Countering Terrorist Radicalization Act

Floor Speech

I rise in support of H.R. 5471, the Countering Terrorism Radicalization Act.

Mr. Speaker, America is still absorbing the devastation that was inflicted on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, over the weekend. This attack is the deadliest mass shooting in American history. Forty- nine innocent, mostly young, people were killed, and 53 others were maimed.

We do not know with any certainty what exactly drove the perpetrators to carry out this hateful act, but there is one thing we do know beyond the shadow of a doubt: divisive rhetoric that pits Americans against each other and empty gestures will do nothing to heal Orlando's deep wounds or prevent the next attack.

Unfortunately, railing against the American Muslim community is all that some, including the presumptive Republican nominee, are offering. Meanwhile, empty gestures like yet another moment of silence and an expedited House consideration of repackaged measures that are already pending in the Senate is as far as the House Republican leadership is willing to go.

Although there is little to object to in H.R. 5471, particularly since it codifies what the Department of Homeland Security is already doing, it is important to state on the record that it offers little response to the Orlando attack.

Sadly, when it comes to preventing mass shootings in houses of worship, schools, workplaces, or other public spaces, the American public has come to expect very little from this Congress. The legislation before us today will not change that. It authorizes a counterterrorism coordinating body that already exists within DHS; training on how to do community awareness briefings, which DHS already does; the utilization of public testimonies to counter violent extremism, which the Department has repeatedly told Congress it already has the authority to do; and an assessment of how DHS partners with local communities to counter violent extremism.

The House has spoken on provisions of H.R. 5471, and DHS is already carrying out the activities it authorizes. As such, there is nothing objectionable on the four corners of the pages of this bill, Mr. Speaker.

What I do object to, Mr. Speaker, is the House not acting on measures that could help prevent the next mass shooting. For instance, there is H.R. Mr. Speaker, you can't fly, but you can buy a gun in the United States of America. This could be and should be fixed.

Closing this Homeland Security gap in our laws has the support of 83 percent of Americans, including gun owners like myself. Moreover, 180 Members of this Chamber have signaled their support by signing a discharge petition to demand the bill's immediate consideration.

Analysis issued this week by the Government Accountability Office underscores the need for action. It found that 90 percent of the people on the terrorist watch list who attempted to legally purchase firearms were successful. Mr. Speaker, 90 percent of the people who are on the terrorist watch list bought guns in this country.

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow marks the 1-year anniversary of the terrorist attack on Mother Emanuel in Charleston, South Carolina. That deadly attack carried out in furtherance of a violent ideology claimed the lives of nine people gathered in prayer and fellowship. It was carried out by a domestic terrorist who, like the perpetrators of attacks in San Bernardino and Orlando, were radicalized by Internet propaganda. Nothing in the legislation we are considering today would have stopped that ideologically motivated mass shooting.

Before I reserve my time, I would take this opportunity to again highlight that those with a single-minded focus on one foreign terrorist organization, namely ISIL, as is the case with H.R. 5471, are turning a blind eye to a gathering storm.

In just the past year, the number of antigovernment groups espousing violence has increased threefold. Since 2008, when the Southern Poverty Law Center numbered antigovernment groups at 149, there has been a 670 percent increase. Yes, today, there are 998 antigovernment groups in America.

Mr. Speaker, the victims of past mass shootings, their families, and all Americans deserve meaningful action, not empty gestures.
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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I support the majority whip's position. We have already voted on the bills. We have already sent them over to the Senate. It is just repackaging them again and sending them over again. They are in charge.

I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson).
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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, we have had a number of people talk about San Bernardino. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Aguilar), whose district includes San Bernardino, where the shooting occurred.
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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time each side has remaining?

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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Pelosi) the minority leader.

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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi.

Yesterday, I cohosted, with the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva), a forum that took expert testimony on the homeland security threat posed by armed militia and antigovernment groups. We were forced to hold a forum because the chairmen of our respective committees, Homeland Security and Natural Resources, have rebuffed our repeated requests for a hearing to examine domestic terrorism. The House Republican leadership refuses to acknowledge the threat of domestic terrorism, ergo, its unwillingness to take action to prevent further mass shootings.

Now, Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, while I generally do not object to H.R. 5471, and I will support its passage, it cannot be the sum total of what this Congress is willing to do in response to the mass shootings in Orlando, San Bernardino, Charleston, and the concerns of Americans across the Nation. We are tasked with identifying vulnerabilities.

Mr. Speaker, a vulnerability in the minds of the public is that, if a person cannot buy a ticket to fly on a plane but can go buy a gun, that is a vulnerability. The high-capacity magazines that this individual in Orlando and in other places have used, that is a vulnerability that this Congress should address.

Background checks, the 3-day requirement that if it is not completed, you get approval to buy a gun, you know, there are some things that take longer, so the Charleston loophole is applicable to what we are talking about, too.

So, for whatever reasons, guns have been used from time to time to perpetrate terrorist activities. We hardened cockpits on airplanes because people wanted to hijack airplanes. We banned box cutters from being on airplanes because they were used to hijack airplanes.

If terrorists are using guns to do harm to American citizens, these are terrorists who are born in the United States, they are American citizens, so we have to do something about it.

There is no problem with the three bills that were packaged here today, but I implore this body to look at the broader issue of domestic terrorism, and let's get on with the business of addressing it. The moments of silence, you know, all of us in our own respective ways, we care about the people; but after the moment of silence, after we get off our knees from praying, when are we going to work and resolve the challenge?

So this do-over package is going back to the Senate again. It is already over there. So we will go back, and we will say to the Republican leadership in the Senate your colleagues say do something.

I say, if Democrats were in charge, Mr. Chairman, we would do something.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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