[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7345 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7345
To counter White identity terrorism globally, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 25, 2020
Mr. Deutch introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the
Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To counter White identity terrorism globally, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) ``White Identity Terrorism'' is the term used by the
Department of State to encompass White nationalist and White
supremacist terrorists. Individuals who adhere to White
nationalist and White supremacist ideologies share a common
belief that White people and ``White identity'' in western
countries are under siege and pursue the destruction of
pluralistic values intrinsic to the American way of life.
(2) The Global Terrorism Database and corresponding Global
Terrorism Index has recorded a rise in the number and lethality
of White identity terrorist incidents over the past decade
domestically and internationally.
(3) Various individuals, networks, and organizations fall
under the umbrella of the global White identity terrorist
movement, whose adherents are becoming increasingly
internationalized, with fighters and terrorist ideology moving
across borders.
(4) Irresponsible social media site are enabling the
internationalization of the White identity terrorist movement
in terms of organization and recruitment. State and nonstate
actors have helped to build a global, online White identity
terrorist echo chamber, including by translating terrorist
manifestos and promoting other violent extremist content. This
includes countries using troll farms to exacerbate fears of
immigrants, Muslims, Jews, and other minorities in western
countries among potentially sympathetic audiences.
(5) There is evidence that adherents of the White identity
movement in the United States are increasingly traveling
overseas for training, further contributing to the
internationalization of White identity terrorism. Jihadist
experiences in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria highlight the
dangers that such individuals can pose because of the
connections and capabilities they bring with them when they
return home.
(6) The global White identity terrorist movement has
manifested a decentralized organizational approach that
encourages individuals to operate independently from one
another and execute terrorist attacks on their own. This
approach poses challenges to law enforcement efforts to track,
monitor, and disrupt planned violence. In the same way that
Islamist terrorists have looked to figures in al-Qaeda and the
Islamic State, White identity terrorists draw on one another
for inspiration.
(7) The growing global interconnectivity of the White
identity terrorist movement means that the United States must
confront this threat as part of an integrated, whole-of-
government approach.
SEC. 2. COUNTERING WHITE IDENTITY TERRORISM GLOBALLY.
(a) Strategy and Coordination.--Not later than six months after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall--
(1) develop and submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate a Department of State-wide strategy
entitled the ``Department of State Strategy for Countering
White Identity Terrorism Globally'' (in this section referred
to as the ``strategy''); and
(2) designate the Coordinator for Counterterrorism of the
Department to coordinate Department efforts to counter White
identity terrorism globally, including with United States
diplomatic and consular posts, the Director of the National
Counterterrorism Center, the Director of the Central
Intelligence Agency, the Attorney General, the Director of
National Intelligence, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Secretary
of the Treasury, and the heads of any other relevant Federal
departments or agencies.
(b) Elements.--The strategy shall at a minimum contain the
following:
(1) An assessment of the global threat from White identity
terrorism abroad, including geographic or country
prioritization based on the assessed threat to the United
States.
(2) A description of the coordination mechanisms between
relevant bureaus and offices within the Department of State, as
well as with United States diplomatic and consular posts, for
developing and implementing efforts to counter White identity
terrorism.
(3) A description of how the Department plans to build on
any existing strategy developed by the Bureau for
Counterterrorism to--
(A) adapt or expand existing Department programs,
projects, activities, or policy instruments based on
existing authorities for the specific purpose of
degrading and delegitimizing the White identity
terrorist movement globally; and
(B) identify the need for any new Department
programs, projects, activities, or policy instruments
for the specific purpose of degrading and
delegitimizing the White identity terrorist movement
globally, including a description of the steps and
resources necessary to establish any such programs,
projects, activities, or policy instruments, noting
whether such steps would require new authorities.
(4) Detailed plans for using public diplomacy, including
the efforts of the Secretary of State and other senior
executive branch officials, including the President, to degrade
and delegitimize White identity terrorist ideologues and
ideology globally, including by--
(A) countering White identity terrorist messaging
and supporting efforts to redirect potential supporters
away from White identity terrorist content online;
(B) exposing foreign government support for White
identity terrorist ideologies, objectives, ideologues,
networks, organizations, and internet platforms;
(C) engaging with foreign governments and internet
service providers and other relevant technology
entities, to prevent or limit White identity terrorists
from exploiting internet platforms in furtherance of or
in preparation for acts of terrorism or other targeted
violence, as well as the recruitment, radicalization,
and indoctrination of new adherents to White identity
terrorism; and
(D) identifying the roles and responsibilities for
the Office of the Under Secretary for Public Affairs
and Public Diplomacy and the Global Engagement Center
in developing and implementing such plans.
(5) An outline of steps the Department is taking or will
take in coordination, as appropriate, with the Director of the
National Counterterrorism Center, the Director of the Central
Intelligence Agency, the Attorney General, the Director of
National Intelligence, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Secretary
of the Treasury, and the heads of any other relevant Federal
departments or agencies to improve information and intelligence
sharing with other countries on White identity terrorism based
on existing authorities by--
(A) describing plans for adapting or expanding
existing mechanisms for sharing information,
intelligence, or counterterrorism best practices,
including facilitating the sharing of information,
intelligence, or counterterrorism best practices
gathered by Federal, State, and local law enforcement;
and
(B) proposing new mechanisms or forums that might
enable expanded sharing of information, intelligence,
or counterterrorism best practices.
(6) An outline of how the Department plans to use
designation as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (under
Executive Order 13224 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note)) and foreign
terrorist organization (pursuant to section 219 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189)) to support the
strategy, including--
(A) an assessment and explanation of the utility of
applying or not applying such designations when
individuals or entities satisfy the criteria for such
designations; and
(B) a description of possible remedies if such
criteria are insufficient to enable designation of any
individuals or entities the Secretary of State
considers a potential terrorist threat to the United
States.
(7) A description of the Department's plans, in
consultation with the Department of the Treasury, to work with
foreign governments, financial institutions, and other related
entities to counter the financing of White identity terrorists
within the parameters of current law, or if no such plans
exist, a description of why.
(8) A description of how the Department plans to implement
the strategy in conjunction with ongoing efforts to counter the
Islamic State, al-Qaeda, and other terrorist threats to the
United States.
(9) A description of how the Department will integrate into
the strategy lessons learned in the ongoing efforts to counter
the Islamic State, al-Qaeda, and other terrorist threats to the
United States.
(10) A identification of any additional resources or staff
needed to implement the strategy.
(c) Interagency Coordination.--The Secretary of State shall develop
the strategy in coordination with the Director of the National
Counterterrorism Center and in consultation with the Director of the
Central Intelligence Agency, the Attorney General, the Director of
National Intelligence, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Secretary of the Treasury,
and the heads of any other relevant Federal departments or agencies.
(d) Stakeholder Inclusion.--The strategy shall be developed in
consultation with representatives of United States and international
civil society and academic entities with experience researching or
implementing programs to counter White identity terrorism.
(e) Form.--The strategy shall be submitted in unclassified form
that can be made available to the public, but may include a classified
annex if the Secretary of State determines such is appropriate.
(f) Implementation.--Not later than three months after the
submission of the strategy, the Secretary of State shall begin
implementing the strategy.
(g) Consultation.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act and not less often than annually thereafter, the
Secretary of State shall consult with the Committee on Foreign Affairs
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations
of the Senate regarding the development and implementation of the
strategy.
SEC. 3. COUNTRY REPORTS ON TERRORISM.
The Secretary of State shall incorporate all credible information
about White identity terrorism, including regarding relevant attacks,
the identification of perpetrators and victims of such attacks, the
size and identification of organizations and networks, and the
identification of notable ideologues, in the annual country reports on
terrorism submitted pursuant to section 140 of the Foreign Relations
Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. 2656f).
SEC. 4. REPORT ON SANCTIONS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 120 days and again 240 days after
the submission of each annual country report on terrorism submitted
pursuant to section 140 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act,
Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. 2656f), as modified in accordance
with section 3 of this Act, the President shall submit to the Committee
on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate a report that determines whether the
foreign persons, organizations, and networks identified in such annual
country reports on terrorism as so modified, satisfy the criteria to be
designated as--
(1) foreign terrorist organizations under section 219 of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189); or
(2) Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive
Order 13224 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note).
(b) Form.--Each determination required under subsection (a) shall
be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex,
if appropriate.
SEC. 5. REQUIREMENT FOR INDEPENDENT STUDY TO MAP THE GLOBAL WHITE
IDENTITY TERRORISM MOVEMENT.
(a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall enter into a
contract with a federally funded research and development center with
appropriate expertise and analytical capability to carry out the study
described in subsection (b).
(b) Study.--The study described in this subsection shall provide
for a comprehensive social network analysis of the global White
identity terrorism movement to--
(1) identify key actors, organizations, and supporting
infrastructure; and
(2) map the relationships and interactions between such
actors, organizations, and supporting infrastructure.
(c) Report.--
(1) To the secretary.--Not later than one year after the
date on which the Secretary of State enters into a contract
pursuant to subsection (a), the federally funded research and
development center referred to in such subsection that has
entered into such contract with the Secretary shall submit to
the Secretary a report containing the results of the study
required under this section.
(2) To congress.--Not later than 30 days after receipt of
the report under paragraph (1), the Secretary of State shall
submit to the Committee of Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate such report, together with any additional views or
recommendations of the Secretary.
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