Michael McCaul

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5859) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish the major metropolitan area counterterrorism training and exercise grant program, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I attended the 9/11 ceremony. It was a moving experience. I spent almost my entire career working with law enforcement, with Federal law enforcement and State and local law enforcement, as both a Federal prosecutor and a State prosecutor. Today I released a report called the National Strategy to Win the War Against Islamist Terror. I would submit that nobody knows this issue better than I do. It is the reason I am chairman of this committee. I get the briefings. I understand the threat level. And, yes, it is radical Islamist terror. I had an NYPD intelligence briefing after the 9/11 ceremony briefing me in a classified setting on how this threat has evolved from not just go to Syria to join the fight but, rather, kill and attack where you are. As I met with those brave men and women at NYPD, they said: Mr. Chairman, we need your help in this fight; we need the UASI funding; and, yes, we need funding to help us with the active shooter threat that is out there, with the IED threat that is out there, with the suicide bomber threat, targeting New York. And guess what. Just a few days later, we got hit again. Not just in New York, but in New Jersey and in Minnesota. These funds, importantly, go to no one but law enforcement and first responders. It doesn't go to the people Mr. Gohmert is talking about. It goes directly to police chiefs and to first responders and fire departments, who are our heroes, and we should have their backs. Day in and day out they protect the American people, and to suggest or even insinuate that these heroes, frontline defenders would in any way conspire with the Muslim Brotherhood or radical Islamist terrorists is an insult, and it is disgraceful to this body, to this Chamber. It is an assault on all law enforcement and first responders across this country. We shouldn't doubt our police chiefs, our law enforcement, our fire chiefs, our first responders. We should have their backs. Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what this bill is designed to do. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire, how much time do I have?

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Carter).

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. As we stand here this evening, there are ongoing investigations into the terrorist attacks over the weekend in New York, in New Jersey, and in Minnesota. Details of these attacks and of those responsible continue to emerge. One thing is certain: we are thankful that there was no loss of life and we are thankful for our brave first responders who worked around the clock to keep our communities safe. These brave men and women are doing their jobs in increasingly difficult times. The threat environment is as high as we have ever seen it since 9/11. Large-scale terror attacks have been replaced as the main threat by smaller attacks that seek to terrorize entire communities at an alarming pace. Whether it is a simultaneous, coordinated attack at multiple locations, as we saw in Paris last year, or attacks like the ones in New York, New Jersey, and Minnesota this past weekend, or an active shooter who targets law enforcement, as we experienced in my home State of Texas against the Dallas Police Department, we must ensure that our communities and our first responders--our heroes--have the tools and training they need to best address today's threats. That is why I introduced H.R. 5859, the Community Counterterrorism Preparedness Act. This bill authorizes $39 million for first responders in major metropolitan areas to conduct training and exercises to prevent, to prepare for, and to respond to the most likely terrorist attack scenarios, like the IED attacks that we recently saw in New York and in New Jersey or active shooter attacks. The fiscal year 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act included $39 million for grants to address complex, coordinated terrorist attacks, like the attacks in Paris. My bill authorizes the program, and it provides clear direction to the Department of Homeland Security, ensuring that emergency response providers receive the funding they need to address these emerging threats. First responders in any of the more than 60 jurisdictions that currently receive or have previously received funding under the Urban Areas Security Initiative are eligible for funding under this new program. Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, my main job is to support the establishment of policies and programs that will help keep the American people safe. This program that is established in my bipartisan bill will provide the additional resources to first responders so they can do just that. I urge all Members to join me in supporting this bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield 10 minutes of my time to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) and ask unanimous consent that he be allowed to control that time.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge immediate reauthorization of the Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher Program before it expires at the end of this fiscal year. Simply put, this program has proven to save the lives of children. My colleague and dear friend from North Carolina, Mr. Butterfield, and I have introduced legislation that would make it permanent. Last July, thanks to the leadership of Committee on Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton and his staff and advocates like Nancy Goodman, who is the founder and Executive Director of Kids v. Cancer, this Chamber passed an amended version of this initiative as part of H.R. 6, the 21st Century Cures Act. This program is a crucial incentive--in addition to the Orphan Drug Act--for drug manufacturers to make the significant investment in developing therapies for rare pediatric diseases, including pediatric cancers and lysosomal storage disorders. When we were considering H.R. 6 last July and again in recognition of National Neuroblastoma Awareness Day last September, I came to this Floor to speak about the positive impact the Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher Program has had on children with neuroblastoma. Because of the limited market incentives available prior to the creation of the program, biopharmaceutical companies had been unwilling to risk investing in research and development for a therapy that treats this extremely rare and devastating pediatric cancer. The Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher Program proved to be the necessary incentive for United Therapeutics to satisfy this unmet need with the development of Unituxin. In March 2015, this therapy received Food and Drug Administration (``FDA'') approval for children with high- risk neuroblastoma. Unituxin was the first drug that FDA approved for this condition and only the second FDA-approved therapy for pediatric cancer. Upon its approval, FDA awarded Unituxin the second voucher from this program. As the chairman of the Childhood Cancer Caucus, I recognize the importance of this therapy to the community, especially to children like four-year-old Rex Ryan from Austin in the 10th District of Texas. Diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma at 17 months old, Rex's parents Leslie and Casey enrolled him in the clinical trial for Unituxin at Children's Blood and Cancer Center at Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas in Austin. Rex is a neuroblastoma survivor because of this new drug, which would not have been developed without the voucher program. After witnessing the direct impact Unituxin has had on Rex and his parents, it would be unconscionable for Congress to allow this program to expire. As I have previously described, the hope afforded by the Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher Program extends to other conditions as well. Nearly two years ago, I came to this Floor to speak about the value of the program just after BioMarin Pharmaceuticals sold the first voucher from this program for $67.5 million, which the company immediately reinvested to build a clinical laboratory on its campus in San Rafael, California. The laboratory is a critical component of its development of a gene therapy platform for hemophilia A, which is showing promising early data in eight patients. BioMarin received this first voucher for developing a therapy for Morquio A syndrome, which is also known as mucopolysaccharidosis (``MPS'') type IV. Unfortunately for the millions of children affected by one of the nearly 7,000 rare diseases without a treatment, such as several of the other types and subtypes of MPS, including Sanfilippo syndrome and Sly syndrome, politics have hampered Senate negotiations on its larger innovation package, which is putting the program in jeopardy. Patients like eight-year-old Beckett Weldon, who is from Cypress in the 10th District of Texas, cannot afford for Congress to allow this program to lapse. Beckett suffers from SYNGAP1-related intellectual disability, which is an ultra-rare and severely disabling, genetic neurological disorder. Approximately two-thirds of the children with this condition have some form of epilepsy. Other symptoms include hypotonia, behavioral disorders, language impairment, and oral dyspraxia. Beckett began his four-year diagnostic odyssey at 4 months old, when he began missing milestones his twin sister Pyper was meeting. After visiting 19 specialists and several diagnostic tests, Beckett received his diagnosis. Only recently identified, SYNGAP1-related intellectual disability has no FDA-approved treatment. Beckett's parents Monica and Chris hope to change that for this community. Less than two years after Beckett's diagnosis in 2012, Monica Weldon--with the help of Global Genes-- founded Bridge the Gap-SYNGAP Education and Research Foundation, which is a member of the National Organization for Rare Disorders (``NORD''). Due to Monica's efforts, the Foundation was one of twenty rare disease patient organizations selected in April to develop natural history studies with the assistance of NORD and supported in part by a cooperative agreement with the FDA. The Bridge the Gap-SYNGAP Education and Research Foundation is also hosting the first ever SYNGAP1 International Conference November 30-December 1, 2016 at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston in an effort to bring together families, researchers, and clinicians to foster a collaborative environment that will lead to the development of treatments and ultimately a cure for the condition. As the SYNGAP1 community initiates these efforts toward treatments and a cure, it is critical that the Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher Program be available as an incentive for manufacturers to consider investing in therapies for this condition. Congress must continue to help sick children and their families find treatments by extending this valuable program.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office regarding H.R. 5388. U.S. Congress, Congressional Budget Office, Washington, DC, June 30, 2016. Hon. Michael McCaul, Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5388, the Support for Rapid Innovation Act of 2016. If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark Grabowicz. Sincerely, Keith Hall. Enclosure. H.R. 5388--Support for Rapid Innovation Act of 2016 Current law permits the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to waive the requirements of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (procedures that guide federal procurement actions) for certain research and development projects. That authority (known as ``other transaction authority'') enables the department to increase its use of small contractors for research and development activities and is scheduled to expire on September 30, 2016. H.R. 5388 would extend it for four years. Based on information from DHS about the department's research and development plans, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 5388 would not significantly affect DHS spending for those activities. In recent years DHS has spent around $0.7 billion annually on research and development activities. Enacting the legislation would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5388 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027. H.R. 5388 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office regarding H.R. 5389. U.S. Congress, Congressional Budget Office, Washington, DC, June 24, 2016. Hon. Michael McCaul, Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5389, the Leveraging Emerging Technologies Act of 2016. If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark Grabowicz. Sincerely, Keith Hall, Director. Enclosure. H.R. 5389--Leveraging Emerging Technologies Act of 2016 H.R. 5389 would direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), within six months of the bill's enactment, to develop a strategy to work with emerging technology firms to improve DHS programs. Based on information from DHS, CBO estimates that devising the strategy would cost less than $500,000; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. Enacting the legislation would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5389 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027. H.R. 5389 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hurd).

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Fleischmann).

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Katko).

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. What happened in Orlando was a terrorist attack, an attack by ISIS in the homeland. The Orlando shooter said as much in his 911 call. The Islamic State took credit for it, saying he was a soldier of the caliphate. What keeps me up at night, Boston, Chattanooga, San Bernardino, and now Orlando all perpetrated--all perpetrated--by Islamist terrorists. We have to define the enemy to defeat it. That is a basic military strategy. The 9/11 Commission, bipartisan, in its wisdom, so many years ago, said: ``The enemy is not just `terrorism,' some generic evil. This vagueness blurs the strategy. The catastrophic threat at this moment in history is more specific. It is a threat posed by Islamist terrorism-- especially the al Qaeda network, its affiliates, and its ideology.'' The 9/11 Commission, Mr. Speaker, not the Republican Party, the 9/11 Commission. Winston Churchill didn't dance around the Nazis on fascism. We defeated fascism by calling it what it was and going to war with it. President Kennedy and President Reagan didn't dance around communism. They defeated communism by defining the enemy. Today, the enemy, in a generational, ideological struggle is radical Islamist extremism, and if this President, this administration, will not recognize that, this body needs to. This Congress understands what the threat is, and when we define it, we will defeat it, Mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Mimi Walters).

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5471) to combat terrorist recruitment in the United States, and for other purposes.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, we are a nation at war, and our own city streets have once again become the front lines. The tragedy in Orlando is the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil in the homeland since 9/11. It reminds us that nearly 15 years after that fateful day, our enemies are still dead set on attacking us from outside and from within. To defend our Nation, we need to take decisive action, and that is why we are here today. We will not stand on the sidelines while fanatics try to brainwash Americans. We will not allow Islamist radicals to bring terror to our cities. We will not wait patiently and hope the threat goes away. To honor the memory of the victims in Orlando, we must dedicate ourselves to preventing terrorists from gaining a foothold in our communities. That is why, today, I urge my colleagues to pass H.R. 5471, the Countering Terrorist Radicalization Act. The bill is an important step toward stopping acts of terror in our homeland, and I only wish it had been sent to the President's desk sooner. We have combined three counterterrorism bills into one. All of the bills were voted out of the House earlier this year with strong, bipartisan majorities. Together, these measures ramp up our efforts to keep violent extremists from luring Americans down the path to violence. This bill will put into place measures to help communities spot signs of violent radicalization and to actively combat the propaganda of terrorist groups like ISIS. For instance, it requires the Department of Homeland Security to use the testimonials of former extremists to dissuade others from making the wrong choice. Such individuals know the brutality of terrorist groups firsthand, and they can be powerful messengers for shutting down radical recruitment. Overall, this bill implements several important recommendations from a bipartisan task force we created last year to look at the threat and vulnerabilities to the homeland. Task force members found glaring gaps in our security and declared that we were not doing enough here at home to fight terror and terrorist radicalization--and they were right. Islamist terrorists were working to infiltrate our country online and across borders, and we have failed to keep up with the pace. In just the past 2 years, ISIS alone has been linked to nearly 100 plots against the West, and the United States was the top target. Sadly, the violence has become so frequent that we have begun referring to attacks by their location: Boston, Chattanooga, Paris, San Bernardino, Brussels, and now Orlando. We must resolve to do everything in our power to keep our cities from being added to this deadly list, and today we can make a difference. I would like to thank Representatives John Katko, Barry Loudermilk, and Chuck Fleischmann for their leadership on these bills that were incorporated into this piece of legislation. I would also like to thank the committee's ranking member, Bennie Thompson, for his leadership and the other Democrats on our committee for their bipartisan work on this task force and on these measures. While radicalism may be resurgent worldwide, I want to remind my colleagues that we still have the upper hand. Our resilient response to the Orlando tragedy has sent a message to America's enemies that we will not be intimidated, we will not allow fanatics to attack our freedoms, and that resolve will allow us to prevail over anyone who seeks to do this country harm. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter).

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), the majority whip.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Loudermilk).

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Dick Stockton and his wife Liz of Wellington, Florida for their continuous support for our men and women in uniform and their families through their charitable non-profit the Blue Sky Foundation. As avid tennis players with successful careers on and off the court, Dick and Liz 's passion for the game of tennis and community has resulted in a combined 40 years either playing the game, teaching the game, or giving back to their community through the game of tennis. It was this mutual love of tennis and community that led Dick and Liz to establish Blue Sky Foundation, Inc. in 2008. This non-profit charitable organization was originally established with the goals of raising funds for different children's charities in order to give them a hope for a better tomorrow through sporting event fund raisers. However, also seeking a way to pay tribute to past and current service members for their sacrifice to our country, Dick and Liz created the ``Boots on the Court Program'' which offers free tennis clinics from former tour players and certified teaching professionals to active service members, spouses, children, veterans, and wounded warriors. Since their first clinic in July of 2013, Boots on the Court has traveled to 12 different locations and put on more than 18 different events across the nation and touched countless numbers of lives. This month, on June 18th, Boots on the Court will be hosting their next event right here in Washington D.C. at Joint Base Andrews. Mr. Speaker, I would like to encourage all military men and women in the area to attend this fantastic event and once again thank Dick and Liz Stockton and the staff at Blue Sky Foundation for their continued support of communities and military men and women across the nation.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, the traveling public is suffering from staggeringly long airport wait times. As the busy summer travel season has begun, I am consistently hearing reports of missed flights, delays, and two-hour plus wait times at TSA security checkpoints. This bipartisan legislation includes meaningful reforms that the Homeland Security Committee has identified to address wait times, while making sure that the traveling public remains safe. I also want to encourage the Senate to act on other House-passed bills that would help alleviate checkpoint wait times. TSA's Admiral Neffenger testified before my committee that the provisions outlined in H.R. 5338 would help optimize checkpoints and reduce the burden on TSA and passengers. Our bill has also received overwhelming support from transportation stakeholders, such as the airport and airline community. The Checkpoint Optimization and Efficiency Act redeploys TSA personnel to enhance staffing and increase operational capability, allowing more screening lanes to be open. The bill ushers in a new era of transparency and accountability between TSA and its airport and airline stakeholders, while pushing continued expansion of TSA's PreCheck program, which the House has already sought to expand with the passage of the TSA PreCheck Expansion Act. Mr. Speaker, the President's recent budget requests have failed to predict the resources that were needed to mitigate this problem before it started. In fact, last year, TSA gave $100 million back to the U.S. Treasury. Now, Secretary Johnson has had to ask Congress for reprogramming requests to alleviate the burden placed on TSA operations. While these reprogramming requests were necessary, I am pleased that this legislation will go a step further by reallocating existing assets in a much more effective manner. I wish to thank Chairman Katko for his leadership on this important issue, as well as each of the cosponsors of the bill. In particular, I wish to thank Ranking Member Rice and Representative Keating for lending their support to the bill and for their engagement and work on enhancing transportation security. I urge my colleagues to support this critical legislation.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4743, the National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium Act of 2016. This bill allows the Department of Homeland Security to work with a cybersecurity consortium to carry out training, technical assistance and simulation exercises for State and local officials, critical infrastructure owners and operators and private industry. The National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium, based at the University of Texas San Antonio's Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security, provides research-based cybersecurity-related training and exercises to increase cybersecurity preparedness across the nation. Other members of the Consortium include the Texas Engineering Extension Service in the Texas A&M University system, the University of Memphis, the University of Arkansas System, and Norwich University. Last December, I helped usher through the landmark Cybersecurity Act of 2015. That legislation helps protect our nation's private sector and federal networks which are under continuous threat from foreign hackers and cyber terrorists. H.R. 4743 will be a value add in better securing the Nation's overall cybersecurity preparedness. Locally, first responders and government officials as well as critical infrastructure owners and operators and private industry are bombarded with cybersecurity threats in the same way as at the federal level. Helping organizations working to incorporate cybersecurity risk and incident prevention and response into State and local emergency plans is just one of the elements this bill encourages. Allowing DHS to work with organizations like the Consortium, will ensure more tools are available back at home for those working to prepare for and combat cyber attacks on a regular basis. I support this bill and urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, on April 27, 2016, I missed the following votes: H.R. 4923--American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2016-- ``Yea.'' H.R. 699--Email Privacy Act--``Yea.'' S. 1890--Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016--``Yea.'' H.R. 4498--HALOS Act Amendment No. 1--``Nay.'' P.Q--``Yea.'' Rule--``Yea.'' MTR--``Nay.'' Passage--``Yea.'' Had I been present for these votes, with the exception of H.R. 4498 Amendment No. 1 and MTR where I would have voted ``nay'', I would have voted ``yea'' for each.