Transcripts For CSPAN Terror Threats Part One 20171203

Security meeting on global Terror Threats. They discuss Cyber Security, thermation sharing, and threat of violent extremism within u. S. Borders. This portion is just under three hours. The committee on Homeland Security will come to order. The meeting to discuss the most serious threats, but for a recognize myself for an opening statement, i would like to take a moment to recognize the newest member of our committee. Experience will prove greatly beneficial to this committee. Thank you, sir, for being here. I now recognize myself for an opening statement. I would like to thank each of , elaine duke, christopher wray, and Nick Rasmussen for joining us today. You represent thousands of patriotic men and women who go to work to ensure the safety of their fellow americans. Everyone on this committee is extremely grateful for your service. For over two decades, you felt navigate an unprecedented landscape and combat terrorism around the world. You have been a great friend partner to me in this committee and i would like to call you a friend. Wish you the best of luck i hate to say retirement. In whatever you do after this. This past year has been a particularly devastating one. In just the last month, we experienced another terror attack in downtown new york, and in other parts of america, including my home state of texas. Actsso saw several heinous of violence, that included the shootings in las vegas, sutherland springs, and the hatefueled homicides in portland and charlottesville. Tens and millions tens of millions of americans felt cyber criminals. M these are just a few of the horrors that hit our homeland. Over banks giving, and isisaffiliated group attacked a mosque in northern sinai that left 300 people, including 27 children, dead. While this attack was thousands of miles away, it was a reminder of the savage nature of an enemy that always has our homeland in sights. In the aftermath of 9 11, the department of Homeland Security was permit was created to prevent further attacks. I believe we are better prepared than we were 16 years ago. Since then, al qaeda has increased its inspired new followers. By using encrypted technology propagandaading across the internet, jihadists are recruiting new members and planning new attacks. This has been obvious by a series of vehicle homicides across europe. Cities known for the history and culture like paris, berlin, london, nice, barcelona and brussels are becoming more familiar as terror targets. The attack on halloween in new york was proof that our homeland was also susceptible to this line of attack. Answering the call to kill westerners using whatever means necessary, wherever they are. Enemies are always adjusting their tactics, we know that our aviation sector is still there crown jewel of targets. Earlier this month our committee was briefed about aspects of airport security. To our dismay, it was made clear that we have a long ways to go. We must do more to address the threat also posed by foreign fighters who have fled the battlefield and remain one flight away. We have identified key areas that need improvements and look forward to working with the tsa to see them through. To help defeat terrorists, we must work with private Tech Companies to limit their communication capability and use all of our economic and military resources to dry up their funding and crushed them on the battlefield. When it comes to Border Security, another ongoing challenges keeping our border secure. Drug traffickers, gangs, smugglers and potential terrorists are always looking for new ways to sneak into our country. We must do whatever we can to stop this illegal entry, especially those who wish to do us harm. In october, this committee took a big step in the right direction by passing the Border Security for america act. This legislation which i introduced calls for building additional physical barriers, including a wall, fencing, new technology, and a surge in personnel. It targets drug and human traffickers at our ports of entry and will help identify these the over stays through the full deployment of a biometric system which the 9 11 commission recommended. Our homeland cannot be secure without strong borders and i look forward to getting this bill forward. Natural disasters. This years Hurricane Season devastated many cities and towns in my home state of texas, in louisiana, florida, puerto rico, and the u. S. Virgin islands. After Hurricane Harvey i personally toured much of the wreckage back home. Roads were flooded, homes destroyed, and many people lost their lives. However, i was amazed by the strength demonstrated by the people who braved dangerous conditions to support one another. Texans helping texans. Also impressed by the quick action taken by our heroic First Responders and by the Emergency Response of federal, state and local levels thanks to a coordinated effort led by fema. A broader recovery will take a long time, but i know that if we continue to Work Together, we will be able to successfully rebuild these key entities that were shattered these communities that were shattered by these powerful storms. Security,ue of cyber americas Cyber Security networks are under attack. In september we learned equifax had been successfully hacked and 145. 5 Million People may have been affected by the breach. Last week it was also reported that 57 Million People use uber. Theirhey may have had personal information stolen from a cyber attack in 2016. This cannot continue. Fortunately, our committee has made strengthening Cyber Security a top priority. Bipartisan Committee Efforts resulted in the enactment of legislation that provided dhs, expedited hiring authorities, insured dhss assessing a Cyber Security workforce and clarified patrol in Cyber Security federal networks. Security actyber provided Liability Protections from public to private and private the private cyber threat information sharing. We have had some success but we need to do better. And that is why this committee passed a bill to elevate the operational capabilities of dhss cyber office to better protect digital america. Finally, on the issue of domestic terror attacks. Domestic terror attacks and violence ignited by white or anyonets, the kkk, else who preaches prejudice, must not be tolerated. As i have stated before, threatening others in using intimidation tactics to advance political or religious beliefs is simply unacceptable in the United States. Too often we are seeing that our differences lead to violence, and this must be stopped. As a nation, we should stand together and reject any kind of hatred that seeks to divide our neighbors as enemies. This is an issue we will explore further in our second panel. In conclusion, Homeland Security must be bipartisan. The terrorists do not check our party affiliation. And there are certainly other threats, from ballistic missiles, weapons of mass destruction, programs in north korea and iran, to the continued undermining of American Interest by nationstates including russia. As we face the threats, we must put our Homeland Security before partisanship and politics. I am practicing to say that this committee has had a long trek record of doing just that. We have improved information sharing for counterterrorism efforts, increased read support for First Responders, in july past the firstever comprehensive reauthorization of dhs with an overwhelming bipartisan support. This reauthorization will allow dhs to more faithfully carry out its mission of safeguarding our homeland, our people and our values. And i am hopeful that the senate will finally take up this vital bill as soon as possible. So with that, i want to thank again these very prominent and important witnesses for appearing here be keeping ameria secure from terrorism. Hang on just a minute here. I would also like to thank both panels of witnesses for today. Of the disturbing rise of domestic terrorism in recent years, democratic members of this committee have repeatedly asked for a hearing on this important topic. While this hearing is our annual one examining worldwide threats, a great deal of our conversations will likely be focused on a Terror Threat from right here at home. Incidents like the 2015 killing by a whiterchgoers supremacist at Mother Emmanuel Church in charleston and hatefueled violence that left a young woman violent and 19 others injured during a white supremacist rally in charlottesville earlier this year, highlight the threat posed by domestic extremists. Domestic terrorist organizations have even adopted some of the same techniques for recruitment and radicalization as foreign terrorist organizations, using the internet to reach followers and coordinate their actions. For one thing, it means we are showing to this vermin that this is our country. Its going to remain our country. We are stepping off the internet in a big way. Last night at the torch walk there were hundreds and hundreds of us. People realize they are not individuals. They are part of a larger whole. Now they are coming out. As you can see, we greatly outnumbered the antiwhite, antiamerican filth. At some point we will have enough power to clear them from the streets forever. That which is degenerate in white countries will be removed. So you think showing up in physical space lets people know they are more like them . We are starting to slowly unveil a little bit of our power. You aint seen nothin yet. Unfortunately President Trump insists on fueling the fire of hatred and extremism in america, calling the marchers in charlottesville very fine people, and just yesterday retweeting a far right british organization. The former director of National Intelligence calls trumps retweeting of the videos bizarre and disturbing and says his actions undermine our relationship with our friends and allies. Americans should be able to look to our president for a steady hand and responsible leadership in uncertain times, but unfortunately President Trump consistently conducts himself in a way that jeopardizes our security and is not a fitting the office not befitting the office he holds. And so they cannot say so themselves, the president s actions make the already difficult job of the witnesses joining up on the panel today even harder. The department of Homeland Security, federal bureau of investigation, and National Counterterrorism center play key roles in securing the homeland for him from terrorists both foreign and domestic. I hope to hear from these Witnesses Today about the challenges they face, what emerging threats we should be aware of, and how congress can support them in ways consistent with our american laws and values. Since much of our focus is typically on foreign terrorist, today i am especially interested on hearing how the witnesses assess the threat from domestic terrorists groups and learning what can be done to protect us from this rising concern. I also look forward to hearing from our second panel of witnesses on this topic later this morning. They bring special expertise on domestic extremism and terrorism issues, and i hope members will hear what they have to say and engage in a thoughtful dialogue. The Southern Poverty Law Center in particular is dedicated to fighting hate and seeking justice and equality for all americans. And i look forward to their recommendations for countering the ideologies that are inspiring violence in america. I hope to have naacp testify as for the invitation was issued less than 24 hours prior to the healer in hearing and the late notice prevents their participation today. I invite them to testify in a future hearing. In closing, i want to say that we know that those around the world who seek to come here and do americans harm, those charged with reprinting attacks they have all the support of the members of the committee consistent with the laws and values of our nation. I hope that resources will be dedicated to fighting domestic extremism and terrorism here at home to ensure the security of all americans. Again, i thank the chairman for holding todays hearing and look forward to a productive discussion. I yield the back. The Ranking Member yields back. Other members are reminded Opening Statements were pleased to have two distinguished panelists before us. Includes the acting secretary of the United States department of Homeland Security. The director of the fbi. And the director of the National Counterterrorism center. Writtenesses have full statements that will appear in the record. The chair recognizes secretary duke for an opening statement. Distinguishedg members of this committee. It is my honor to testify here before you this morning on behalf of the men and women of the department of Homeland Security who shield our nation from threats every single day, often in extremely dangerous environments. We are reminded of that this past week when he lost a Border Patrol agent in the line of duty. No our appreciate and country appreciates his service and sacrifice. While we do not know for certain the circumstances of his death, we do know he courageously chose a dangerous job with dhs because it was so important to our nations security. When his father was asked why his son chose Border Patrol, he said he wanted to prevent terrorists and drugs from coming into our country, and he loved his job. Noting rightin by now that the Terror Threat in our country equals and in many aroundeeds the period 9 11. We are seeing a surge in terrorist activity because the fundamentals have changed. Aey are promoting doityourself approach that involves using any weapons that followers can get their hands on. We saw this just last month here on our own soil when a terrorist killed and wounded pedestrians in new york city using a rented vehicle. But new yorkers rallied, and they refused to be intimidated by this attack. I also want to make it clear standing on the sidelines as these threats proliferate and we will not allow frequent terrorism to become the new normal. The primary international Terror Threats facing our country is from global jihadist groups. Department is also focused on the threat of domestic terrorism. Ideologicallymotivated violence here in the u. S. Is a danger to our nation, our people, and our values. We are tackling the overall Terror Threat in the United States headon in two ways. First we are rethinking Homeland Security for this new age. There is no longer a home game and an away game. Has blurred and the threats have connected and have crossed the borders. Thats why dhs is moving towards a more integrated approach bringing together intelligence, operations, interagency agreement, and International Action like never before. Second, we are raising the bar on our Security Posture across the border to keep dangerous individuals in good from entering the u. S. Which includes building a wall on the southwest border in cracking down on Transnational Criminal Organizations that bring drugs, violence and other threats to our communities. Puts ourmmigration country at risk which is why our Border Security strategy is multilayered and includes robust operations to deter and prevent illegal entry. We are also strengthening everything from traveler screening to information sharing. Forow require all governments to share Critical Data with us on terrorists and criminals and to help us confidently identify the nationals. We must know who is coming into our country and make sure they do not pose a threat. That is why i recommended, and the president approved, tough but tailored restrictions against countries that pose a risk and are not complying with our security requirements. We are trying to stay a step ahead of emerging threats. We are planning to launch a new office of countering weapons of mass destruction next week to consolidate and elevate dhss efforts to fight against chemical, radiological, and nuclear threats. Separately and additionally, our global and Aviation Security plan is making it harder for terrorists to target u. S. Bound aircraft with explosions explosives. We aresame time rededicating ourselves to terrorism prevention to keep terrorisms terrorists from radicalizing our people. Our newly reorganized terrorism prevention hardship will be discharge. Finally we have stepped up dhss efforts to protect soft targets will will not only help better defend our country against terrorists but against tragedies let we have witnessed like those in las vegas and texas. Americans are alarmed by the spike in terrorist attacks. We are engaging with congress on legislation that will establish a new component dedicated to Cyber Security. On behalf of the entire department i appreciate the Critical Role this committee plays. Thank you for holding this hearing in a look forward to answering your questions. Thank you, madam secretary. The chair recognizes the fbi director. Thank you, chairman and members of the committee for the opportunity to talk to you today about the threats that we face and the tremendous work being done by the people of the fbi. I will say that from my prior Law Enforcement and national already experience, i knew how outstanding in the men and women of the fbi were, but i have to say that for the past three months here in this job seeing it from this perch, it has made me feel even more humbled and inspired to work with them. The people that i get to work with everyday around the country and around the world our andionfocused, passionate, utterly determined to be the very best that they can be to protect the American People and uphold the rule of law. In coming back to government after having been gone for about 12 years, what struck me the most is some of the changes i have seen. The evolution of the threat, changes in technology, capabilities that have been built. As i have been getting briefed up on the work we are doing and encountering firsthand how we do our work in todays environment, like we just had a new york, what has really struck me is the magnitude of the threats we face and the diversity of the threats we face. On the terrorism front, in addition to International Terrorist groups and homegrown violent extremists, we also have domestic terrorists intending to influence over or course our government through violent criminal activity. We haveyber activity not only nationstates but also sophisticated criminal actors. Ended our counterintelligence work we face threats from nationstates targeting not just our National Security secrets, but also our ideas and our innovation. They are doing so not just through traditional intelligence but through nontraditional collectives like scientists and students and businessmen. On the terrorism issue in particular, my Prior Experience had been very focused on large, structured organizations like al qaeda. We still confront threats from organizations like al qaeda planning largescale attacks. But we also face groups like tos who use social media recruit followers remotely and inspire people to take to the streets with crude but effective weapons, like hatchets and vehicles. Smaller in scale, but greater in volume. These organizations if you can call them organizations move from plotting to action in a short period of time with very little planning using lowtech and wildly available attack methods. These terrorists use social media Encryption Technology making it harder to find their messages of hate and disruption, leaving even fewer footprints or dots for us to connect. The good news is i have also been very impressed and eased at the progress that the fbi has made since i was last working with them, particularly in areas of intelligence integration and partnerships. Intelligence is now heavily integrated into every program the fbi has, into our overall mission, our training. It drives really everything we do. In addition to that, the scope and strength of the partnerships that the bureau now has, with our federal partners, state and local counterparts, members of the intelligence community, and our international partners, it is at a whole new level compared to what i saw in government before. So while remarkable progress has been made, we cannot become complacent, and we need to keep improving to make sure we are up to the task and getting ahead of a threat. As one example we are now at risk of losing one of the key tools in our queue in our toolkit which is invaluable to our programs i just mentioned. As a mentioned, the speed and agility of our terrorist and adversaries have increased at a tremendous pace putting a huge premium on matching that speed and agility with our ability to connect the dots. Thats why reauthorization of pfizer section 702 which expires in just a few weeks, is so incredibly important to our work. Its one of the most powerful tools we have to help us evaluate leads and prioritize threat information. It can tell us quickly whether a person here in the u. S. Has ties to a terrorist overseas, or if there is someone overseas who is planning an attack. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Members of this committee, i look forward to working with you on these and other significant challenges, and i appreciate the opportunity to be with you today and i look forward to answering your questions. Thank you, director. You, mr. Chairman and members of the committee. As a mentioned for the Committee Last year, the array of terrorist actors around the globe is broader, wider and deeper than it has been any points and system or 11 2001 since september 11, 2001. It requires that we respond with extraordinary agility and facility. I would like to take the opportunity today to share what i have seen in the way of changes in the terrorism landscape since i last testified. Say a few words about areas where we can do a better job of tackling the threat in the homeland for those were mobilized to extremist violence. So let me begin with what has changed or what is new with the overall threat. Those developments fall into three primary areas. The first is the coalitions successes shrinking the territory isis controls in iraq and syria compared to a year ago. The second major trend is enough kick in attacks inspired by isis is seen in western interests around the globe in the last year as compared to attacks directed by the group from their headquarters in iraq and syria. The third trend i would point to is resurgence of aviation threat , which in a level of concern that we have not faced since the printer package plot back in 2010. To start first with isiss losses on the battlefield. Isis is clearly facing significant battlefield pressure from u. S. Forces and the coalition and the size of the territory they control tricks day by day. As isis copes with that loss, they will look to conserve capabilities by working more as a covert organization and this is undoubtedly good news we are winning on the battlefield. Unfortunately territorial losses have not translated into a corresponding reduction in the groups ability to inspire attacks, even including here at home. Has the past year isis inspired numerous attacks, particularly in the u. K. And europe and most recently in new york city and halloween. The number of disruptions we have seen around the globe, while it is a testament to effective Law Enforcement and intelligence, it also tells us the global reach of isis remains largely intact, even as they are being decisively defeated on the battlefield. That uptick inspired in tax stands in contrast to attacks directed by enabled by the group from syria in 2015 and 2060. 2016. So far this year we have not seen them 11 a largescale sophisticated attack. But the number of inspired attacks is clearly on the rise. All this underscores our belief there is no direct link between the battlefield position of isis in iraq and their capacity to continue inspiring external attacks. So battlefield losses are not sufficient to mitigate alone the threat from isis. Saying, even as we are focused on isis as a primary tears and challenge, stoppedqaeda has never being a primary terrorism challenge for the u. S. In a toptier priority. Even as we point to isis we continue to see the evolution of al qaeda as a Resilient Organization in we know they retain the intent to carry out attacks around the world. To touch quickly on the Third Development that has stood out, the threat to civil aviation. Theres a long history of terrorists seeking innovative means to carry out aviation attacks. Aviation has taken center stage again this year as evidenced by Australian Authorities disrupting a plot in july by terrorists to bring explosives aboard an aircraft. Terrorists have shown themselves to be persistent, outofthebox thinkers with respective aviation. They have long been and remain at near or at the top of things that demand our focus and attention. This brings me to my final point we need to a better job of tackling the threat of those mobilized to extremist violence, particularly here in the homeland. One thing we do in the intelligence world that we do quite well but are always looking to improve on is collecting intelligence and sharing it with those who need it. We share it across our various agencies and increasing with partners across the country. We also do a great job of pushing unclassified information to partners around the country. But there is certainly more we can do to prevent homegrown violent extremist from becoming radicalized. We need to improve the toolkit we use for this problem. We must expand our investment in terrorist prevention. Specifically in the homeland. Doing what we can to prevent the recruitment of American Youth and ensure communities can respond and prevent all forms of violence. I am proud of the good work we do in this area along with director ray on this matter. But it is something i am sure we could do better at and we should do on a greater scale. Of theraging all aspects federal government in working with state and local partners i am certain we can create a better and more significant culture of recension prevention and resilience of the u. S. I will end there. Thank you for your committed thank you for your friendship and the kind words you used earlier today as i move on from federal Government Service and step down at the end of december. I am grateful for your kind words im also mindful i am standing on the shoulders of many hundreds of talented women and men. Serving alongside those professionals has been the honor of my life. It is there amazing work i bring before you as thank you director, and thank you for your service to our country over the years. Duke, we recently held a hearing with the tsa administrator. Aviation attack. This is still the crown jewel of isis and al qaeda. The Inspector General produced a report in the findings in terms of screening at airports. Quite frankly, it was disturbing still hasat the tsa received a failing grade, a failed report card, when it comes to screening. We heard this in 2015 and now we are in 2017. With the laptop threat, the ability to convert laptops into explosive devices to blow up i think i speak for almost every member of this committee that we need to take quicker action. There is Technology Available today, pilot programs today, using computer tomography. It is like going from an xray to a m. R. I. I sent you a letter requesting this technology be deployed not in 2018 or 2019, but as soon as possible given the nature of the threats that exist. Can you respond to that letter . Yes. Isagree with you that ct essential. It is one of our plan to raise the baseline of Aviation Security. We are currently developing the algorithms to deploy that. I think we should deploy the Technology Today and stop preferring xray procuring and then upgrade software when it becomes available. I agree. We are already procuring some. The guy said, the algorithms are running different materials through to make sure the machines can detect what we need them to. That is in process right now. We are, along with our foreign partners, making that the new standard for passenger baggage. I think that is one of the greatest threats to the homeland today. In the five years of my chairmanship, i have seen the rise of isis and the threats coming out of that region. Fortunately, we are now seeing the defeat of isis in iraq and syria. But how do you see this threat of all thing as we move on, director ray . I think on the one hand, the Building Collapse of the caliphate is good news. But we are concerned about Different Things that could come out of it. Foreign fighters returning. What we are primarily seeing is the risk that some of them would in europe,ountries and from there come into the u. S. Where concerned about homegrown violent extremists who continue to be inspired by isis, even if not directed in the classic sense. We know isis is encouraging who cano fighters stay where they are and attack at home. These are some issues that continue to exist. Isis, ask the power of opposed to al qaeda, is the internet. I know you work with google, facebook, twitter, i work with stuff off of the internet. I would echo everything director ray said and make one point about the distinction between al qaeda and isis. Al qaeda acted as a covert organization with barriers to entry that made it difficult for people to become members. Isis sought to reach people regardless of their prior affiliations and to recruit anyone who would come into the door and agree to a line with their view. This has brought us many more radicalized individuals. The problem is wider than the al qaeda problem. There has plenty there has been plenty we have done to medicate mitigate attacks. I am just pointing out it is a different kind of problem today than what we faced years ago. My home state was devastated by Hurricane Harvey. Some members of this committee have been there many times to see the devastation. Understand the decision, but i have to express my disappointment on the Record Record that the recent 44 billion Disaster Recovery supplemental request was just a fraction of what my governor determined that texas alone needed to recover. It does not adequately take into account the devastation in other and course places in my district, we need flood mitigation efforts. This is Something Congress will be making decisions on. , i we have to entertain would like you to respond to that, recognizing it is probably not your decision to make. My i want to register disappointment with the administration on this issue. That the amount in the supplemental did not totally address all of the future needs of the disasters we experienced. What it was intended to do was find the work that needs to be done. Currently, i have looked at it and i think it is appropriate and it is enough near term. Do,o have more work to along with housing development. I think the Innovative Housing 428 housingtion program, will be helpful in restoring texas. Thank you, i look forward to working with you. In light of your question, one of the ongoing challenges we in the transportation and infrastructure committee. Fema is over there with us, and every time a problem comes up, people look to us. Battle thatngoing we have dealt with from our inception as a committee. This getse of resolved soon. Duke, the Inspector General recently notified congress that a report on the travel ban was being held up in your office. Details onvide us why it is being held up . It was a disagreement the between the office of the Inspector General and dhs on privileges, that included executive privilege and attorney privilege. Because the attorney does not agree with those privileges, had not issued the report. We feel it is important to maintain some of those theileges, especially since matter addressed by the report is under litigation. I feel comfortable that the privileges we had to assert in the report were accurate, however to be absolutely sure, we have ordered a thirdparty review, an independent review, to make sure that the privileges that we need to redact that report are sound. But you are aware that the Inspector General concluded that the department violated certain aspects of the law relative to the implementation of it . The report itself was based that byionmaking practice is executive privilege. So it was problematic from the start. We are still committed to working with the internal attorney general and but i just wanted to say, you are aware of that conclusion . Yes. Thank you. Can you share with us your analysis of the domestic terrorism threat in america and what it includes . Yes, Ranking Member thompson, as we discussed a few times, the fbi thinks the domestic terrorist threat is a major one. It presents some of the same kinds of challenges that we see with homegrown violent extremists, and that you are talking about loosely confederated people with less communication, less sophistication, sometimes you ves, that makes it more challenging from a detection and prevention perspective. At any given time emma the fbi at any given time, the fbi has 1000 pending domestic terrorism investigations. That covers sovereign citizens, militias, anarchists, the key point with all of them is that we are only focused on people who are engaged in violence, criminal activity. That is what we are focused on erie we are not focused on ideology or rhetoric or opinion. Thank you. Can you provide the committee with the most recent reporting on the radicalization of the different terrorists . I would happy to have my staff get together with yours to make sure we can get you more detailed information. Thank you. One of the things for our director that the fbi director talked about was homegrown violent extremists. You referenced it in your testimony. It is part of the three ligand threelegged stool you have been concerned about. Can you share with us why that is a concern of yours . Absolutely. As director ray noted, many of the individuals that we categorize as homegrown violent extremists do not typically engage in the behavior that make detection easy for Law Enforcements. They are not necessarily communicating or gathering in large groups or traveling to conflict zones or engaging in the behavior that would be good predictors that someone might be interested in carrying out a terrorist attack. That puts a tremendous amount of pressure on Law Enforcement and who is try to figure out the person who is just there sampling, and who is the person who is actually looking to mobilize and act on their beliefs and carry out a terrorist attack. That becomes a more difficult challenge. It is a harder problem. That weur testimony the more funding to address increasing homegrown Terror Threat in this country, since you have identified it as a growing full or ability for us as a country . Not necessarily pose it as only being measured in funding. I have had conversations with local Law Enforcement and they clearly desire greater federal help in understanding the landscape and understanding how these extremists appear. If we can do that through information sharing and sharing of personnel and best practices, that would be a contribution. The scale of the problem is such that we have to put more effort behind it. I would not isolate funding alone as the issue. Recognizes mr. Rogers from alabama. Thank you. 2015, i asked dr. Comey if he had the resources he. Eeded to handle investigations , to be honest,s i do not know. I know the fbi has been stretched thin over the last few years. Questiont to pose that to you. I know you have only been there three months. But have you been able to determine whether you have the resources you need to meet the challenges you face . At the risk of sounding like my predecessor, combined with the fact i have only been there for three months, im taking stock. Everywhere i turn, i find people who want the fbi to do more of something. Someday i would like to find wants the fbi to do less. We have a lot of challenges. We have matured to the point where we are not having to pull people off of the programs the way we used to. It is not just a question of funding, i am not convinced we could spend our way out of the threat. Some of it is getting smarter and working better collaboratively. The fbi was not always that way. Now they are working with partners in the federal Law Enforcement, intelligence community, state Law Enforcement. We have to be smarter and get Better Technology and make sure we have the right resources. More . We do more if we had absolutely. We need you to let us know. If you get to the point where you determine you need Additional Resources to meet your needs, we cannot fix it if you do if we do not know about it. So do not be shy. Thank you for your support. Thank you. Secretary duke, welcome back. A lot of work has been done to improve the security process. Can you tell us what is being processconnect the visa . Newe have instituted many visa review steps that are going to help with making sure that we have the true identity of the persons that are applying for visas and also that they do not have a criminal past. One of the biggest things we are doing is the 100 interviews and also looking at advanced information sharing. Speed we are moving at, having the information sharing with either countries is critical. With other countries is critical. Social media checks have played a huge role in better vetting of these applicants. What steps is dhs taking under the Trump Administration to implement what he calls vettme that in extreme ing . Compared we take additional steps, making sure that passports had biometrics, that we had copies of the passports, that countries provided us advanced information. Those similar types of steps. We have a full report on the that we can provide. Using ouruntry databases and us using theirs. Have instituted get well plans for the countries that do not fully conform to the do vetting standards. Would you say that the new standard of extreme vetting is fully implemented now . Every time we put a fix in it,e the enemy adapts to but it is in place. Mr. Keating from massachusetts. Thank you. Thank you for your service. Secretary duke, you mentioned that terrorists will use any weapon at their disposal. So i have a question for director ray and that regard. There are tens of thousands of individuals, and many of the attacks that we are talking about, guns and firearms were part of this third tens of thousands of individuals were criminal acheron check for guns after the fbi changed its interpretation and limited who they consider is a fugitive from justice. The decision was made in february. We have no idea how many people bought firearms this year, even though there are outstanding warrants for their arrests. How did this decision come to be . Isnt this a gap in trying to secure our safety and keep these kinds of weapons away from terrorists . We have websites, directing people on how to get weapons. We havewe have fugitives from je in our own country that are not systemicked up by the now. Can you tell us why this was done and if there is anything to fix this serious gap . Thank you. The change that you are referring to was the product of several years long debate between the fbi and the atf about the interpretation of the fugitive prohibit or under the brady act. The fbi interpreted it as not requiring as not crossing state lines. Under the prior administration, the Justice Department came down and a legal determination resolve the legal disagreement about what the statute meant, in favor of the narrow were interpretation that is different than the fbi interpretation. It was in january that the legal change was declared. In the priort administration sent a notification to the house and Senate Judiciary committees, notifying them of the change and the impact of the change and essentially inviting legislative fix. Once the change when in place, the fbi complied. Thank you for clarifying. That is on our watch. Secretary duke, thank you for clarifying and agreeing to move forward on the ct technology. And getting it in the field. At the last hearing we had a great concern about that. The other issue is a budgetary one in moving these things forward. Realize the money people pay, that money was moved by congress. We you tell us right now, if provided the budgetary assistance, you would be able to move quicker for that new technology in the field. The you agree . Yes. We have the money to deploy and move out some machines. As the fbi director said, there is always more to do. Now, we are deploying the technology. We also have the commitment of some of the foreign partners. If indeed there was more money, he indicated it was a budgetary issue. Is that correct . Season priority prioritize priority, yes. The nrc, in terms of Cyber Attacks, has tried to upgrade requirements for nuclear plants. They have apply for a waiver away from the Cyber Security upgrades. It is my understanding that Homeland Security does not have the role, it is really the nrc. Do you think you should have a direct role in this . I think you should. I dont think the nrc is the right agency by itself to be making these safety considerations in terms of a cyber attack. Youre correct. We do not have a specific role. Thank you. I would like to engage your office in terms of trying to suggest ways to shore up that gaping hole. Quick clarification, madam secretary. Either moneys available today to purchase the Computer Technology . Some funding for the ct technology. We do not have the funding to deploy it at every airport. Much more thane a reprogramming. Followup with you at a later date on that. Thank you. The chair recognizes mr. P or a from pennsylvania. The chair recognizes mr. P or eryy from pennsylvania. Is there a system to investigate the intending entrance for an ideological alienty to some other system opposed to the u. S. Constitution, similar to what was done with the u. S. During the cold war . And affiliation with an ideology or country that is for ideologies that are contrary to the United States is something we look at in terms of extreme vetting. So there is literally a question and answer portion to that . One of the things we look at is where a person has traveled to and if they show a travel pattern in Different Countries that have a high degree of terrorism. Toalso look at social media see if there is anything on it that indicates they are following terrorist websites. Not only just terrorist websites, but things that are antithetical to the west and democracy and our constitution. Not just terrorism, but i am wondering if you literally question them, as opposed to just looking at their travel and social postings. Agree ask them, do you with the u. S. Constitution, would you uphold it, do you believe that sharia law should supersede the constitution . I do not know the questions of the interview. I can get back to you. I appreciate it. I look forward to a continuing conversation. Director ray, thank you for your service. Curious, can you tell me if the fbi has taken any steps to reverse the previous administrations purge of jihadng information about , sharia, and the Muslim Brotherhood . I am not aware of any ongoing efforts to purge training material. They were purged in the last administration. So have you taken any steps at the fbi to reverse it and include some of the things that allow us to see the threat that faces america . I have not studied what has been done in the training, but i appreciate you bringing that addition bring that to my attention. I will take a hard look at it. I am wondering if the fbi is doing anything to counter antifa including investigating their funding sources. To rakingntioned member thompson, we have an active Ranking Member we are not investigating ideologies, but we investigate anarchist extremists. People who are motivated to commit activity. We have a number of investigations in that space. Itself, even though it is an ideology, but if the group is receiving funding ispromote the ideology which not congruent with the law, it is that is that something you delve into when it crosses state lines . Whenever we are doing an investigation, whether for an individual or a collection of individuals, we do an enterprise investigation. The funding is something we are interested in. Ok. Regarding antifa and their international networks, can you nctce how the and ctc we are limited to matters of international terrorism. We defer to fbi in this role. So the International Connections to these groups, you turn those over . Well that changes the neighbor of that changes the nature of the problem. So when it is not a Foreign Organization that it uses foreign funding . Intelligencend of emerged, we would make sure our fbi colleagues were aware of it. Thank you. Ricee chair recognizes mr. From new york ms. Rice from new york. This question is for director ray. Earlier this week, a canadian citizen pled guilty two charges that he or that he worked for with a yahoo ion attack. Conspirators, including two russian fsb officers have been indicted. This case was the first time the u. S. Has issued criminal charges against russian officials for a cyber attack, even though russian aggression has continued to rise in that area. We have seen largescale Cyber Attacks on u. S. Companies, equifax, verizon,. What other Cyber Attacks do you suspect russian involvement in . Without commenting on specific investigations, you have put your finger on what we view is one of the more dangerous threats, a blended threat. In the yahoo attack, you have the blend of a nation state actor, the russian intelligence service, using the assistance of criminal hackers, almost like mercenaries being used to commit attacks. One of the reasons we thought this particular case was important, even though some of the defendants are russian officials, was to try to highlight to the public the importance of being vigilant on this threat. We are seeing an emergence of that kind of collaboration that used to be two separate things. It used to be nationstate hackers and criminal hackers. Now there is collusion. What you think russias motivation is for these attacks . I think russia is attempting to assert its place in the world and relying more creatively on a symmetric warfare to damage and weaken the country economically and otherwise. We have been focused today on terrorist threats. Should the American People consider russias repeated attempt to breach their data as a terrorist threat . I think it is certainly a threat we should take seriously as a Homeland Security matter. I do not know if we would branded a terrorist threat, but that is more a labeling issue than anything else. It is a serious threat the public needs to be aware of. We are all working collectively to try to combat it. I guess it depends on what you feel the motivation is at the end of the day. What theyre motivation is and the ultimate goal. Taking to are you deter these attacks, do you expect any future indictments of russian officials without naming believe thatou they will ever be extradited and brought to the u. S. For trial . We do not have an extradition relationship with russia. If they stay in russia, i would not necessarily expect them to see them coming to the u. S. If they travel, that will be a challenge for them, because they are now at that point fugitives wanted by the fbi. We would pursue them then. As far as what we are doing, we have tried to model more and the our Cyber Efforts along more developed front. Have cyber taskforces in all field offices that are multiagencies. Terrorismnational watch that coordinates closely with dhs. Were trying to do more private sector outreach. There is the need to work with the private sector. I think that is a great idea. Russians interference in the 2016 elections was an unprecedented attack on our democracy. What are you and your agency doing to protect our election system in 2018 . The chairman has been outspoken on this issue, saying it is not a political issue, it is an american issue. Are you working with social medias companies to limit the effects of russian trolls . I take any effort to interfere with our election system by russia and or any state very seriously because it strikes at the heart of who we are. We are forwardlooking at the next couple of election cycles. We have a Foreign Influence Task force inside the fbi that brings together different divisions of ae fbi because this is multidisciplinary problem. Dhsoordinate closely with which has responsibility for the infrastructure dimension of our election. We coordinate with foreign partners. What othern from countries are trying to do with other elections. Are trying to get in front of it and be on the lookout for efforts to interfere Going Forward. That is a summary of what we are doing. Thank you. The chair recognizes mr. Donovan from new york. For the sacrifices you make. Your testimony that you are rethinking Homeland Security for a new age. In many cases, dhs is operating on the same authority that was issued 15 years ago. We have to ensure that you have the tools and resources you need to address the everchanging threat in our nation. Craftedthis year, we the first ever copper and since dhs reauthorization bill. And enhances intelligence and information sharing. How important is it that the send that the senate acts on this these of legislation . We think the authorization bill is important to dhs. It will help us partner with congress in terms of weoritizing and making sure are focused on the Homeland Security issue that faces our country. Important thing, this is an enduring threat. How has the lack of action in the senate handcuffing and curtailing your efforts . Ofi think with a lack authorization, we have many different opinions and jurisdictions over what should be the priorities. It makes it more complicated to move forward quickly, especially with both authorization and appropriation. Where do we put the next dollar . It sounds to me like there is a lack of certainty of what the future holds for the agent the agency. There is a lack of clarity, definitely. Thank you. Ranking member talkedn and mr. Peary about crossing state lines and writing and matters you are facing now. People using to skies people and keepingses their identity from Law Enforcement. We are a legislative body that is charged with creating laws to help you protect our nation. Witnesses at hearings are asked, what can congress do, what do you need, to aid the brave agents that work for you . What laws would you like to see us create that will help you address some of these things like people crossing state lines and writing and disguising their identities during riots. . . What can we do for you to help you in the efforts to protect our nation . Wouldt is a question i love to answer for hours. With the 45 seconds remaining, i would day that i would urge i would say not to erode the important tools we have. The reason why that is important, the fbis ability to where he its own database two database, imagine this. A person buys a huge amount of hydrogen peroxide. So then we could get a tip. Agent can run fbi the email a dress and if it turns out that the person is in contact with a known isis recruiter overseas, suddenly that person becomes a lot more important and we can mobilize resources to make that a priority. Eroded, we lose that ability to make people safe. Thank you again for your service. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Thank you for holding the steering. Hearing. Attackhat the basis isis attack and the attack in charlottesville from White Supremacists. The department of Homeland Security issued an intelligent assessment warning that extreme less that extreme ideology would prompt of violence across u. S. Dhs stated that White Supremacists were responsible 2002 2016. Cides from must not take our eyes off the ball when it comes to the threat that it poses to our country. There is no excuse that we are not prepared for another largescale attack. I want to thank the fbi and other agencies. It says here, and antigovernment ideology and expressed an interest in carrying out an attack that would echo the bombing in Oklahoma City in 1995 that killed the most 130 people. So thank you to you and the other agencies. Has a know, Congress Joint Resolution 49, signed by the president in september. A condemned racist violence in charlottesville. We urge the administration to use all available resources and a giraffes the growing prevalence of domestic terrorist groups. Are your organizations doing anything different since this resolution was signed . We support the fbi. We have made sure we are doing the training and information sharing with state and local governments. We believe with the homegrown violent extremists and domestic terrorism, we need state and local government to be on site. You mentioned earlier that there was a blurring of the ands between Domestic International activities. Following up on your coordination of locals, have you put that same effort in coordinating with allies and neighbors to the north and south your north and south . Your predecessor in the Committee Said if these threats get to the border, we have essentially lost. Isthe most important thing information sharing. We need to know about them early on, before they board planes. Euth and south and also the and other european countries, it definitely canada and mexico and south america. Supremacistite threat in the wake of charlottesville, we had a Conference Call with around the country, trying to make sure they could learn from the experience. People were pooling information and ideas about what they have seen. They have that as a specific area of focus. So i would ask both of you, are you doing any thing different in terms of updating databases, trying to track white supremacist groups in the u. S. Compared to the efforts you would put to track basis track isis . Both groups provide equal threats. Whether it is motivated by isis it iste supremacist, it still tragedy in our society y are you doing anything tragedy in our society. Focusu doing anything to on this . One of the things we have done is open the office of prevention. Evented we want to be at the point where we notice and deal with any types of hate. Information sharing is part of our effort. We have stepped up investigative interests, but we do not on the domestic terrorism front investigate groups in the same way. Because of the First Amendment issues and the ugly history the fbi has had in the past, we have specific roles on the domestic terrorism front. In order to open an investigation, there has to be critical violence, if we have those things and we open an aggressive investigation i would like to ask unanimous consent. If by dr. Errols others from university of southern california. Worldwide threats keeping america secure in the new age of terrorism. So ordered. Mr. Higgins. Thank you, mr. Chairman. , thank you for your service to your country. I thank you for bringing up this importance of 702 as a tool for your Investigative Service and defense of our nation. Im a supporter of it and shall be a vocal voice as debates move forward. Terms describe in general what programs the fbi currently implements to monitor generally said the ships activity in mosques and centers known to be affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood or other extremist organizations . Congressman, we investigate, in national matters, global jihadis inspired directed matters and we will follow them wherever they lead and in some cases that may lead to specific individuals. , weif they are in a mosque investigate them and we would continue the investigation there. Do you monitor the advertised known, radical imams that speak at Islamic Centers across the country . I ask this specifically because a known radical him him spoke in my district recently and it was completely under the radar. I found out from my own informant that he appeared in my district and spoke. Does the fbi monitor the websites and social media announcements of the movements and appearances of known jihadist imams . We have a variety of social media asked what tatian efforts underway that are focused on the kind of problem you are describing. We also have, in some cases, properly predicated investigations of specific subjects. In some cases, those had been in moms. There have been cases where we have pursued a matter that led to arrest indictment and conviction. I think back to one of my prior times in the government Justice Department there was a case against a very active cleric in that space. An example of the kind of thing we do. Within this nonclassified setting, would your investigative efforts include human assets . I appreciate you bringing that up because one of the things that is increasingly important with all of the kind of challenges we described, all three of us have described in the terrorism arena, the ability sources. Mans many to be able to work with the communities around the country to be able to get people to come forward because when you have someone who is radicalized in a short period of time in some cases the best hope we have of finding out before the person commits an attack and kill somebody is to have somebody speak up and talk to Law Enforcement. To generate human sources. That is an important priority. 702 enhances your ability to use human assets . That is correct. Thank you for your service to your country. Electric grid is dangerously unsecured against a threat of electromagnetic pulse based on nuclear explosion. Can you please explain what steps the department of Homeland Security is taking to secure the u. S. Electric grid on an expedited asis and further what can this committee and this body due to assist in that effort . This is a relatively new threat we have been looking at in this Critical Infrastructure sector. We have a strategy that will be completed by the end of this calendar year, late december. We will be sharing that strategy that will help us start to better address the emp threat along with the geomagnetic disturbance. You have a study concluded by the end of this year . The target date is december 23. Mr. Chairman, i yield the balance of my time. The chair recognizes ms. Watson coleman. Chairman, andmr. Thank you to each of you for your testimony and for your service. Tops of far right extremism that is concerning to me has to do with the Antiabortion Movement and their willingness to engage in a dangerous action to express their positions. With that i would seek unanimous consent to enter statements of the feminist Majority Foundation , keeping america secure in a new age of terror. Without objection, so ordered. I have a series of questions, some of which i would like quick answers to. Duke,s for you, secretary and for you, director wray. Both of you mentioned the importance of information sharing with our foreign allies. Could you elaborate on why that is so significant, as quickly as possible . Because we need to know about people and vet them before they move toward the United States. Arend many cases people either crossing borders themselves or communicating across borders or at a minimum, facing similar issues in those countries and in ours we have to compare notes. Its important that we maintain open communication with people we have had relationships with that we trust would share this information, so having said that, do you think the president s tweets regarding the s help Prime Minister furthered that cooperation . Or impaired that cooperation . I work with the home secretary of Great Britain and have a very Good Relationship and focus on that rather than speaking on tweets. , in dealing with our allies do you find that theres any concern on their part with regard to how quickly the president will tweet information that is not accurate, including the most recent regarding the far right supposedly antimuslim groups. They are anxious to work with us for the threats that director wray made. Building those toward the mission. Wouldld you characterize those tweets helpful or not . U. K. Was just over in the less than 10 days ago and met with all of my british counterparts and i think the relationship was strong and productive. Wray, 702 vital for you to do your job. I wanted to say i have tremendous cause when i read the report on black identity extremism. And its threat to Law Enforcement. Still have very Major Concerns about what it communicates to Law Enforcement. Whether or not those fears have been developed in terms of research and analysis. Look forward to meeting with analysts what seems to be a skimpy report. That gave me pause, to support that kind of authorization to an agency that would, i think, allow this sort of poorly developed report to come out, and not demonstrate, in my opinion, only in my opinion, i guess a commiserate identification or expression of white identity extremism that presents a threat to our environment. Dir. Wray i want to say that i appreciate our conversation yesterday. Sorry i had to leave before was completed. Dir. Wray i hope to continue the dialogue on that issue. On the white supremacist issue, we do put out information to state and local Law Enforcement, and in fact, at the i conference the iec p conference recently in philadelphia that i spoke at, we distributed Something Like 15,000 copies of a video, which i would be happy to make available to you about the white , supremacist threat, to raise threat. Eness of that i need to agree with my colleague that if we are going to look at the dangers that are confronting our safety and security of our citizens in the homeland we have to have a , serious discussion, about who represents the danger and why we talk about this on the service thewe skim and included larger discussions on Homeland Security, in and of itself, the threat is so severe, even organizations that have done research on these issues find that the threat to our security is greater with these groups that it is with these sort of foreign fighters or foreign inspired individuals, and we need to confront this. On the record, i need to ask again that we have a hearing specifically addressing those issues with those members of the administration that way in that weigh in and have consideration on these issues. I thank you, i have gone beyond my time. Mr. Chairman, i yield. The chair recognizes the former fbi agent from pennsylvania, mr. Fitzpatrick. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you for being here and what you do. Your work is not easy. We are here to support you in any way necessary. I can report to this committee, regarding director wray, i keep in touch with many of my former colleagues from the ground up, and this is a man they have come to respect tremendously. Thank you for leading the organization that i love. I think it warrants further discussion regarding section , 702. I want the committee to be fully aware, not only what you said regarding the benefits to the bureau and the National Security apparatus regarding 702, but what i would like you to it to address, the consequences of not reauthorizing. What would we not be able to do anymore should 702 expire . Dir. Wray the real value to the fbi and the protection of the American People is that a front end, the early stages, when a tip comes in and we are in an environment, as you heard from every member of this panel, where there is a high volume of threats and so many dots to connect with these more loosely organized situations, so that the premium on getting the right dots to connect, which ones are real, thats when the value of 702 kicks in. Right now, we can query information, i want to be sure everybody understands, its information the fbi already has lawfully in its position. There is no court that disagrees with that. They can know this tip from somebody in the private sector is one that really matters and allows us to mobilize resources to be sure we get in front of the threat. At 702 is walked back, we will in effect start to rebuild the wall that existed before 9 11. I implore the committee not to go there again. That is something we learned the hard way before and after 9 11. We have a lot of people on this Committee Asking what we can do to help. Reauthorize section 702. It is imperative. Secretary duke i had the honor , of visiting puerto rico last week, as you know we have oversight over fema on this committee. The visit was heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. Walking through the Convention Center where amazing work was being done by a great team of federal agencies who have challenges. My concern is, and if you could address this, fema is spread very thin right now, they are responding in texas, florida and their responding to, what i believe to be the most challenging situation, puerto rico. Logistically, over 1000 miles off the coast of florida. They had an antiquated infrastructure and electrical grid to begin with and they dealt with a category five hurricane right through the island. 100 mile per hour sustained winds for a 12 hour peering of a 20 for a 12 hour period of time. Citizens described it to me as a 12 hour long tornado. Absolutely devastating. What are we doing for the situation in puerto rico given the challenges those people face . I think it is important that we talk about and remind everybody that they are american citizens, too. Sec. Duke puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands have unique challenges. The main thing we are doing differently is, i will juxtapose it against texas. Governor abbott had the infrastructure in place and we augmented it appeared in puerto rico, because of the financial concerns and others, the governor had a weak ability to execute his vision. We have embedded fema people with the governor and are bolstering his vision, his Recovery Efforts more strongly. Additionally, we are doing response and recovery simultaneously. We are continuing response. Even though it has tailed off, we are still delivering water and meals. We are actually doing Recovery Efforts and terms of rebuilding infrastructure. I would say a much stronger role in supporting the governor. Mr. Fitzpatrick we appreciate it, please keep the focus on puerto rico, we dont want them to be forgotten. Anything this committee can do to support that, we will do. I yield back. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I want to thank our witness for your testimony. I would ask unanimous consent to submit a statement from the National Consortium on the study of terrorism and responses to terrorism. Objections ordered. Thank you. Director wray and secretary duke, in your testimony, you reference two incidents, want to when a significant cyber incident occurs, the department of justice acting to the fbi is the lead agency for threat response, and dhs is the lead agency for asset response. Can you describe how your two agencies collaborated in response to these incidents and the lessons learned, and how do you see the cyber threat of evolving and the u. S. Responses to Recovery Efforts . Sec. Duke i think the Main Division is that dhs is responsible for securing the systems and remediating any malware. We are on more on the technical side of addressing the threat. We are embedded with the fbi in their National Cyber joint task force, and we have our own i think what we are having to do is really understand, as the director said earlier, the difference between state actors, just persons may be looking for financial gain and the hybrid actors, and that has become more difficult. I think information sharing and the colocation is huge for us, working together in the future. Dir. Wray i would just add that just as dhs has the lead in assets protection and asset mitigation, the fbi has the lead in threat response, which we understand to mean the pursuit and attribution and investigation of the incident. I have been encouraged by how much progress has been made about the cooperation between dhs and fbi on this issue, it has been a challenge for everybody because it is such an evolving, challenging technical area. But because of the various iterations as they exist, once that are both at the policy coordination level, sort of standing, and specific ones that get stood up in significant and response to significant cyber incidents. I think we need to keep Getting Better at information sharing and cooperating, including involving the private sector wherever possible. I think that is how we are ultimately going to get in front of the threat. Mr. Langevin and gaps in particular . Sec. Duke i think one of the biggest gaps is the intersection the role Critical Infrastructure please in protecting our country. Having to evolve the private industry in key Critical Infrastructure sectors. Mr. Langevin secretary dukes, while model aircraft has been available for decades, this has rapidly expanded the user base of unmanned aerial vehicles, and combined with the capability to carry small payloads like explosives, they can be used to commit acts of terror, sadly. I have worked with my colleague senator whitehouse from rhode island to introduce legislation criminalizing the reckless operation of drones, but that itself cannot stop violent actors. How has dhs assist the rapid how has dhs assessed the rapid increase in quantities and capabilities of small uavs with the intention to be used as an attack vector . And if my time doesnt run out, director wray, i want to thank as you note in your testimony integrating intelligence is strategic pillar of the fbi strategy. I wanted thank you for your efforts in this domain. In the international space, you provide a significant amount of intelligence to foreign partners that enables them to better protect their own nations from attacks. Can you and director rest gras this is an area where we lack authority. And if theres anything on ask for the committee, it would be getting us authority. We cannot even doing testing of antiuas. We think it is increasing threat. Dir. Wray on the Foreign Corporation point, one of the things were doing better that i think has improved the intelligence flowing the other way is through a program, we have it serving 200 countries, that is our foreign ephesus our foreign offices for the fbi. I just came back from europe, in particular where we are starting to get more two way flow of information, particularly from the brits but also other , countries, as they learn more about what would be valuable and we get more and more embedded and the level of trust, both lay trust both ways between the two countries matures. I think thats a place or we look of the corporation that exists now between Intelligence Services and the way it was back in i was in government before, it is like night and day. It doesnt mean it cant be better and in use to keep Getting Better but i think we are on the right track. I would just like to add to that if there is been a silver , lining to the isa situation, it is the global cooperation. Many more countries view this as their problem, as well, and not something they can shut off and ignore nor and say that is an american or british problem. The number of countries we have active intelligence sharing arrangements with is in the many dozens now rather than a handful of close partners. Again, the foreign fighter from alanon has helped tried that information sharing as well. Its a modest Silver Lining but something we can build on for the range of terrorism threats we will face in the future. I want to thank you all for your insight and testimony. Secretary duke, i think its outrageous that dhs cannot do testing on drones and their capabilities. Mr. Chairman maybe that is , something we can work on together to help change. I have been looking at this issue for quite some time. We have seen drones used in iraq and syria, we have drones at the white house, the capital. I think its time for us to consider legislation to move some authorities from the faa to the department of Homeland Security. I would very much like to work with you. Thank you, mr. Chairman, i welcome the opportunity. With that, i yield back. The gentleman yields, the entleman from nebraska, general bacon, is on the committee. Thank you, it is an honor to be on the committee. An honor to be on this committee to put focus on National Security. Secretary duke, i want to ask you about cyber penetration from russia and china into our Energy Infrastructure perhaps our , financial networks. How would you assess the threat that russia and china poses on a 110 scale, 10 being the worst. Thank you. Sec. Duke it is very strong. On a scale of 110, i would say a seven or eight. What we know is daunting and we dont know what we dont know. Looking at cyber to attack the attack control systems of critical in the structure is a major area of concern that we are working with the Critical Infrastructure on. Mr. Bacon it is apparent to me theyre putting a foundation in to have that capability as needed and i think we should be concerned. To think we are doing enough to build resilience and the system or to have backups . Is there a lot more we can do . Sec. Duke i think us to the point where the critical and structure sector has really Critical Infrastructure sector has really recognized the threat recently, so i think everyone has the attention now and is implement in the safeties to try and prevent this. Mr. Bacon thank you. Director, when i talk to Law Enforcement and omaha area, when i hear two things, do more about strom and purchases and also help offduty Law Enforcement to be able to carry their weapons or retired. Would you sure those sentiments from our Law Enforcement from omaha . Dir. Wray on the straw purchasing side, and i was a baby prosecutor, i used to do a lot of straw purchaser cases and i think that is a place where more aggressive enforcement of laws on the books would be helpful. Most of that responsibility lies with atf, but we work collaboratively with the atf, who is a great partner on more organized criminal activity then the sort of firearms crime youre talking about. As you might know the attorney , general is revitalizing a very revitalizing projects sick neighborhoods a very effective neighborhoods,fe a very effective federal, state and local program that existed in the early 2000 built off of project exile to strategically focus on gun violence. I think that will help folks and omaha another places. Mr. Bacon thank you, i will work on legislation to that end. If you know the secretary of defense matus has changed our strategy when we get to an area where isis is operating, our policy has previously been to take over the city, but they could retreat, regroup summer somewhere else. Are you seeing effects of the strategy were we are seeing less these terrorists leaving syria, a reduction . Certainly the territorial aspect of the fight i mentioned in my prepared remarks has accelerated over the course of this year, with the dramatic reduction in the amount of territory isis controls your one isis controls. One of the difficulties and challenges though has been the campaign has taken time to play out, in the sense that the bad guys knew where we were headed next, they knew that we were headed to mosul, they knew that we were going to move toward raqqa. That unfortunately allowed many of the actors we would be most concerned about to bleed out over time ahead of that campaign. Many chose to stay and fight and they chose to stay and fight and die in defense of the caliphate, but others we are concerned about have made their way either into the iraqi countryside or trying to find a way out of the conflict zone. Is not necessarily of volume question as it is a quality and quantity question. If the wrong individuals get out, the wrong individuals have skill, extends with weapons of mass destruction, those are the ones we are most concerned about. But i agree, we are focused on making sure these individuals do not escape the battlefield. Mr. Bacon i think were doing a lot in the kinetic site, the cyber recruitment. Just to see how we could do susa overseas, what work are we doing to undermine the ideology that does this recruiting . Dir. Rasmussen a soft touch and subtlety is required. We will be most effective if we are enabling and empowering credible actors who can speak credibly to those potentially vulnerable populations, rather than something coming out from the state department or with the brand of the United States on it saying this is how you should behave and believe. If we can identify and empower and support writable voices within the communities where this is a problem, it is a better solution. Mr. Bacon i yield back. The gentleman yields. The attorney to general my thanks for reviving that program. It works. Thank you. The chair recognizes the gentlelady from texas. Let me start out by thinking each and every one of you for your service to this nation. Why time is short so i will be pointed in my questions. Secretary duke, but me offer my sympathy publicly again as i have done for the loss of life of the Border Patrol agents a few weeks ago, as well as one that is injured and mending. Think you for all of the men and women who work in Homeland Security. Let me focus on Hurricane Harvey, which i connection, i think it impacts the Virgin Islands and puerto rico and florida and others. Agency thatly is an we owe a great debt of gratitude to let me be very clear. I have been asked how houston is doing, how texas is doing. Group of people, but we are devastated. It is so difficult dealing with fema and the repeated denials. People who have not heard from fema. Fema is good for the immediacy, but not for recovery. You are listed as a recovery agency. We need help in texas, we need s, more people dealing with the appeal process. It is absurd. Second question, dealing with the appropriations. I would ask that you ask the president of the United States to consider that 44 billion is shameful. The president came to texas and said that we would provide you with everything you need this is for 4 billion dollars for the u. S. Virgin islands, puerto rico, texas and everyone else. If you would answer the question, let me go to director wray. The questions on the record are, as you know, there have been some antimuslim videos offered by the commanderinchief. The world has, condemned this, how difficult it makes the work of the fbi dealing with domestic terrorism with these kind of the videos being associated with the United States . Second, i am interested in the commitment to not do reverse targeting under 702. I know there is an international issue, but the fbi is involved in terrorism and the fight against terrorism and they use the 702 law. I want to know your position on reverse targeting of a u. S. Citizen. Finally, the black identity had conversations on this. I believe is crucial to be a clarification so that individuals expressing themselves in the First Amendment understand the parameters of the fbi. Duke, if you will. Sec. Duke i will check on the inquiries, i will check in with governor abbotts office in texas. The 44 billion is the current supplemental. We expect we will need additional supplementals. For now, we have adequate resources to do all of the Recovery Efforts. Ms. Jackson lee i vigorously disagree with you. We do not have adequate resources and this will be on the verge of a Government Shutdown texas and all of the other victims of these hurricanes do not have a compromise where we can Work Together. I would encourage you to tell the president it is not enough, it simply is not. Youi also just leave with the name of a United Airlines of supervisor who has not been able to determine why she has been backgroundfficial check. I would like to speak with you on that. Thank you. Director wray. Dir. Wray if i can take your questions and rapidfire. The first one, i think we try very hard at the fbi and will continue to try very hard to learn the trust and confidence of every community we serve and theect, including american muslim community, and we are trying to encourage people to come forward as potential sources and witnesses and we will continue to do that. Point,reverse targeting my position is there should not be, and we do not permit reverse targeting under section 702. On the black identity extremists issue, i thought our conversation yesterday was candid and constructive, i hope you felt the same way. I can assure you and the rest of the American People that we do not investigate people for rhetoric, ideology, First Amendment expression, for association. What we do is when people are there is credible evidence of federal crime involving the threat, credible threat of force or violence to further a political or social goal, that is our focus. We have no interest in investigating a group for expressing strong views, no matter who might consider than extremist, about any important social issue, including racial injustice. Ms. Jackson lee did you answer the last question . About 72 . Dir. Wray sorry. We do not permit reverse targeting and what not. Ms. Jackson lee thank you. Chairman mccaul the chair recognizes the tournament from florida, mr. Rutherford. Mr. Rutherford i want to thank the panel for your service to the country and particularly your service this morning, and this long testimony there is an old saying that dont beat a dead horse, then we turn around and beat the dead horse. Secretary duke, i too am going to ask about the omb recommendation for 44 billion for storm recovery. Here is the issue in florida. We are a very large agricultural state. Most people dont realize that. Hardhit, about 700billion, almost million of that was to the citrus industry. Thats why a supplemental to follow is not adequate, because these citrus farmers need the money now for the next crop coming. , those dont have that assets right now, they are not going to be prepared for the next growing season. I spoke with one citrus grower who lost 36,000 trees. 36,000 trees. That is going to take some time isreplace, and more delays going to have a tremendous negative impact on our recovery in florida. I would like you to carry them back to the administration and the omb and let them know, the impact that will have on the growing seasons that dont wait for the next supplemental. Thank you for that. Like to follow up on cyber as many of my colleagues have. Not just Asset Protection but also the ideological fight that i think needs to go on within the cyber war. Mentioned the you cyber squad you have in all 56 regional offices. What i would like to know is, what are the difficulties one of the challenges i think in the world of cyber is getting that great talent and being able to pay for it and pull them away from a private industry. Is there anything we can do to help you to the best of the best for your cyber war . Started to askou the question, before you got to the talent, that was going to be my answer as the printable challenge. Principal challenge. There is just not enough people who have that genius level talent for anybody, including the private sector. And of course we cant compete with the hefty paychecks the private sector can offer the same people. I do believe we can compete with anybody on mission, and we have found that bright, young talent we are able to attract join us for the right reasons, their commitment to the mission. We could use more of them cured were trying to do more to raise the level of what i would call cyber literacy across our work first, because one of the things , ourruggle with right now cyber black belts get diverted into having to help out with other kinds of criminal investigation work that has a cyber component, but if we could raise the basic component of literacy across the organization, and i assume secretary duke would say the same thing in hers, then we could really have the most talented people focus on the really sophisticated, cutting edge stuff. Thats where hoping to take the organization. Ms. Rutherford im glad you referenced Homeland Security, because i know the secret, for example, had Great Success in going after transnational organizations with Money Laundering and those kinds of things. It is important to have that cyber attack. Direct raspberries and d rasmussen, what can we do to help you all with this recruiting . Dir. Rasmussen director wray made a good point, with the mission we have before us, motivating young people to do this for a living is not a challenge. He put out announcements for job openings and we get hundreds and hundreds of a very highquality applicants from all over the country. One of the challenges we are facing in the Intelligence Committee is getting in getting them through the security current process quickly. Nough that something working on internally. The biggest thing you could give is a all federal agencies more protectable funding environments of the have to wonder yeartoyear is next year i will be able have an entrylevel cadre of young people coming in or him i stuck with this years class and have to hold on to them that much younger that much longer . That is very important. Ms. Rutherford on the ask one other thing. The National Cyber Incident Response plan, it was mentioned earlier, dhs is responsible for the asset response but fbi and doj are responsible for the threat response. What is the involvement of private industry in that andnership in response, doing need further clarification and definition of roles in this cyber war . Dir. Wray i would say that while there was a time where the definition was more murky, after ppd 41, the lanes in the road are more welldefined. Ive not seen as much of that as an issue. I think the private sector engagement piece is something that we and dhs Work Together more and more. Were always trying to figure out ways to balance the desire to get with the private sector faster but at the same time making sure we are both providing Accurate Information and we are not compromising an existing investigation in many investigation,ng and in many cases the information were getting is either classified or involves coordination with foreign partners, there may be restrictions on the ability to share it. We are learning electively, the Interagency Community and the private sector, how to adapt to this comparatively new threat. Ms. Rutherford again, thanks all of you for your time. I yield back. Chairman mccaul the german yields, the gentlemen from louisiana is recognized. Thank you for having this meeting. Wray for theector meeting yesterday, which was very thorough, and hell be continued followup. Let me just ask you all, and maybe director rasmussen or director wray will have more insight. I am concerned about the new and reemerging slave trade in libya. You have anyis do intelligence on it, do you have any reason to believe it is not happening . Obviously, this opens the door to archives of criminal and illicit activity. Human trafficking is a component of that as we try to move through libya and potential into europe and contribute to the migrant problem inmy current europe. We follow that closely from a terrorism perspective goes those same networks can be used to move extremists who want to do us harm or harm to our allies. We can arrange to share some were classified information with you or your staff in terms of what we know of those challenges. Unfortunately, what we know and what we can do about it are separate things. Well have a lot of capability on the ground. Almost like in a medical situation, you first have to diagnose there is a problem and knowledge there is a problem, and i think there is more that congress can do, but i want to know from experts whether there is something you all whether this is something you always say is fact. Dir. Rasmussen it is certainly true. Mr. Richard thank you. Director wray, actually all of you have employees of have to 86 form, and you talked about 18 months to get to the process. Point doon is, at what omissionsns do m omissions r it deliberate omissions on the security clearance form . I am a former prosecutor, many of the agents i eur, with you me as a pos but im proud of my credentials now. , it depends on the fact and circumstances of the case. Willfulness requires a level of conscious knowledge and intent, a knowing falsehood and the recognition that the person is making a material omission or false statement and recognizing that is what theyre doing when they do it, thats the way i think about it. That is limit speech, but you as ayman speak,s l but you as a former prosecutor i think and appreciate that. Mostichard taking the s form example, kushner has been amended over 100 times. People apply to your agencies that may leave off, you know, of fiction, college eviction from an apartment or something. What point do we get to selective prosecution if we dont set the example at the top omissions thelful docket corrected until after they are brought to the public . Dir. Wray certainly i think it is was it is important to respond truthfully and i would expect all my folks to do it. It is a bear of a form. The older you are and the more time you have to cover, it is a challenge. Not aware of whole lot of prosecutions that have occurred sf86eople for their responses, but i think its a port and for everybody at every little to be as accurate as possible. Mr. Richard with my last second, let me thank you all for the job you do. We know it is complicated, from how do we secure drones or unmanned aircraft, and mr. Higgins would relate, i probably have the largest petrochemical footprint in my district, and that is a concern come how we protect it from flying objects. No one things we do is easy, and we thank you for your service, the safety of the homeland depends on it. Those people who work for you, please let them know that this congress, and i think i can speak for everybody, sincerely appreciates the service and sacrifice. I yield back. Chairman mccaul the gentle and from texas is recognized. Me thank the entire panel today. N, i believemusse our nation is a safer and better because of your service and i will tell you that you will be messed. Missed. Secretary duke, as the chairman of the Cyber Security and a perceptual production and protection committee, i appreciate your leadership on what i believe is our greatest National Security threat in the long run. I look forward to working with you. I have limited time today, and while i think Cyber Security is our greatest National Security threat, i think the most urgent National Security threat relations to section 702 that has been mentioned a number of times. Let me turn to you, rector director wray. The reason i call it the most urgent is it is about to expire. We have nine legislative days left in this congress before section 702 expires at the end of the year. It has been mentioned that 702, broadly speaking, targets foreign intelligence from nonus persons reasonably believed to be outside of the u. S. But quantifying how important been leftthink, has out of some of the discussion. I want you to get i want to give you the opportunity to expound on that or refuted. Our intelligence agencies estimate that 25 of our actionable foreign intelligence comes directly from 702. Do you believe that to be accurate . Dir. Wray im not sure i know what the percentages, but that estimate does not surprise me and i would not have any reason to question it. Double to you that every person i talked to who has seen the operation of section 702 internally up close, and i have sat with agents at the terminal watching how they use it so that i could be sure that i was really understanding it, every, single one of them is horrified at the fact that we could lose that valuable to. Mr. Ratcliffe lets assume the 25 is an accurate number, are you aware of Legal Authority that would provide us with a greater percentage of intelligence and 70 . Dir. Wray no. Mr. Ratcliffe ok, now lets talk about how effective it is. I participated in a debate with the judiciary committee. They were moving forward; the thativery liberty act modifies 702. In the course of the discussion, i found some of the wellintentioned criticism to be misguided and unfair because some folks are conflating section 215 with section 702. Would you agree with me that those comparisons are misguided and unfair . Dir. Wray yes, i what. Of ratcliffe i think one the legitimate concerns and questions that have been raised isut question section 702 related to incidental collection of information on americans, and even nonus persons in the United States. We know that happens. Again, i think what has been left out of much of the public debate, and i want to give you the opportunity to weigh in and clarify as we watch the debate move forward, there is oversight of the incidental collection that takes place. It takes place through an oversight board, a nonpartisan board called the privacy and Civil Liberties oversight board, correct . Dir. Wray correct. Mr. Ratcliffe it has issued a specific report reviewing section 702 and the incidental collection that has taken place, correct . Dir. Wray correct. Mr. Ratcliffe to your knowledge, does that report from an independent oversight board, has a found in the seven years that seven at two has been in place, hasnt found any intentional abuse of section 702 . Dir. Wray not to my knowledge. Mr. Ratcliffe over seven years, no intentional abuses of section 702. I would think that is essentially a record of success for a Government Authority that is unrivaled, certainly in my experience. Me that 702 isth our most important Law Enforcement and counterintelligence tool with respect to foreign intelligence . Dir. Wray yes. Mr. Ratcliffe our most effective . Dir. Wray yes. Mr. Ratcliffe our least abused . Dir. Wray yes. That, if wee given not only fail to reauthorize section 702 in as close to what it is right now, would we be jeopardizing National Security for all americans, in your opinion . Definitely myt is view, and i appreciate the question, because when i talk about the importance of reauthorizing section 702, it is exactly as you say, it is the importance of reauthorizing it in as close to the current form as possible. Mr. Ratcliffe my time has expired. I think you all. Chairman mccaul the german yields good let me echo those sentiments. I think the preauthorization of 702 the reauthorization of 702 as close as possible to the current law is important. The chair recognizes mr. Darian. Secretary duke, thank you for being here today. Last week, i was visiting troops overseas for thanksgiving. I was in afghanistan. Just amazed at how the young men and women on the front lines are fighting terrorism, doing so with the mission of protecting our homeland. Wasier this year, i disturbed to learn that if youre not a citizen in this country and you pick up a weapon and he fight overseas and die there, it will make you an automatic system an automatic citizen, but if you fight and come back, you can still be deported. Some speaking with soldiers who were telling me about concerns about family members going through proceedings. Can you tell me if any veterans are being deported right now under your watch . Sec. Duke i would have to get back to you for the record. I know that dod is looking at reinstituting the program of past parsers are patient for soldiers. Past participation for soldiers. They are not a priority, for sure. Ms. Barragan if you could do that in writing, i would appreciate it. Im writing a bill to make sure we can protect those serving on the front line. I wanted to ask you a little bit about the hurricane, Hurricane Harvey in texas. I understanding from reports i had read is that there are some there is some confusion on whether immigration checkpoints will remain or not. I wanted to ask you if you are aware of the confusion created by the directive. Sec. Duke we early on issued that there would be no active immigration control other than terminal ask that needed to be addressed, that we would not do proactive immigration enforcement. Ms. Barragan ok. I will enter into the record to articles covered by npr and some other organizations that thatighted the confusion, caused even the mayor of houston to have to come out and go on record to make a statement. Im hoping this will be something that will become an issue as another emergency disaster happens. We want to make sure people feel safe and secure and following authorities when they are being asked to leave. Ive introduced a bill on that, hopefully my colleagues will take a look at that. Chairman mccaul without objection, so ordered. Ms. Barragan thank you. I wanted to follow up on some of the questions about gun violence and the connection to terrorism. Our member can the former Homeland Security secretary, jeh johnson, once made a comment, i will call him. Meaningful, responsible gun totrol is part and parcel Homeland Security, especially given the prospect of homegrown, homegrown homegrown, violent extremism in the country. Do you agree . Sec. Duke what were seeing now is really an agnostic look at tools. Guns are not necessarily the primary vehicle by which terrorism is occurring. Ms. Barragan would you say that the guns are part of what terrorists are using and it could be perceived, access to guns could be part of the issue . Sec. Duke among the top, yes. Ms. Barragan great. , i wanted ask you, i agree with some of my colleagues who echoed having more hearings on the threats resented by domestic terrorism and homegrown terror. I wrote a letter to the chairman as can we do a hearing on that. It is harder to get to these issues with a short amount of time. Are usingterrorists assault weapons. Occurrenceeated costing american lives, we saw in san bernardino, orlando. In particular, there was an alarming statistic i fell, the gao reported that between february, 2004 and the cymer 2015, december 2015, known or suspected terrorists initiated background checks to produce 1120 100 times. 90 were allowed to proceed. This is concerned you . Dir. Wray im not familiar with the specific for you mention, but i will say much as secretary duke has said, we are focused on the terrorists themselves, domestic or international. They seem in many ways hellbent on committing attacks and telling as many people as possible by whatever means they can get the handson. Ms. Barragan without looking at the report, would it be concerning to you that people who are on the known or suspected terrorist list are arehasing guns and 91 allowed to purchase guns . Is that concerning at all to you . Dir. Wray certainly the way you describe is very concerning. Ms. Barragan thank you. I yield back. Chairman mccaul mr. Garrett from virginia is recognized. Commend the i would gentlelady for pointing out the veterans issues. I was reading about one being deported. Its nice to see the attention being brought to the subject matter. I would commend her for pointing that out. I saw a Los Angeles Times a story that points out each of the individuals in question 2016,ed between 2008 and had committed a crime. Back to the testimony at hand. Testimony. When you have large gatherings of people, say, for example, saturday at 2 00 p. M. At my high school, which is not in my district, the state city will be held. Ame is there any federal coordination for that sort of event . Is unlessash it it is declared a national , we call that a soft target. We do quite a bit of coordination in advance. I apologize for the way this is going, it is not intended to be a gotcha. Thatusly, an event like presents a soft target, as you indicated, a collaboration of gathering of people in close proximity to one another. And yet technology has ability to usee drones as weapons, there are oferous unclassified videos hand grenades being dropped into tanks, weve seen them. The antigun drawn technology the currently exists is limited in his capacity to be sold exclusively to federal lawenforcement agencies. I would submit for any of you to commit common on the first line of defense at that Football Game would be local lawenforcement with some sublimation some supplementation by state lawenforcement. We do a relatively poor job of contemplating what the next instanceuld be, for the vehicles we have seen a number of times in europe and the United States. In summary tell me why the Virginia State police or the county Police Department cannot purchase antidrone technology for things like uva football occuror the nascar race under the protection of these entities . Can 70 give a good reason why they cannot avail themselves of antidrone technology . I want you to say no, but if there is a good reason, you can say that, too. Is no goodthere reason. Its a legacy of authorities, not having the authority, it is conflated with the signal waves of cell phones and how they are tracked. It needs to be addressed. Ms. Garrett thank you very much. Im on the same team as all of you guys and i apologize for my tone, im trying to snap out of it. Would it bemation, a good policy area to consider come to power down the ability to purchase antidrone technology at to state and local authorities given that they are the first line of defense on somebody soft targets . Not civilians on the street, but Law Enforcement authorities . Sec. Duke also the ability to use them in antiterrorism use, and the federal government, as well. We are limited just as state and local governments are. Ms. Garrett you are suggesting we should review in mass the doctrine as it relates to these particular technological advances . Sec. Duke yes. Early,rett i yield back i want to set a president s day. Chairman mccaul we appreciate that, as to the witnesses. The chair recognizes mr. Payne. Thank you. I ask unanimous consent to submit a statement from the antidefamation league. Without mccaul objection, so ordered. Thank you. I would like to thank all of the witnesses for their service to point. Tion up to this im going to be very brief in the interest of time. We have another panel. Excuse me if this has already been answered, but i came in late. This what is this new term . Black extremist, radical, what is it . I believe the term you are reaching for their, there is a term, black identity extremist, and intelligence product that i spent about two hours discussing yesterday with some of your colleagues. Mr. Payne right, i am sorry and miss that. Could you give me a brief definition or an example of who would fall in that category . Dir. Wray the intelligence product in question refers to who are committing a violent, criminal acts were the whereation is acts the motivation is retaliation for injustice committed by Law Enforcement. You see growing incidents in the situation . The piece in question, which was issued right before i joined the fbi, was based on a snapshot in time over the course primarily as. 16, and that was what the fbi was seen in that period. Mr. Payne thank you for that. , i amd just like to ask the Ranking Member on emergency preparedness, and i was like to ask, i have been a lot of work onund interoperability, and each entity. How well in your communication your communication is probably pretty good on your level through your different departments. Betweenhe communication your different agencies . Sec. Duke i think our communication is much better than it was when i was here before. To the that is a lot centers, bringing them together so people are colocated, if not just an integration of systems. I think the public sector, the Safety Network will be huge Going Forward. We are working at dhs more on d ifyingfying declass products earlier so we can have better cooperation with state, local and federal lawenforcement. Dir. Wray i would agree the technological part of the operability has improved significantly, but he can get better. On the fbi side, the classified nature of so much of what we do does complicated our ability to communicate. Less so with the folks here on with state and local Law Enforcement, a think it complicated. Certainly with the private sector, as we discussed on this cyber side, that presents significant challenges. Mr. Payne ok. Dir. Rasmussen the only thing i would add is the level that probably wasnt there 10 or 15 years ago has in some ways been address, because so many of our Senior Leaders have served in each others organizations over the last dozen years. Several of my Senior Leaders are veterans of the department of Homeland Security. I have senior fbi personnel itide my organization and counts for a lot. It makes the integration much easier. Mr. Payne ok. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, i will yield back. Chairman mccaul the general men gentlemen yields. Thank you for your patience. I agree our country is safer because of your service. We have talked about radical islamic terrorists. They have attacked our citizens and way of life. You and all of the people on your teams are keeping us safe on the front lines. One of the vulnerabilities was used three days ago when a people were killed on a backpack the new york city. He came through the visa lottery program. For those not familiar, it was created in 1995 specifically to help irish immigrants. Estimated, it is 29,000 people from countries that sponsor terrorism, syria, sudan, iran, use the program to come to america. No other country that admits immigrants like we do, one million per year, we are immigrant friendly, has their visas handed out by chance. Not no other, but many others, they dont have a program like this. By chance and lottery, people can gain access to the country. , if he had come to the United States today versus 10 years ago, what checks would he have encountered . How would it have been different from the process 10 years ago, and the fact that and with the fact that he it come from a country with a history of terrorism impacted that . Sec. Duke yes, the visa program is right for fraud. Sentiments,h your it is not the best use of immigration system. What would be different if we have bio graphics, the ability to associate ability to source social media. But it would still introduce risk. I think switching some to meritbased is the thing to do. Do you agree with the elimination of the program . Sec. Duke yes. I want to talk about something deeply unsettling. This is a program where nongreen card holders starting in 2008 were allowed to start serving. It was supposed to be in specific, critical career fields to boost National Security. Unfortunately, i am on the Armed Services committee, we have multiple classified briefings on the summit can speak in great detail in this setting, but it looks like the army basically use this to meet the recruiting goals well beyond intent. Any of the individuals were not vetted properly. Many come from countries that are our adversaries with very sophisticated foreign intelligence operations, getting a fast track to citizenship in basic training before any vetting went on. I am deeply concerned about the impact. Im sure there are many good people that have served our country to the program, but the potential for vulnerability has caused the dod to hold the program. T the program. I am very concerned. I would like to heal all of your of thes, where you aware program, what are we doing now to mitigate any of these vulnerabilities and these threats for those that have already been through it . Happenedonery of what is potentially impacting National Security. Sec. Duke i am aware of the program and that it is suspended. , we have to that every individual. We believe Legal Immigration has to balance security and all persons coming into the United States temporarily parmalee, this should apply them. Ms. Mcsally a we doing anything to mitigate these threats . Dir. Wray we try to investigate where we can. Intelligence and share the information with our fellow colleagues. Are there any open investigation specifically to position . Letterirman, we wrote a together, i have a response here i would like to put in the record. I was not aware of this particular for rome particular vulnerability. One thing i think might contribute to identifying potential sources of concern in this population is depending on their status, some individuals are subject to recurrent vetting, it goes on long after they have been through the initial admission process. That changes when they gain status as a citizen for the reasons you suggest, but it could mean some members of the population are still subject to some vetting process. My timelly i am over but i would like to followup in a classified setting with all of you. Therman mccaul i echo gentlelady from arizonas concerns. Im glad the program is suspended. Encouraged a classified briefing on this. The chair recognizes the gentleman from wisconsin. Thank you for being here. We talked about the evolving terrorist threat abroad. It seems like isis is steadily losing territory in iraq and syria. That allows us to exploit a lot of valuable intelligence on the battlefield, biometrics, think prince, documents, media devices. It is vital we collected and collect it and find a way to get it to the outpost vetting people who want to come into this country. These applicants, refugees, asylum. Weve had people come into the country tied to terrorist groups. I guess i would direct this to being how much is this being incorporated into your operations and investigations . Sec. Duke this is an area that has improved most, to be honest with you. Dhs is an active member of the National Security council, as is mussen, we get the same intelligence beforeandafter incident, and i think the counterterrorism overseas led by the department of defense, thats probably the area i have seen the most progress in. I would add that battlefield intelligence of the store you are describing is most useful to us when it contains specific identity intelligence, when we can learn names, dates of birth come a passport numbers , identity document information. Feed ouran be used to database of known and suspected terrorists. That is the database that the Immigration Program is bouncing off of as they are making decisions and vetting potential admissions to country. The richer and deeper that database, the more likely we will have the information that will identify a potential bad actor. It is imperfect and that you can never have the totality of the information you would want, there is no question that what has happened in iraq in the last several months has given us a wealth of new information that is helpful in this regard. Dir. Wray i would just add, i agree with the sentiments that both of my copanelists have expressed, that i would add that has people forward employed with the military, were trying to collect biometric information where we can and that has turned out to be very useful in some cases to identify people who are then returning were going elsewhere , whethernot on lists it be the u. S. For our foreign partners. I think Going Forward that is another place we can be more effective. Dir. Rasmussen one other issue that has come up quite a bit in the hearing today. Much of what we have learned about terrorist potential use of devices, we have seen them on the battlefield in iraq, we need rapid sharing of that information so that local enforcement knows that there was a threat, a lot of that is directed is obtained directory from the field intelligence. Mr. Gallagher you seem to think it is headed in the right direction and theres room for improvement. Im glad to hear your sentiments on that. I thank you for highlighting your testimony on denying terrorist entry into the United States. As chairman on the task force, i think the department for your cooperation while we have been cooperating or view. We look forward to releasing the Task Force Final report in the future and working with all of you to implement recommendations. Discussed how some of our foreign partners lack the capabilities to close gaps in security and stop terrorist travel. This matches one of the key findings in our report, and one of the recommendations will focus on dhs cooperation with foreign partners. And you briefly describe some of the work dhs is currently doing with our foreign partners to address any overseas folder abilities that pose a threat to our homeland . Sec. Duke one of the main areas is losing is using systems that track people, known terrorists, what director rasmussen talked about, we have international partners. The feed into the database. We think information sharing is important. We have document sharing with the biometrics. The other part is not only inputting but using the databases to make their own determinations with the border so open, especially in europe. Those are a few of the areas. Mr. Gallagher i yield the balance of my time. Chairman mccaul the gentleman yields. Before i close, i also want to share the concern, secretary in your prepared testimony, about your potential relationship between Transnational Criminal Organizations and potential terrorists that could bring terrorists into the United States, but also weapons of mass destruction that we saw highlighted in a magazine, when he talked about the ease with which it could be accomplice. I think that certainly raises a warning sign and i think demonstrates the need to get the borders secure. I also want to thank director wray, i also share your concern about 702. Me, i will be working closely with other likeminded members to make sure that en,pens, and director rasmuss this will be her last testimony before this committee dir. Rasmussen or any committee. Chairman mccaul or any committee, hopefully. I want to thank you for your service. I know you will be close by. Want to thank all of you for your service, and most important, the men and women who serve in your organizations. , we are going to take a brief break and then begin with our second panel. [gavel] Congress Returns tomorrow, facing a deadline friday when the funding runs out. The Senate Begins the week by nielsensg kirstjen nomination. At some point, the senate expects the house to send over a shortterm spending bill that would fund the government until december 22. They will likely vote on that later in the week and whether or not to stop to start tax reform negotiations with the house. On going to conference happening at 6 30 p. M. Eastern. As always, fall the house live on cspan, the senate live on cspan2. On the sunday talk shows, today, members of congress were asked reformhe progress of tax now that the house and senate are closer to negotiations. Here is some of what we heard. The question is whether you are getting tax relief and of course people dont provide a huge people on the lower end to not provide a huge percentage of the interview of the revenue we use. Is my job likely to continue to be in the United States and are we going to have a growing economy so my children will be able to realize the same goals and aspirations that i want them to have . To get theigned economy we did not have a single year of 3 growth during all the obama years. We were clearly underperforming. You have to ask why. A combination of a lousy tax code and overwritten overregulation. Economists believe we will do much better. Take a look at the current economy. These are based on 1. 8 stagnant obamacare numbers. We dont have to do much to get up to much higher numbers because the last two quarters, we have had over 3 Economic Growth in this country and we new jobs2 million created since the day President Trump was elected and a lot of that has to do with the reform of regulations. When you do regulatory relief as well as tax relief, i think we are going to have an accelerated growth of the economy beyond what people are predicting. I think you will find that economists dont agree on this. You are comfortable with your vote on this tax bill a comes out of conference . Taxant to see what builder the matter what comes out of conference . To see what comes out of conference. I have a commitment that we are going to pass two bills including the Alexander Murray bill and one that i sponsored which will help offset the individual mandate repeal by lowering premiums and i also got a iron glad ironclad commitment that we are not going to see cuts in the medicaid medicare program. Three things about this process that just stunk. Swap one 01, the process on friday night when the bill was being hand drafted, lots of provisions were being included for special interests. Exempting ased particular religious college in michigan backed by the ross family. That got exposed. I will bet we will see dozens more of these special provisions put in that helps special interests. As somebody who has been passionate about not adding to our already 20 trillion in debt, this bill will add over 2 trillion to the debt, even with whatever growth comes from these tax cuts. That is not only because of the 1. 5 trillion already knowledge, but this tax bill is set up so that all of the goodies are all set to expire within five years creating more fiscal clips and chances are those provisions will be extended, driving up more debt. Third on just plain substance. They got some of the International Provisions wrong so that this bill may actually soment incent companies to move more headquarters into tax havens and you still have corporations paying virtually no american taxes. If we are going to bring back this money at such cheap rates, thatot put in Requirements Companies invest some of that money into training their workforces and giving them the skills to compete . Instead, using it for share buyback. This weekend, the cia director sat down with former cia director leon panetta to defense forums intel topics included north korea, Cyber Security and counterterrorism strategies. They also talked about the president s use of twitter