House advances global security enhancing bills

The House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced last week four bills designed to promote American interests domestically and abroad while also enhancing national security.

Officials said legislation to authorize counterterrorism operations in Africa known as the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP), introduced by House Foreign Affairs Committee lead Republican Michael McCaul (R-TX) was included in the package.

“With the fall of the Caliphate, ISIS fighters have splintered beyond Iraq and Syria to pursue safe havens in places susceptible to violent extremism,” McCaul said. “In Africa’s Trans-Sahara, where the presence of existing terrorist organizations such as Boko Haram and Al Shabaah endures, the threat of radical influence from the Islamic State is alarmingly high with jihadists pouring into the region. My bill authorizes for the first time the TTSCTP. This program works with countries such as Chad, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria, to build their capacity to conduct counterterrorism operations, prevent the spread of violent extremism, and strengthen the rule of law.

The Committee’s action also cleared the way for the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Act, which requires the president to appoint a Special Envoy within the State Department to monitor and combat anti-Semitism across the globe. It also introduced the Protecting Diplomats from Surveillance Through Consumer Devices Act, requiring the Department of State to establish a policy on the use of location-tracking consumer devices, such as Fitbit devices and Apple Watches, by diplomats at U.S. consular facilities and other high-risk areas. The U.S.-Mexico Economic Partnership Act, included in the package, promotes economic partnership and cooperation between the United States and Mexico with a focus on energy, health, entrepreneurship, and education sectors.