September 30, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 170 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session
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TRANSNATIONAL WHITE SUPREMACIST EXTREMISM REVIEW ACT; Congressional Record Vol. 166, No. 170
(House of Representatives - September 30, 2020)
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[Pages H5077-H5078] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] TRANSNATIONAL WHITE SUPREMACIST EXTREMISM REVIEW ACT Ms. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5736) to direct the Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis of the Department of Homeland Security to develop and disseminate a threat assessment regarding threats to the United States associated with foreign violent white supremacist extremist organizations, and for other purposes, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 5736 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Transnational White Supremacist Extremism Review Act''. SEC. 2. THREAT ASSESSMENT. (a) In General.--The Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis of the Department of Homeland Security shall, in coordination with appropriate Federal partners, develop a terrorism threat assessment and reference aid regarding threats to the United States associated with foreign violent white supremacist extremist organizations. Consistent with the protection of classified and confidential unclassified information, the Under Secretary shall share the threat assessment developed under this section with State, local, and Tribal law enforcement officials, including officials who operate within State, local, and regional fusion centers through the Department of Homeland Security State, Local, and Regional Fusion Center Initiative established in accordance with section 210A of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 124h). (b) Coordination.--The threat assessment and reference aid developed pursuant to subsection (a)-- (1) shall be developed in coordination with the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department of Homeland Security and other appropriate Federal agencies; and (2) may be informed by existing products developed by such Office and agencies, as appropriate. (c) Overview.--The threat assessment and reference aid shall include an overview of symbols, flags, or other references utilized by adherents of foreign violent white supremacist extremist organizations. (d) Distribution.--Consistent with the protection of classified and confidential unclassified information, the Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis of the Department of Homeland Security shall share the threat assessment and reference aid with the following: (1) State, local, and Tribal law enforcement officials, including officials who operate within State, local, and regional fusion centers through the Department of Homeland Security State, Local, and Regional Fusion Center Initiative established in accordance with section 210A of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 124h). (2) Appropriate owners and operators of online platforms to assist in identifying content that may be associated with a foreign violent white supremacist extremist organization that may violate the terms of service of such online platforms, upon request from such online platforms and in consultation with the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department. (e) Definitions.--In this section: (1) Foreign violent white supremacist extremist organization.--The term ``foreign violent white supremacist extremist organization'' means an organization based outside the United States that seeks, wholly or in part, through unlawful acts of force or violence, to support a belief in the intellectual and moral superiority of the white race over other races. (2) Online platform.--The term ``online platform'' means internet-based information services consisting of the storage and processing of information by and at the request of a content provider and the dissemination of such content to third parties. (f) Limitation.--The Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis of the Department of Homeland Security shall ensure that the threat assessment and reference aid does not contain the name or other identifiable information of any individual or organization engaged in lawful political or public discourse in the United States protected under the United States Constitution. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Underwood) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Joyce) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Illinois. General Leave Ms. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on this measure. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Illinois? There was no objection. Ms. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the government's latest reports describe violence by white supremacists as a significant terrorist threat to the homeland. In fact, it was recently reported that DHS analysts assessed ``the threat from white supremacists as the deadliest domestic terror threat facing the U.S.'' Further, this past week, a DHS official testified before a Senate committee that attacks by white supremacists are on average the most lethal of domestic terrorist actors. This statement came on the heels of testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee by FBI Director Christopher Wray, who stated that racially-motivated violent extremists are ``the most lethal of all domestic extremists,'' and that white supremacists are the number one threat within that group. We have also seen evidence that this threat is increasingly linked to individuals and groups abroad. Last year, the perpetrators of terror attacks in El Paso, Texas, and Poway, California, drew inspiration from the deadly white supremacist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand. There are indications that the links go beyond mere inspiration. Reports have documented that white supremacists have traveled internationally to train with neo-Nazi militant groups in war zone environments. By some accounts, white supremacist groups are drawing on jihadist tactics to organize, and the threat they pose is no less deadly. The Transnational White Supremacist Extremism Review Act would require the Department of Homeland Security to disseminate a terrorist threat assessment regarding foreign, violent white supremacist extremist groups to State and local law enforcement partners. The bill also authorizes DHS to share information regarding symbols used by such groups with social media companies to assist in efforts to identify content that may violate their terms of service. [[Page H5078]] The bill includes vital civil rights and civil liberties safeguards to protect First Amendment rights. The first step in confronting a threat is making sure that the people on the front lines have the information they need to understand it. When it comes to the white supremacist threat, that is exactly what this bill would do. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time. {time} 1315 Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5736, the Transnational White Supremacist Extremism Review Act. H.R. 5736 requires the Department of Homeland Security Undersecretary for Intelligence and Analysis, I&A, to coordinate with Federal partners and develop a terrorism threat assessment concerning homeland threats related to ``foreign violent white supremacist extremist organizations.'' This bill further requires I&A to share the information with State and local law enforcement partners, as well as fusion centers. Ensuring that State and local law enforcement and fusion centers have access to information on current and emerging threats is a fundamental responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security, particularly the Office of Intelligence and Analysis. The Trump administration has taken significant action to address domestic extremism, including white supremacy. The creation of the Office of Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention in April 2019 and the release of the DHS Strategic Framework for Countering Terrorism and Targeted Violence in September 2019 demonstrate a coordinated and comprehensive commitment to addressing emerging threats in both international and domestic terrorism. Subcommittee Ranking Member Walker led our efforts to negotiate changes to the base bill during the committee markup. I want to thank Subcommittee Chairman Rose for accepting our changes to the bill. I urge its passage, and I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rose), the sponsor of this bill. Mr. ROSE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Illinois for yielding her time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 5736, the Transnational White Supremacist Review Act. Today, our country faces a wide range of complex threats to our safety, our security, and our way of life. Not only are American families having to keep their communities safe and their economy together in the face of COVID, but in large swaths of the country, they are doing so while dealing with more frequent and catastrophic natural disasters. Sadly, though, amidst all of this, terrorism does not stop. The homeland security threat posed by white supremacist extremists is pervasive and persistent. Extremists exploit such crises as we are in right now. Often, this involves the targeting of the most vulnerable in society. Earlier this year, the Directors of the FBI and the National Counterterrorism Center testified before our committee regarding the unrelenting nature of bad actors during times like these. Both testified to the significant homeland security threat posed by racially motivated domestic actors, primarily white supremacist extremists. In my capacity as chair of the Intelligence and Counterterrorism Subcommittee, I have joined with my colleagues to raise the alarm about this threat. In carrying out my work on the committee, I have identified a common theme. And that is, plain and simple, that this white supremacist domestic terrorist problem is, in fact, not domestic at all. It is global in nature. Look no further than the deadly attacks in El Paso, Texas, and Poway, California, last year. The U.S. experienced firsthand the ramifications of an international white supremacist movement when two domestic actors independently drew inspiration from the foreign terrorists who committed the Christchurch, New Zealand, attack. Troublingly, there are reports that white supremacist groups have adapted recruitment tactics and begun using training camps modeled after jihadist groups like al-Qaida and ISIS. Just last week, a former Trump administration counterterrorism official confirmed that training by foreign groups is happening when she acknowledged that there have been instances when our foreign counterterrorism partners have alerted us to the fact that U.S. citizens were in their countries to conduct trainings or participate in trainings with white supremacist movements. These foreign partners told this former official that the U.S. is an exporter of this ideology and must address this problem. This is exactly what this bill today seeks to address, a bill designed to send a message to our foreign partners that Congress hears them and is taking action. This bill would require DHS to produce and circulate a threat assessment on foreign violent white supremacist extremist groups to local law enforcement. It would also push social media companies to do so much more in addressing this threat. Crucially, this bill includes civil rights and civil liberty safeguards as well. Countering white supremacy will require a whole-of-society approach, education, awareness, and so on. Through our work on this committee, we found that Americans stay safest when law enforcement at all levels is equipped with the best available information. This bill makes sure that our frontline responders in the law enforcement community have just that. It is endorsed by the ADL, an expert advocacy group that has tracked the white supremacist threat for decades. It is also endorsed by the Blue Dog Coalition, a group that looks past partisanship and advocates for commonsense national security solutions. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on its passage. Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time. Ms. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. As the surge in white supremacist extremist attacks in the United States and around world puts all of us at risk, I commend my committee colleague Mr. Rose for introducing this legislation, and I urge passage. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Underwood) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5736, as amended. The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. ____________________
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