Good morning. This hearing of the Senate Committee and Homeland SecurityGovernmental Affairs committee is called to order. This is our annual threats to the homeland hearing. I want to welcome our witnesses. I like to start by acknowledging the victims of the hurricanes and in houston texas, florida, throughout the caribbean but particular puerto rico. Im sure we will be discussing that quite a bit. Maybe it wasnt contemplated when we first set up this hearing on the other threats. There are threats occurring throughout the nation and we will acknowledge that. All of the individuals are in our thoughts and prayers. Im sure everyone on this committee joins me in that. We are pleased to welcome the acting secretary of department of fullness security, elaine duke, the director of the fbi, christopher wray. The director of the National Counterterrorism center, nicholas rasmussen. We want to thank all of you for your service. This is perilous times, that face our homeland are growing pure there growing and metastasizing. I do not envy any of your tasks. These are serious responsibilities and we are all grateful that you stepped up to the plate and with quality individuals with real talent. The Mission Statement of this committee is simple. To enhance the economic and National Security of america and to promote the efficient, more efficient accountable government. Very similar messenger some of the Mission Statements of your own departments and agencies. I do not want to spend a lot of time because we have got a number of members here but again, i just want to acknowledge your service to this nation comedy sacrifice that you and your families are undertaking to serve this nation. And with that i will turn it over. Thank you very much mr. Chairman. Director wray and rasmussen, thank you for being here today. Secretary duke i welcome you to the committee for the first time as the departments acting secretary. I want to let you know that i have fidgety efforts that you and fema are making to assist the victims of hurricanes in texas and florida and puerto rico. I will have to say that we are very concerned about what we are 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 we will receive today from fema about what is actually occurring on the ground and those americans are very deserving of whatever it takes for us to address the crisis. The humanitarian crisis that is impacting 3. 5 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 with tragic violence and evil. It stunned many of us. The thought that chance and blood and soil transfer not a 21stcentury american college. The boldness and the outspokenness of something that is so evil, proudly marching under a nazi flag is something that i think many of us did not think we would see in this country. But now we have seen it. I direct your attention to a document that is on the easel. I think Many Americans understand that we have from White Supremacists, and others. This data comes from the gao. This is not from a think tank or anyone that has bias. This is from the government auditors. We have had 62 incidents since 9 11. 106 fatalities. By the white supremacist, 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 at 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. And i am worried that we have, this committee is a good example, we have had multiple hearings. On the threat of isis. As it relates to Homeland Security. We have had zero hearings about the threat of domestic terrorists and the threat that 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 bomber in manchester, england in june. The pedestrians on the London Bridge and in august a van in barcelona, spain. This month, a bucket bomb on a london subway. We know the organizations are targeting europe. We know that they are also in addition to domestic terrorists, there are also Foreign Terrorists that want to kill americans and you want to importantly radicalize americans here at home to do so. That is why we depend on you, the men and women of the dhf, the fbi and the and ctc. We rely on you to keep america safe. That is why i am so concerned about some of the budget choices made by the administration. For instance, mass transit locations and other soft targets where large people gather is served as prime targets. In addition to Aviation Security, the tsa helped secure mass transit passenger rails, freight well, highways, buses, pipelines and seaports. According to tsa 4 billion trips are taken each year on mass transit. The president s budget plans to cut critical tsa programs at a time that we cannot afford to let up when it comes to security measures. A large portion of the cut is taken from the viper team. They are deployed across the country to provide critical assistance with securing airports, subways and bus terminals. By the way, they also deployed to houston to help with the property. The president s budget would number 43 million reducing viper teams from 31 down to just 18. To cover the entire country. President s budget would also other dhs programs that provide critical programs. There is one that would help prepare kansas city plant and enhance Communication Systems another that will 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 is not enough time in seven minutes or single hearing all of the threats our country faces. We face cyber ransomware, russia trying to hack elections, this month dhs 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 they had a roundtable in kansas city to learn what agritourism can do to us and the food supply. So we are here to talk about the greatest threats that america faces what we are doing and most importantly, what we can do to help you in your most important work. Thank you very much. Okay senator i would ask consent that my written statement be entered into the record. It is tradition to swear in witnesses so if you stand and raise your right hand. The first witness is the honorable elaine duke. She is acting secretary of the Department Upon the security. She became acting secretary on july 31. She served as deputy secretary since april. Her previous decades of federal Service Included two years in the departments undersecretary for management. Thank you secretary duke. [inaudible] those that shield our nation from threats of terror each and every single day. Last night we learned of a cbp agent that was shot and is critically ill in jacksonville, florida. Each week i sign out condolence letters for Law Enforcement officers and it is on behalf of them that i testify today and came back to service. In recent weeks, hurricane harvey, irma, josc 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. I am impressed with the professional sample professionalism i have witnessed. But there is a long road ahead in puerto rico. For those in disasters let me say this, i promise to do everything in my power to bring relief. We will stand with you, sidebyside in the weeks and months and years to come. Natural disasters are not the only threats we face as a nation. Right now, the terrorist threat to our country equals and in many way exceeds that in the. Around 911. We are seeing a surgeon terrorist activity because of the fundamentals of terrorism has changed. Our enemies, their crowdsourcing, violent, online promoting a doityourself approach that involves using any weapons that they 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. In my department, we are focused on countering this. Dhs will not stand on the sidelines as these threats spread. We will not allow 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 an away game. The line is blurred and the threats are connected across borders. That is what dhs is moving towards a new integrated approach. Bringing together intelligence, operations, interagency engagement, and International Actions 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 that 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 recommend it and the president approved test but tailored restrictions to countries that do not cooperate with us on immigration screening and bedding. This will protect america and hold foreign governments accountable. We are elevating Aviation Security standards. Our ongoing global Aviation Security plan which we began this summer is making us bound flights more secure and it is 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 emphasizing importance of Early Morning to make sure that communities report suspicious activity before it is too late. Americans are also alarmed by the spike in cyber attacks. Our adversaries continue to develop advanced capabilities online. They seek to undermine our Critical Infrastructure, target our livelihood 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 the department as quickly as possible. Thank you for letting me appear today and i look forward to your questions. Thank you secretary duke. The next witness is christopher wray. He is the director of the federal bureau of investigations. On august 2, 2017 he was sworn in as the eighth fbi director. He previously served as assistant attorney director, attorney general of the department of justice in charge of criminal division. Director wray. [inaudible] 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 fbi 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 over the last week from his position makes me feel more honored to be the director. There mission focused, passionate, determined to be the very best at protecting the american people. And upholding the rule of law. Having been away from government for number of years, some of the changes i have now seen in the first few weeks upon getting back abstractly particular. The evolution of the threats, the expertise developed in the capabilities that have been built. Changes in technology have dramatically transformed the nature of the threats that we face and challenged our ability to confront those threats. In the terrorism early in my prior experiences primarily with large structured terrorist organizations like al qaeda. And to be clear we still confront threats from large structure organizations like al qaeda planning largescale sophisticated tax. But we also face groups like isil. And they 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 of social media and Encryption Technology has made it harder to find the messages of hate and destruction they are spreading. In harder to pinpoint these messages are gaining traction with here in the homeland. The same can be said of domestic extremist movements that collectively pose a study threat of violence and economic harm to the us. In that instance primarily through loan offenders. In the cyber arena, the threats are not only increasing in scope and scale, theyre also becoming increasingly difficult to investigate. Cyber criminals have increased the sophistication of their schemes that are harder to detect. What was once a comparatively minor threat, someone hacking for fun or bragging rights and trying to prove a point just so he could do it has now turned into fullblown nationstate manipulation and a multimillion dollar business. In a counterintelligence arena, foreign governments pose a rising threat to the us. That threat also is more complex and more varied than it has been at any time in the fbi history. Historically, as the committee may know, counterintelligence focused on protecting Us Government secrets from foreign intelligence services. Today in addition, we face threats from nationstate targeting not just our National Security secrets but our ideas and our innovation. We now see threats not just from traditional Intelligence Officers but from less traditional spies posing as businesspeople or students or scientists. All of those threats are amplified by the growing challenge that we in the Law Enforcement community referred to as going dark. It affects the spectrum of our work. The exploitation of encrypted platforms present serious challenges to Law Enforcement ability to identify, investigate and disrupt threats. Whether it is i want to add to that that obviously we all understand that whether it is 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 with new dangers. And we wrestle with how criminals can use these to vetted advantage. And lawful authority, the reality is we are all too often flying blind. We need to Work Together to find a thoughtful but quick and Effective Solutions. The news is not all bad. Not by a long shot. There are Great Strides being made. Intelligence is being far better integrated into our mission for the quality of our partnerships both across agencies, state and local, foreign are at a whole new level. While great progress has made we need to keep improving. I think the changes in technology are one of the primary concerns that we have. I look forward to answering the committees questions. Thank you, director. Our final this is mr. Nicholas rasmussen. He is the director of the National Counterterrorism center. On december 18, 2014 he was sworn in as the fifth director of the National Counterterrorism center. He previously served as the Deputy Director since june 2012. Director rasmussen. Good morning, mr. Chairman. Members of the committee. I am pleased to be here with my colleagues and close partners. I am talking about elaine duke and chr