The U.S. House of Representatives advanced nine bills last week sponsored by the Homeland Security Committee, including unanimously voting on U.S. Rep. Martha McSally’s (R-AZ) Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act of 2017.
“It is critical that we continue to re-examine our strategy, technology, and the infrastructure we currently have in place to strengthen the Department of Homeland Security and stop terrorists from reaching our shores,” Committee Chairman U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) said. “The evolving threats we face demand action to address vulnerabilities in our defenses. I commend the work of my committee, particularly the bipartisan nature in which these bills were advanced, to make our country safer.”
McSally’s bill requires the executive branch to conduct a “stress test” to examine the country’s preparedness against all stages of foreign fighter planning and travel. The bill also requires the executive branch to share its findings, along with recommendations to fix any issues that may arise, with both Congress and federal law enforcement agencies.
McSally’s bill stems from reviews conducted by the Task Force on Combating Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel, on which McSally served, that investigated various security weaknesses within the nation’s emergency preparedness systems. In total, the task force made more than 50 recommendations from 32 key findings.
“The last major government exercise on terrorist travel occurred in 2009,” McSally said. “Obviously, the threat environment has changed considerably and relying on information gathered during an exercise that took place nearly a decade ago is simply unacceptable and puts American lives at risk.”