassan introduced S.
411 on February 7, 2019, and the bill was referred to the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
The Committee considered S. 411 at a business meeting on
May 15, 2019. During the business meeting, two amendments by
Senator Margaret Wood Hassan were offered and adopted. The
amendments made minor technical corrections and changed the
bill's title. The Committee ordered the bill, as modified by
the two amendments, reported favorably by voice vote en bloc.
Senators present for the vote were: Johnson, Paul, Lankford,
Scott, Peters, Carper, Hassan, and Rosen. For the record only,
Senators Portman, Romney, Hawley, and Sinema later asked to be
recorded as ``yes'' by unanimous consent.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported
Section 1. Short title
This section provides the short title of the bill, the
``Counter Threats Advisory Board Act of 2019.''
Section 2. Department of Homeland Security Counter Threats Advisory
Board
This section authorizes the establishment of a Counter
Threats Advisory Board within the Department for a period of
two years following the enactment of this bill, requires the
CTAB to be composed of senior officials representing the
Department's operational components and headquarters elements,
and to coordinate intelligence activities and policy and
information to counter threats.
The Department must develop a charter to govern the CTAB's
structure and mission. The charter will direct the CTAB to
focus on the current threat environment and aligning the
departmental activities to counter threats with guidance from
the Secretary. The charter is to be reviewed and updated as
appropriate.
This section also specifies the membership and composition
of the CTAB. The bill requires the Under Secretary for
Intelligence and Analysis to serve as the Chair of the CTAB.
The Secretary is required to appoint senior representatives
from each of the following operational and headquarters
components; the Transportation Security Administration, U.S.
Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast
Guard, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Secret
Service, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency,
Office of Operations Coordination, Office of the General
Counsel, Office of Intelligence and Analysis, Office of Policy,
the Science and Technology Directorate, and the Office for
State and Local Law Enforcement. At the Secretary's discretion,
other departmental offices or programs may become members of
the CTAB.
The CTAB is required to meet regularly to discuss
intelligence and coordinate ongoing threat mitigation efforts
and departmental activities. Coordination efforts are to
include other Federal, State, local, tribal, territorial, and
private sector partners. The CTAB is required to make
recommendations to the Secretary for action if required.
This section requires the CTAB to advise the Secretary on
the issuance of terrorism alerts, and to provide a report to
Congress within 90 days of the enactment of this legislation on
the activities of the CTAB. In addition, the Secretary is
required to provide written notification to Congress and
briefings on any changes to or identification of new mechanisms
to coordinate threats.
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, May 22, 2019.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 411, the Counter
Threats Advisory Board Act of 2019.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark
Grabowicz.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall.
Enclosure.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. 411 would establish an advisory board in the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS). The board would consist of senior
representatives of operational agencies within DHS (such as
Customs and Border Protection and the Coast Guard) and offices
in DHS headquarters, including the Office of Intelligence and
Analysis. The board would meet on a regular basis to coordinate
departmental activities to counter threats for two years.
DHS is currently carrying out activities similar to those
required by the bill, and thus CBO estimates that implementing
S. 411 would have no significant effect on DHS spending.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
S. 411 as reported are shown as follows (existing law proposed
to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is printed in
italic, 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) * * *
(b) * * *
Sec. 1. * * *
* * * * * * *
Sec. 210F. Departmental coordination on counter threats.
* * * * * * *
TITLE II--INFORMATION ANALYSIS
* * * * * * *
Subtitle A--Directorate for Information Analysis and Infrastructure
Protection; Acess to Information
* * * * * * *
SEC. 210F. DEPARTMENTAL COORDINATION ON COUNTER THREATS.
(a) Establishment.--There is authorized in the Department,
for a period of 2 years beginning after the date of enactment
of this section, a Counter Threats Advisory Board (in this
section referred to as the ``Board'') which shall--
(1) be composed of senior representatives of
departmental operational components and headquarters
elements; and
(2) coordinate departmental intelligence activities
and policy and information related to the mission and
functions of the Department that counter threats.
(b) Charter.--There shall be a charter to govern the
structure and mission of the Board, which shall--
(1) direct the Board to focus on the current threat
environment and the importance of aligning departmental
activities to counter threats under the guidance of the
Secretary; and
(2) be reviewed and updated as appropriate.
(c) Members.--
(1) In general.--The Board shall be composed of
senior representatives of departmental operational
components and headquarters elements.
(2) Chair.--The Under Secretary for Intelligence and
Analysis shall serve as the Chair of the Board.
(3) Members.--The Secretary shall appoint additional
members of the Board from among the following:
(A) The Transportation Security
Administration.
(B) U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
(C) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
(D) The Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(E) The Coast Guard.
(F) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services.
(G) The United States Secret Service.
(H) The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
Security Agency.
(I) The Office of Operations Coordination.
(J) The Office of the General Counsel.
(K) The Office of Intelligence and Analysis.
(L) The Office of Strategy, Policy, and
Plans.
(M) The Science and Technology Directorate.
(N) The Office for State and Local Law
Enforcement.
(O) The Privacy Office.
(P) The Office for Civil Rights and Civil
Liberties.
(Q) Other departmental offices and programs
as determined appropriate by the Secretary.
(d) Meetings.--The Board shall--
(1) meet on a regular basis to discuss intelligence
and coordinate ongoing threat mitigation efforts and
departmental activities, including coordination with
other Federal, State, local, tribal, territorial, and
private sector partners; and
(2) make recommendations to the Secretary.
(e) Terrorism Alerts.--The Board shall advise the Secretary
on the issuance of terrorism alerts under section 203.
(f) Prohibition on Additional Funds.--No additional funds
are authorized to carry out this section.
[all]