U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office

Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800

Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001

93–915PDF 2015

FTO PASSPORT REVOCATION ACT OF 2015

MARKUP

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON TERRORISM, 

NONPROLIFERATION, AND TRADE

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

ON

H.R. 237

MARCH 25, 2015

Serial No. 114–10

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/ or

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/

(II)

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

MATT SALMON, Arizona 

DARRELL E. ISSA, California 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina 

MO BROOKS, Alabama 

PAUL COOK, California 

RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

RON DESANTIS, Florida 

MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina 

TED S. YOHO, Florida 

CURT CLAWSON, Florida 

SCOTT DESJARLAIS, Tennessee 

REID J. RIBBLE, Wisconsin 

DAVID A. TROTT, Michigan 

LEE M. ZELDIN, New York 

TOM EMMER, Minnesota 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

KAREN BASS, California 

WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts 

DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island 

ALAN GRAYSON, Florida 

AMI BERA, California 

ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California 

GRACE MENG, New York 

LOIS FRANKEL, Florida 

TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii 

JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas 

ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois 

BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania

AMY PORTER, Chief of Staff THOMAS SHEEHY, Staff Director

JASON STEINBAUM, Democratic Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON TERRORISM, NONPROLIFERATION, AND TRADE

TED POE, Texas, Chairman 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

DARRELL E. ISSA, California 

PAUL COOK, California 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

REID J. RIBBLE, Wisconsin 

LEE M. ZELDIN, New York 

WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas 

ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

MARKUP OF 

H.R. 237, To authorize the revocation or denial of passports and passport 

cards to individuals affiliated with foreign terrorist organizations, and for 

other purposes ...................................................................................................... 2

Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 237 offered by the Honorable Ted Poe, a Representative in Congress from the State of

Texas, and chairman, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and 

Trade ................................................................................................................. 5

APPENDIX 

Markup notice .......................................................................................................... 12

Markup minutes ...................................................................................................... 13

Markup summary .................................................................................................... 14

(1)

FTO PASSPORT REVOCATION ACT OF 2015

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON TERRORISM, NONPROLIFERATION, AND TRADE,

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS,

Washington, DC.H.R. 237

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 1:30 p.m., in room 

2255 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Ted Poe (chairman of 

the subcommittee) presiding. 

Mr. POE. The subcommittee will come to order. 

We meet today, pursuant to notice, to mark up the bill H.R. 237, 

the FTO Passport Revocation Act of 2015. 

As your offices were notified yesterday, it is the intent of the 

Chair to consider en bloc the following items which were previously 

provided to all members and are in your folders: H.R. 237, as introduced, and the Poe Amendment Number 25, a bipartisan amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 237. 

[The information referred to follows:]

2


93915a-1.eps
3


93915a-2.eps
4


93915a-3.eps
5


93915b-1.eps
6


93915b-2.eps
7

Mr. POE. Without objection, these items are considered as read 

and will be considered en bloc. 

I will next recognize members to speak on these items if they 

wish. I will speak, and then the ranking member will speak after, 

and then those that wish to be heard on this particular bill. 

The recent terrorist group known as the Islamic State of Iraq 

and Syria (ISIS) has taken over large parts of Iraq and Syria, but 

it is not just in Iraq and Syria that Islamic extremists have waged 

war. Recent deadly terrorist attacks in France, Australia, Canada, 

Denmark, have reminded us that the threat of attacks is in the 

West. These killers are ready to do what they wish and eager to 

take their rampage worldwide. 

Many of those killers, unfortunately, include some of our own 

citizens. In 2015, the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, said that 180 Americans had tried to go and fight in Syria, either for ISIL or al-Nusra or some other Islamic extremist group. 

There may be more; we do not know. 

Each of you have in front of you a handout that describes 16 incidents that are known to the public. American citizens fighting for 

ISIL in Syria and Iraq are a very real and dangerous threat to the 

United States. These individuals are receiving training that makes 

them capable of sophisticated terrorist attacks, and they put themselves under the command and control of leaders who want to attack eventually the United States. This isn’t a hypothetical threat. 

Before Moner Mohammad Abusalha became the first American to 

carry a suicide bomb attack in Syria, unbeknown to authorities, he 

returned home to Florida as a fully trained terrorist. He was also 

a card carrying member of the al-Qaeda-aligned al-Nusra front. 

Fortunately, he did not carry out an attack in the United States, 

but he could have. 

These traitors who have turned against America and joined the 

ranks of foreign radical terrorist armies should not be allowed to 

come back into the United States unless they come back in handcuffs. 

For these reasons, H.R. 237, the Foreign Terrorist Organization 

Passport Revocation Act, is a critical bill at a critical time. This bill 

grants the Secretary of State the authority to revoke or deny U.S. 

passports for individuals who are members or otherwise help designated foreign terrorist organizations execute their reign of terror. 

We must stop these individuals from coming back to the United 

States to do harm to Americans. 

I will now turn to the ranking member, Mr. Keating from Massachusetts, for his opening statement. 

Mr. KEATING. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would just like 

to thank you for your cooperation, working together on the amendment, and the opportunity to clarify the authority that the Secretary of State will have in this regard, and hopefully this is one 

more safety net for the emerging threats that we have and face 

daily. So thank you, again, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. POE. I now turn to Mr. Wilson from South Carolina, if he 

wishes to make an opening statement. And the microphones do not 

work. 

Mr. WILSON. Good. I am glad that you explained that. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for having this timely and important 

8

markup today. As a member of this subcommittee, and as the 

chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging 

Threats and Capabilities, and the father of four sons currently 

serving in the United States military, I know the threat of domestic terrorism firsthand. 

With the rise in terrorism recruitment through vast international 

communications opportunities and social media, this is an issue 

that must be addressed now, not tomorrow or the next day. This 

legislation makes—takes measures to ensure that individuals who 

are involved in or supporting terrorism in any capacity are not 

issued U.S. passports and have theirs revoked if they are in possession of a passport currently. 

Traveling under a U.S. passport is a privilege. When an individual engages in terrorist activity that directly threatens American families or her allies abroad, they forfeit that privilege. I support this legislation because I know it takes an important first step 

in stopping the spread of homegrown terrorism, which we have unfortunately seen steadily rise in recent months. 

I applaud Chairman Poe and his work on this legislation, and I 

look forward to continuing to work with this committee to fight the 

spread of terrorism both around the globe and here at home. 

I yield back. 

Mr. POE. Thank the gentleman from South Carolina. How many 

sons do you have that served in the Middle East? 

Mr. WILSON. My two older sons served in Iraq, my third son 

served in Egypt, and my fourth son just returned from serving in 

Afghanistan. 

Mr. POE. Tell them thank you for their service. 

Mr. WILSON. Well, hey, their mother did well. 

Mr. POE. Any other members wish to be recognized for a statement? Mr. Cook of California. 

Mr. COOK. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for this hearing. 

I am not going to talk very long, but I think what you are doing 

today is something that I actually think we are a couple of steps 

behind the terrorists, particularly ISIS, and some of the other 

groups in terms of social media, and what have you. 

You have to give credit to this new, ruthless organization. It is 

a new form of warfare. And, unfortunately, it is working. It has 

worked in Boston. It has worked in New York. It has worked in 

other areas. And unless we combat this with some of the things 

that are listed here, we are never going to catch up. 

When we are losing our young people that are being influenced 

to the point where they are going to go over there and fight, actually die for a cause which means just—hard to believe in terms of 

their values and morals. 

So I thank you for this hearing. Thank you. 

Mr. POE. Thank the gentleman. 

Any other members wish to be heard on a statement? Does the 

gentleman from California wish to be heard on the—making a 

statement on this legislation? 

Mr. SHERMAN. No. 

Mr. POE. All right. Thank you. Hearing no further requests for 

recognition, the question occurs on adopting the items under consideration en bloc. All those in favor say aye. 

9

[Chorus of ayes.] 

Mr. POE. Those opposed, no. 

[No response.] 

Mr. POE. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. The en 

bloc items are approved. 

Without objection, H.R. 237 will be reported favorably to the full 

committee in the form of a single amendment in the nature of a 

substitute incorporating the adopted amendments, and the staff is 

directed to make technical and conforming changes. 

I want to thank all of our members. I want to thank especially 

the minority for their cooperation, and the staff for all members 

and their assistance and cooperation that went into today’s markup. 

The subcommittee stands adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 1:46 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] 

(11)

A P P E N D I X 

MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

12

f


93915n.eps
13

f


93915m.eps
14

Æ


93915s.eps