The U.S. House of Representatives passed four bills on Monday to better provide homeland security.
The bills prevent foreign fighter travel to the U.S., improve airport security measures and improve internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) practices and reviews.
“We face an unprecedented pace of terror worldwide,” House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (RTX) said. “To fully understand and defend against the growing threat, the United States must learn from our past actions, defend against current plots, and actively protect potential future vulnerabilities.
“The bills passed by the House today do just that. These bills bolster security at airport entry points, preemptively defend against evildoers attempting to travel to our homeland, and improve DHS’s internal operations to constantly find ways to improve safety and efficiency. I commend the work of my Committee for introducing these pieces of legislation which will better secure and protect our homeland against the constantly evolving worldwide threats.”
The bills, which passed by a voice vote, include the Terrorist Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act of 2016, which requires the DHS to develop exercises to evaluate national preparedness against foreign fighter and terrorist travel to the United States; the DHS Stop Asset and Vehicle Excess Act of 2016, which directs the under secretary for management of the DHS to make improvements on the department’s vehicle fleet; the Airport Perimeter and Access Control Security Act of 2016, which requires the Transportation Security Administration to update risk assessments at airports; and the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Technical Correction Act of 2016, which improves the quality and timeliness of the review that the DHS carries out by including more stakeholder engagement.