Date: 2016-04-26
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise to speak in opposition to H.R. 4820. the "Combating Terrorist Recruitment Act of 2016." because regrettably the bill was not improved as I had hoped and expected between the Committee markup and. floor consideration. Specifically. Section 2 of H.R. 4820. directs the Secretary of Homeland Security. inter alia. to employ "Countermessaging of foreign terrorist organization communications and narratives." However. the bill is silent on the issue of domestic terrorists and the threat they pose to the safety and security of Americans. This was a point raised by the minority members during the markup. but an agreement could not be reached to include the words "and domestic terrorist" in the bill. As a senior member of the House Committee on Homeland Security and Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime. Terrorism. Homeland Security. and Investigations. I appreciate the concerns the bill is intended to address but in my view the bills scope is too limited in view of the number and frequency of violent domestic extremist attacks such as the one occurring in the evening of June 17. 2015 at the historic Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. South Carolina. Combating violent extremism is too important to become the subject of partisan political disputes. Instead. we should work together to find common ground that reconciles the competing interests of collective security and individual liberties. We must not focus on one religion as being a threatthis would be wrong and counterproductive. Mr. Speaker. there have been other attacks by foreign and domestic violent extremists. The Fort Hood Texas attack committed by Major Nidal Malik Hasan. who opened fire and killed 13 U.S. military personnel. The Boston Marathon attackers were two Chechen brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev who carried out a bombing that took 3 lives and injured 264 others. Later. the brothers killed university police officer Sean A. Collier. On December 2. 2015. 14 people were killed and 22 were seriously injured in a terrorist attack in San Bernardino. California. which consisted of a mass shooting and an attempted bombing. The perpetrators. Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik. a married couple living in the city of Redlands. who the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health training event and holiday party. of about 80 employees. This threat of attack by foreign terrorists on American soil is real and substantial and requires vigilance by the Administration and this Congress. However. threats of domestic terrorist attacks are also real. Mr. Speaker. we cannot be unmindful of the fact that since September 2001. there have been 250 deaths at the hands of home grown violent extremists as opposed by 50 by foreign terrorists. The seminal act of homegrown domestic terror occurred in 1995. when the domestic terrorist Timothy McVeigh detonated the truck bomb that destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. killing 168 persons and injured over 680 people. At the time. it is the largest loss of American lives at the hands of a domestic terror group since the Civil War. Today. the challenge is countering the messages of violent extremism no matter the source and not to fall for thinking that one type of violent extremism is less of a threat than another type of violent extremism. Radical and extremist groups. both domestic and international. systematically prey upon the vulnerabilities of young persons by offering inducements such as financial assistance. familiallike bonds. or the promise of an exciting and heroic life. In some cases. youth have been forcibly recruited or tricked into participating in terrorist activities. including suicide bombings. The heinous attack in Mother Emmanuel Church was a defining moment in our nations history for many reasons. but the final chapter will be written by those who are charged with keeping our nation and its people safe while preserving the way of life that terrorist seek to change. One of the enduring challenges for members of the Homeland Security Committee is how we guide the work of the Department of Homeland Security. I hosted DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson in Houston for two days of discussions. and tours that were insightful and probing on a range of regional and national homeland security issues. The issue of violent extremism is one of several efforts that the Department of Homeland Security has prioritized and begun efforts to address both the international threat and the domestic threats. DHS defines "Domestic Terrorism" as: "Any act of violence that is dangerous to human life or potentially destructive of critical infrastructure or key resources committed by a group or individual based and operating entirely within the United States or its territories without direction or inspiration from a foreign terrorist group." Groups and individuals inspired to commit terrorist acts are motivated by a range of personal. religious. political. or other ideological beliefsthere is no magic formula. Further. the complexity of adding social media as a new source of recruitment for violent extremists is complicating the efforts of law enforcement. domestic security and national defense. The line between lawfully protected speech and activity that may be a threat should be clearly defined by law. Taking care to protect civil liberties and constitutional rights means that our system of laws must acknowledge that reading. writing. or speaking of ones views or beliefs even when they are unpopular is not a crime. Hate speech is not a crimewhile an act of violence motivated by hate is. Violent extremist threats within the United States can come from a range of violent extremist groups and individuals. including Domestic Terrorists and Homegrown Violent Extremists (HVEs). The troubling violent nature of the attack at Mother Emanuel AME Church. its location in the South. on a night devoted to prayer services. by a young man still in his twenties awaken fears that many of us who represent majority minority congressional districts had hoped were receding with the passage of time. In the wake of the killings at Mother Emanuel in Charleston. several African American Churches have fallen victim to fires. Historically. African American churches are the center of religious. social. cultural and political life for the communities they serve. Since the tragic events of September 11. 2001. members serving in this body were mindful of the history that we worked not to repeat. Today. we are still working to assure the public that appropriate checks must be made certain in how increased in government authority is controlled. The demographics of young persons becoming involved in terrorist groups also appear to be changing. In many cases the persons implicated are younger than reported in the past and there appear to be more female youth joining the ranks of terrorist organizations. Additionally. more young supporters are coming from Western countries that are further removed from actual conflict areas. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas have recruited children as young as thirteen to be suicide bombers and children as young as eleven to smuggle explosives and weapons. During 2003. thirteenyearold twin sisters who had been recruited by alQaeda linked groups were caught attempting to commit a suicide bombing against Western businesses and local government buildings in Morocco. Counterrecruitment and counterradicalization initiatives should be tailored locally. and should engage members from across the community who are in a position to address specific underlying factors or identify potential radicalization indicators. Counterrecruitment and radicalization initiatives must evolve with the young audiences they are intended to reach. adapt along with the adversaries. incorporate new developments in technologies. and address changes within environments where young persons are susceptible. I encourage my colleagues to withdraw this bill and allow for it to be considered under an open rule or for the bill to be sent back to the committee for further consideration.