[House Report 114-437]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
114th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 114-437
======================================================================
AMPLIFYING LOCAL EFFORTS TO ROOT OUT TERROR ACT OF 2016
_______
February 29, 2016.--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. 4401]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 4401) to authorize the Secretary of Homeland
Security to provide countering violent extremism training to
Department of Homeland Security representatives at State and
local fusion centers, 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......................................................... 3
Committee Consideration.......................................... 4
Committee Votes.................................................. 4
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 4
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures 4
Congressional Budget Office Estimate............................. 5
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............ 5
Duplicative Federal Programs..................................... 6
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff
Benefits....................................................... 6
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 6
Preemption Clarification......................................... 6
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings.............................. 6
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 6
Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................. 6
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 7
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 8
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
The purpose of H.R. 4401 is to authorize the Secretary of
Homeland Security to provide countering violent extremism
training to Department of Homeland Security representatives at
State and local fusion centers, and for other purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
In September 2015, the final report of the Committee on
Homeland Security's Task Force on Combating Terrorist and
Foreign Fighter Travel was published. The report, produced by a
bipartisan panel, issued 32 findings and provided more than 50
recommendations for enhancing U.S. security. Among other
conclusions, the Task Force report found that the majority of
recent disruptions of aspiring U.S. foreign fighters occurred
because of or were aided by warnings to law enforcement,
whether from family, friends, informants, or the general
public. Nevertheless, few initiatives exist nationwide to raise
community awareness in order to keep more individuals from
being recruited to join overseas terrorist organizations.
Information from the public is crucial for stopping foreign
fighter flows. ``A lot of cases we've disrupted, it's because
somebody tipped us off,'' explained one senior Administration
official who spoke with the members of the Task Force. The
Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS), and other agencies do investigative work to
identify extremists, but without community engagement their
work is considerably more difficult.
Today, the Obama Administration relies on small initiatives
with few staff to spread awareness about the threat. The Task
Force report found that the Community Awareness Brief is the
federal government's primary domestic outreach effort to
address domestic violent extremism and inform communities about
terrorist recruiting. Also utilized are Community Resilience
Exercises, which are designed to engage participants in mock
scenarios involving the radicalization of a community member to
pursue violent extremism. Unfortunately, resource constraints
have kept these initiatives from being scaled beyond one-off
presentations held intermittently around the country.
The Task Force report recommended that DHS should use the
National Network of Fusion Centers to more widely deploy
initiatives such as the Community Awareness Brief and Community
Resilience Exercise, designed to increase local understanding
of the foreign fighter threat. Training fusion center staff
around the country to help conduct these briefings and other
types of outreach to counter violent extremism could help to
increase community awareness and buy-in from local participants
and more importantly, help stop terrorist travel and potential
plots.
The Task Force report also found that state and local law
enforcement personnel continue to express concern that they are
not provided with important counterterrorism information,
whether because of a lack of security clearances, insufficient
security clearance levels, or delays in security clearance
processing.
State and local law enforcement partners are essential for
deterring, detecting, and disrupting terrorist travel. However,
the Task Force report found that there is frustration among
state and locals about the security clearance process. Some
departments with a presence at fusion centers say they have too
few officers or none with security clearances, while others
feel hamstrung by the long delays in security clearance
processing.
Security clearance levels are also an issue. Most State and
local law enforcement personnel who are granted security
clearances are approved up to the ``Secret'' level. However,
counterterrorism information is often classified at ``Top
Secret'' and above, making it difficult, if not impossible, for
those officers to assist in sensitive cases. In response to
Congressional and fusion center concerns, DHS decided in 2015
to sponsor certain clearances and streamline its process to
make it easier for state and local law enforcement to be
granted higher clearances. As a complement to this response,
this legislation would enhance oversight by requiring the
Department to give Congress a snapshot of the clearances it has
sponsored for state and locals around the country so that the
American people's representatives can make sure the right
stakeholders have access to the right information to keep our
country safe.
HEARINGS
The Committee did not hold any hearings on H.R. 4401,
however, the Committee held the following oversight hearings:
On February 11, 2015, the Committee held a hearing entitled
``Countering Violent Islamist Extremism: The Urgent Threat of
Foreign Fighters and Homegrown Terror.'' The Committee received
testimony from Hon. Francis X. Taylor, Under Secretary,
Intelligence and Analysis, U.S. Department of Homeland
Security; Hon. Nicholas J. Rasmussen, Director, National
Counterterrorism Center, Office of the Director of National
Intelligence; and Mr. Michael B. Steinbach, Assistant Director,
Counterterrorism Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation,
U.S. Department of Justice.
On March 24, 2015, the Committee held a hearing entitled
``A Global Battleground: The Fight Against Islamist Extremism
at Home and Abroad.'' The Committee received testimony from
Hon. Newt Gingrich, Former Speaker of the U.S. House of
Representatives; General Michael Hayden (USAF-Ret.), Former
Director, Central Intelligence Agency and Former Director,
National Security Agency; Mr. Philip Mudd, Senior Fellow, New
America Foundation; and Mr. Brian Michael Jenkins, Senior
Adviser to the RAND President, The RAND Corporation.
On June 3, 2015, the Committee held a hearing entitled
``Terrorism Gone Viral: The Attack in Garland, Texas and
Beyond.'' The Committee received testimony from Mr. John J.
Mulligan, Deputy Director, National Counterterrorism Center;
Hon. Francis X. Taylor, Under Secretary, Intelligence and
Analysis, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and Mr. Michael
B. Steinbach, Assistant Director, Counterterrorism Division,
Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice.
On July 15, 2015, the Committee held a hearing entitled
``The Rise of Radicalization: Is the U.S. Government Failing to
Counter International and Domestic Terrorism?'' The Committee
received testimony from Ms. Farah Pandith, Adjunct Senior
Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations; Mr. Seamus Hughes, Deputy
Director, Program on Extremism, Center for Cyber and Homeland
Security, George Washington University; and Mr. J. Richard
Cohen, President, Southern Poverty Law Center.
On September 8, 2015, the Committee held a field hearing in
New York City, New York entitled ``Beyond Bin Laden's Caves and
Couriers to A New Generation of Terrorists: Confronting the
Challenges in a Post 9/11 World.'' The Committee received
testimony from Hon. Rudolph ``Rudy'' W. Giuliani, Former Mayor,
City of New York, New York; Mr. William J. Bratton,
Commissioner, Police Department, City of New York, New York;
Mr. Daniel A. Nigro, Commissioner, Fire Department, City of New
York, New York; Mr. Lee A. Ielpi, President, September 11th
Families Association; and Mr. Gregory A. Thomas, National
President, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement
Executives.
On October 21, 2015, the Committee held a hearing entitled
``Worldwide Threats and Homeland Security Challenges.'' The
Committee received testimony from Hon. Jeh C. Johnson,
Secretary, Department of Homeland Security; Hon. Nicholas J.
Rasmussen, Director, The National Counterterrorism Center,
Office of the Director of National Intelligence; and Hon. James
B. Comey, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S.
Department of Justice.
On November 18, 2015, the Committee on Homeland Security
and the Committee on Foreign Affairs held a joint hearing
entitled ``The Rise of Radicalism: Growing Terrorist
Sanctuaries and the Threat to the U.S. Homeland.'' The
Committees received testimony from Hon. Matthew G. Olsen, Co-
Founder and President, Business Development and Strategy,
IronNet Cybersecurity; Gen. John M. Keane (Ret. U.S. Army),
Chairman of the Board, Institute for the Study of War; and Mr.
Peter Bergen, Vice President, Director International Security
and Fellows Programs, New America.
COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
The Committee met on February 2, 2016, to consider H.R.
4401, and ordered the measure to be reported to the House with
a favorable recommendation, without amendment, by voice vote.
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 consideration of
H.R. 4401.
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.
4401, the Amplifying Local Efforts to Root out Terror Act of
2016, 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, February 29, 2016.
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. 4401, the ALERT
Act of 2016.
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.
H.R. 4401--ALERT Act of 2016
H.R. 4401 would require the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS), within 150 days of the bill's enactment, to submit to
the Congress an assessment of DHS efforts to combat violent
extremism at state, local, tribal, and territorial levels. The
bill also would direct DHS, within 30 days of enactment, to
report to the Congress on the number of employees of state,
local, tribal, and territorial governments with security
clearances sponsored by the department.
Based on information from DHS, CBO estimates that
implementing H.R. 4401 would cost less than $500,000; such
spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated
funds. Because enacting the legislation would not affect direct
spending or revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4401 would not increase net
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.
H.R. 4401 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. State,
local, and tribal governments could benefit from training
authorized in the bill; any costs to those governments would be
incurred voluntarily.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz.
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. 4401 contains the following
general performance goals and objectives, including outcome
related goals and objectives authorized.
The goal of H.R. 4401 is to give the Department the ability
to enhance U.S. Government outreach for countering violent
extremism (CVE). The Committee found that community engagement
is critical for mitigating terrorism threats, yet few CVE
initiatives exist Nation-wide to help communities better
identify and mitigate such threats. Training fusion center
personnel offers the opportunity to rapidly ``scale up'' CVE
activities around the country. The bill requires an assessment
of DHS efforts to support State, local, tribal, and territorial
CVE activities, with the goal of searching for additional
opportunities for assistance and identifying CVE best
practices. Furthermore, the bill also includes a requirement
for DHS to report to Congress on the number of security
clearances sponsored by DHS for State and local government
personnel nationwide and the level of such clearances so that
Congress can ensure the right stakeholders are getting access
to the right information in order to help connect the dots and
assist with other counterterrorism efforts.
DUPLICATIVE FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Pursuant to clause 3(c) of rule XIII, the Committee finds
that H.R. 4401 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. 4401 does
not preempt any State, local, or Tribal law.
DISCLOSURE OF DIRECTED RULE MAKINGS
The Committee estimates that H.R. 4401 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
``Amplifying Local Efforts to Root out Terror Act of 2016'' or
the ``ALERT Act of 2016''.
Section 2. Countering violent extremism training
Subsection (a)--Authorization of training
This subsection authorizes the Secretary of Homeland
Security to provide training for personnel at State and major
area fusion centers, including State, local, tribal, and
territorial fusion center representatives, to administer
community awareness briefings and related activities for
countering violent extremism (CVE), identifying and reporting
suspicious activities, and identifying terrorism threats-
including those related to foreign fighters. The Committee
believes that fusion center training could be an effective tool
for the Secretary to deliver CVE programs nationwide.
Subsection (b)--Coordination
This subsection requires the Secretary, to the extent
practicable, to coordinate the training with the heads of other
relevant agencies engaged in CVE outreach. In particular, the
Committee believes such training should be done in close
coordination with the National Counterterrorism Center, the
Department of Justice, the Department of State, and other
appropriate agencies involved in CVE activities.
Sec. 3. Countering violent extremism assessment
Subsection (a)--Assessment required
This subsection requires the Secretary, in consultation
with local stakeholders, to assess Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) efforts to support CVE activities at the State,
local, Tribal, and territorial levels. The assessment must
occur no later than 120 days after enactment and include:
1. A cataloguing of DHS efforts to assist such
governments with CVE activities;
2. A review of cooperative agreements between DHS and
such governments on CVE; and
3. An evaluation of DHS plans and opportunities to
better support the CVE activities of such governments,
consistent with all relevant constitutional, legal, and
privacy protections.
Subsection (b)--Submission to Congress
This subsection requires that, not later than 150 days
after enactment, the Secretary must submit the findings of the
review to the appropriate Congressional committees along with
any related information regarding CVE best practices at the
State, local, Tribal, and territorial levels.
Sec. 4. Department-sponsored clearances
This section requires the Secretary of Homeland Security,
not later than 30 days after enactment of this Act, to notify
the appropriate Congressional committees regarding the number
and level of security clearances sponsored by DHS that are held
by State, local, Tribal, and territorial government personnel.
The Committee believes such personnel can be a force multiplier
in countering terrorism threats to the homeland and,
accordingly, may require access to the necessary sensitive
information to be involved in such efforts.
Sec. 5. Prohibition on additional funding
This section requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to
complete the training activities, CVE assessments, and
clearance notification, required under this Act using funds
already appropriated or made available to the Department of
Homeland Security.
Sec. 6. Definitions
This section defines ``appropriate congressional
committees'' and ``violent extremism''.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
As reported, H.R. 4401 makes no changes to existing law.
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