Senator johnson good morning. This hearing of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, Government Affairs committee, is called to order. This is our annual threats to the homeland hearing. I want to welcome our witnesses. Id like to start, though, by acknowledging the victims of the hurricanes in houston, texas, in florida, throughout the caribbean but in particular puerto rico. Im sure well be discussing that quite a bit. Maybe wasnt contemplated when we first set up this and scheduled this hearing on the other enormous threats, but theres real threats to human life occurring now throughout our nation and well certainly acknowledge that. All those individuals are in our thoughts and prayers. Im sure everybody on this committee joins me in that. We are pleased to welcome the acting secretary of Homeland Security, elaine duke. Director of the federal bureau of investigation, christopher wray. And nicholas rasmussen. We want to thank all of you for your service. These are perilous times. The threats that face our homeland are growing. Theyre mess t. S. A. Sizing. I dont envy any of your tasks. These are serious responsibilities. We are all grateful you stepped up to the plate and we have quality individuals with real talent that are accepting that responsibility. The Mission Statement of this committee is pretty simple. To enhance the economic and National Security of america and to promote the efficient more efficient, effective, accountable government. Very similar, id imagine, to some of the Mission Statements of your own departments and agencies. I dont want to spend a whole lot of time because we got a number of members here. But, again, i just want to acknowledge your service to this nation, the sacrifice you and your families are undertaking to serve this nation and with that ill turn. Over to senator mccaskill senator mccaskill thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Directors wray and rasmussen, director duke, i welcome you for the first time. I want to let you know i appreciate the efforts that you and fema are making to assist the victims of hurricanes in texas, in florida and puerto rico. I will have to say, though, we are very concerned about what were seeing in puerto rico. I know there have been logistical challenges because of the devastation in puerto rico, but im looking forward to the briefing that were going to receive today from fema about what is actually occurring on the ground. Those americans are very deserving of whatever it takes for us to address the crisis, the humanitarian crisis that is impacting 3. 5 million american citizens in puerto rico as we speak today. The hearing today is about threats to the homeland. Heartbreakingly just last month, we suffered a terrorist attack here at home. The violence perpetrated by White Supremacists and neonazis at the charlottesville rally was tragic, vial and evil. It stunned many of us who thought that chance of blood and soil belonged in a film footage from a nuremberg rally, not a 21st century american college. The boldness and the outspokenness of something that is so evil, proudly marching under a nazi flag is something i think many of us wouldnt think wed see in this country but now we have seen it. I direct your attention to a document that is on the easal. I dont think Many Americans understand the level of threat that we have in this country from White Supremacists, antigovernment and other violent extremists. If you look at the comparison and this data comes from the g. A. O. This isnt from a think tank. This isnt from anybody that has bias. This is from the government auditors. That weve had 62 incidents since 9 11, and 106 fatalities by the White Supremacists, antigovernment and other violent extremists. Compare that to 23 acts of violence by islamic violent extremists. The fatalities are almost equal. And so one of my goals of this hearing today is to get specific responses as to whether or not the level of investigation response matches the level of threat as it relates to these two types of terrorists that want to do harm to american citizens. And im worried that we have this committee is a good example. Weve had multiple hearings on the threat of isis as it relates to Homeland Security. Weve had zero hearings about the threat of domestic terrorists and the threat they pose in our country and our response to it. We also face the threats from foreign terrorist organizations like isis and those inspired by them. We only need to look overseas over the past four months to see what our allies have suffered. The suicide bombers in manchester, england, in june. The pedestrians on the london bridge. In august, a van in barcelona, spain. And just this month, a bucket bomb on a subway in london. We know they arent just targeting europe. In addition to domestic terrorists, they are also Foreign Terrorists who want to kill americans and who want to importantly radicalize americans here at home to do so thats why we depend on you, the men and women of the d. H. S. , the f. B. I. And we want you to prevent attacks and keep america safe. Thats why im so concerned about some of the budget choices made by this administration. For instance, mass transit locations and other soft targets where large groups of people gather has served as prime targets. In addition to Aviation Security, the t. S. A. Helps secure mass transit, passenger rail, railways, pipelines and sea ports. According to t. S. A. , more than 10 billion passenger trips are taken on mass transit systems each year. Yet, the president s budget plans to cut critical t. S. A. Programs at a time that we could not afford to let up when it comes to security measures. A large portion of this cut is taken from the viper teams. The viper teams deploy all across the country to provide critical assistance with securing airports, subways and bus terminals. And by the way, they also deployed to houston to assist with recovery. But the president s budget would cut them by 43 million, reducing viper teams from 31 down to eight teams to cover the entire country. The president s budget would also slash other d. H. S. Programs that provide critical security to our transportation systems. In july, d. H. S. Announced 29 awards to the complex coordinated terrorist attack grant program, including one that would help prepare kansas city plans and enhance Communication Systems and another that would allow st. Louis to build an integrated response structure among First Responders. This is a type of assistance we should be providing our cities in the face of threats like london, barcelona and manchester. But the president s budget will eliminate all of these Grant Programs for next year. There unfortunately isnt enough time to discuss in seven minutes or a single hearing all the threats our country faces. We face cyberransom ware attacks. This month d. H. S. Ordered agencies to remove Cybersecurity Software from federal Computer Systems because of its manufacturers ties to russian intelligence. We have Border Security issues. We even have potential threats to agriculture. Just last month, i had a roundtable in kansas city to learn what agriterrorism could do to the nations confidence and its food supply. I am glad you are here today to talk about the greatest threats are, what we are doing about them and most importantly what we can do to help you in your most important work. Thank you very much. Senator johnson thanks, senator mccaskill. I ask my Opening Statement be entered in the record. Its the tradition of this committee to swear in witnesses. If you all stand and raise your right hand. Do you swear the testimony you give before this committee will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing be the truth so help you god . Please be seated. Our first witness is the honorable elaine duke. Elaine duke is acting secretary of the department of Homeland Security. She became the acting secretary on july 31. Shes served as deputy secretary since april. Her previous decades of federal service include two years at the departments undersecretary for management. Acting secretary duke. Secretary duke thank you, chairman johnson, Ranking Member mccaskill and distinguished members of the committee. Its my honor to testify this morning on behalf of the men and women of d. H. S. Who shield our nation from threats of terror each and every single day. Last night we learned of a c. B. P. Agent that was shot and is critically ill in jacksonville, florida. And each week i sign out condolence letters for Law Enforcement letters. Its on behalf of them that i testify today and came back to service. In recent weeks, hurricane harvey, irma, jose and maria have placed a spotlight on natural disasters. With femas leadership, our department and the whole federal government have come together to respond to these crises, and i am impressed with the professionalism i have witnessed. But the challenges in places like puerto rico are evidence theres a long road ahead. To those that have been caught up in the disasters, let me say this. I promise to do everything in my power to bring relief, and we will stand with you side by side in the weeks, months and years to come. But National Natural disasters are not the only threats we face as a nation. Right now, the terrorist threat to our country equals and in many ways exceeds that in the period of 9 11. We are seeing a surge in terrorist activity because the fundamentals of terrorism have changed. Our enemies are crowdsourcing their violence online, promoting a doityourself approach that involves using any weapons their followers can get their hands on easily. The primary International Terror threat facing our country is from global jihadist groups. However, the department is also focused on the threat of domestic terrorism. Ideologically, motivated extremists here in the United States are a threat to our nation, our people and our values. I condemn this hate and violence, and my department is focused on countering it. D. H. S. Will not stand on the sidelines as these threats spread, and we will not allow pervasive terrorism to become the new normal. We are tackling the dangers ahead in two ways. First, we are rethinking Homeland Security for a new age. There is no longer a home game and away game. The line is blurred and the threats are connected across borders. That is why d. H. S. s moving towards a more integrated approach, bringing together intelligence, operations, interagency engagement and International Action like never before. Second, we are raising the baseline of our Security Posture across the board. We are looking at everything from travelers screening to information sharing. Higher threat levels mean we need higher standards. For example, we are now requiring all foreign governments to share Critical Data with us on terrorists and criminals and to help us confidently identify their 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 who do not cooperate with us on immigration screening and vetting. This will protect america and hold foreign governments accountable. Similarly, we are raising elevation the elevating Aviation Security standards. Our ongoing global Aviation Security plan, which we began this summer, is making u. S. Bound flights more secure and raising the baseline of Aviation Security worldwide. We are also making historic moves to keep dangerous individuals and goods from entering america illegally. That includes building a wall in the southwest border and cracking down on Transnational Criminal Organizations that bring drugs, violence and other threats across our borders. Within our borders, we are rededicating ourselves to terrorism prevention to keep extremists from radicalizing our people. As part of this effort, we are prioritizing education and community awareness. We are redoubling our efforts to stop terrorists recruitment and we are emphasizing the importance of Early Warning to make sure communities report suspicious activity before it is too late. Americans are also alarmed by the spike in cyberattacks. Our adversaries continue to develop advanced capabilities online. They seek to undermine our Critical Infrastructure, target our livelihoods and our secrets and threaten our democracy. On behalf of the entire department, i appreciate the Critical Role this committee plays in helping us execute our mission. I also respectfully ask the committee to focus on reauthorizing our department as quickly as possible. Thank you for letting me appear today and i look forward to your questions. Senator johnson thank you, secretary duke. Ur next witness is christopher wray. Christopher wray is the director of the federal bureau of investigation. On august 2, 2017, mr. Wray was sworn in as the eighth f. B. I. Director. He previously served as assistant attorney director attorney general at the department of justice in charge of the criminal division. Director wray. Director wray thank you, chairman johnson, Ranking Member mccaskill, members of the committee for the opportunity to talk to you today about the threats here in the homeland and the tremendous work being done by the people at the f. B. I. To confront those challenges. From my earlier years in Law Enforcement and National Security, i already knew how outstanding the men and women of the bureau are, but to see it i must say over the last few weeks from this position makes me feel even more honored, if thats possible, to be their director. They are mission focused, they are passionate, they are determined to be the very best at protecting the American People in upholding the rule of law. Having been away from government for a number of years, some of the changes that ive now seen in the first few weeks upon getting back have struck me in particular. The evolution of the threats, the expertise developed and the capabilities that have been built. Changes in technology have dramatically transformed the nature of the threats we face and challenged our ability to confront those threats. In the terrorism arena, my Prior Experience was primarily with large structured terrorist organizations like al qaeda, and to be clear, we still very much confront threats from large strktured organizations like al qaeda planning largescale sophisticated attacks over long periods of time. Now added to that list we also face groups like isil who use social media to recruit and spread their propaganda and to inspire people to take to the streets with crude but effective weapons like hatchets and car bombs. These are smaller in scale but greater in volume and these organizations often move from plotting to action in a very, very short period of time with very little planning and using lowtech and widely available attack methods. These terrorists use social media and encryption technology, has made it harder to find the messages of hate and destruction theyre spreading and harder to pinpoint who these messages are gaining traction with here in the homeland. The same can be said of domestic extremist movements that collectively pose a steady threat of violence and economic harm to the u. S. In that instance, primarily through lone offenders. In the cyber arena, the threats are not only increasing in scope and scale, theyre also becoming increasingly difficult to investigate. Cybercriminals have increased the sophistication of their schemes which are now harder to detect and more resilient. What was once a comparatively minor threat, somebody hacking for fun and bragging rights and trying to prove a point just he could do it has now thrown into fullblown nation state manipulation and a billionaire business. In the counterintelligence arena, foreign governments pose a rising threat to the u. S. And that threat also is more complex and more varied than it has been at anytime in the f. B. I. s history. Historically, as the committee may know, counterintelligence focused on protecting u. S. Government secrets from foreign intelligence services. But today, in addition, we face threats from nation states targeting not just our National Security secrets but our ideas and our innovation and we now see threats, not just from traditional intelligence officers, but from less traditional spies posing as Business People or students or scientists. All those threats are amplified by the growing challenge that we in the Law Enforcement community refer to as going dark. It affects the spectrum of our work. The exploitation of encrypted platforms prevent serious challenges to Law Enforcements ability to identify, investigate and disrupt threats, whether its and i want to add to that that obviously we all understand whether its instant messages, text, oldfashioned letters, citizens have the right to communicate with each other without unauthorized government surveillance and free flow of information is critical to democracy. But the benefits of our increasingly digital lives have been accompanied by new dangers and w