HARMAN BILL TO UNDERSTAND AND AVERT HOMEGROWN TERROR POISED TO PASS HOUSE

Lawmaker says steps must be taken now to prevent “Made in the USA” suicide bombers

Washington, D.C. This morning the House of Representatives debated H.R. 1955, The Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007.  The bill is expected to pass later today by an overwhelming bipartisan margin. 

Authored by Reps. Jane Harman (D-Venice) and Dave Reichert (R-Bellevue) – Chair and Ranking Member, respectively, of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence – H.R. 1955 seeks to understand the root causes of radicalization by creating a National Commission on the Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism as well as a Center of Excellence for the Prevention of Radicalization and Home Grown Terrorism to examine the social, criminal, political, psychological and economic roots of domestic terrorism.  The bill also requires the Department of Homeland Security and other Federal agencies to work with U.S. allies to learn about their experiences with homegrown terror.  Below is the statement Harman delivered on the House floor during today’s debate on H.R. 1955:

On 9/11, we were attacked by foreigners who had come to this country legally. 

The next time – and, sadly, I believe there will be a next time – my assumption is that many who attack us will already be here, and some will be US citizens.  Homegrown terror is a phenomenon many countries are scrambling to understand, including the British – as they are under major threat from it.  Theirs is a peculiar kind, with a large Pakistani population that is not well assimilated. 

But America has a problem too, unique in nature, and we fail to understand it at our peril.  Far from being immune to the danger of homegrown terror – think Timothy McVeigh or Theodore Kaczynski – the threat today is infinitely greater and more likely to be influenced by events in the Middle East or by the larger struggle against radical Islam.

What causes an individual or group to, first, coalesce around a set of radical principles or a charismatic leader – activities permitted by our Bill of Rights – but subsequently to embrace a violent agenda, intended to inflict maximum pain and disruption on his neighbors – potential treason – is not well understood.

In recent testimony before our Intelligence Subcommittee, some common traits and characteristics emerged.  Said RAND Corporation’s Bruce Jenkins:  “…it is the same age group that is susceptible to being recruited into gangs….These are young men who are going through…identity crises, looking to define themselves….[If you have] a narrative that exalts violence, that attempts to project that violence as a personal obligation…that offers the tantalizing prospect of clandestinity, identity, all of those are very appealing to that specific age group.”

Combine that personal adolescent upheaval with the explosion of information technologies and communications tools – tools which American kids are using to broadcast messages from al Qaeda – and there is a roadmap to terror, a “retail outlet” for anger and warped aspirations. 

Link that intent with a trained terrorist operative who has actual capability, and a “Made in the USA” suicide bomber is born.

HR 1955 was carefully constructed by Dave Reichert and me, as Ranking Member and Chairman of the Homeland Security Intelligence Subcommittee.  The bill passed out of Subcommittee and full Committee unanimously.

This bill has strong bipartisan origins.  And as one who believes that this body’s best work is done on a bipartisan basis, I think that this bill is a testament.

Though not a silver bullet, the legislation will help the nation develop a better understanding of the forces that lead to homegrown terrorism, and the steps we can take to stop it.

Free speech, espousing even very radical beliefs, is protected by our Constitution – but violent behavior is not. 

Our plan must be to intervene before a person crosses that line separating radical views from violent behavior, to understand the forces at work on the individual and the community, to create an environment that discourages disillusionment and alienation, that instills in young people a sense of belonging and faith in the future.

The legislation before us today offers that opportunity.  It is, I would suggest, the key to prevention. 

If we fail to prevent, the best we can do is manage consequences.

Prevention is better.  I urge an aye vote.

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