Transcripts For CSPAN2 Senior Officials Testify On Homeland Security Threats 20170928

This hearing of the Senate Committee and Homeland Security Governmental Affairs committee is called to order. This is our annual threats to the homeland hearing. I want to welcome our witnesses. I like to start by acknowledging the victims of the hurricanes and in houston texas, florida, throughout the caribbean but particular puerto rico. Im sure we will be discussing that quite a bit. Maybe it wasnt contemplated when we first set up this hearing on the other threats. There are threats occurring throughout the nation and we will acknowledge that. All of the individuals are in our thoughts and prayers. Im sure everyone on this committee joins me in that. We are pleased to welcome the acting secretary of department of fullness security, elaine duke, the director of the fbi, christopher wray. The director of the National Counterterrorism center, nicholas rasmussen. We want to thank all of you for your service. This is perilous times, that face our homeland are growing pure there growing and metastasizing. I do not envy any of your tasks. These are serious responsibilities and we are all grateful that you stepped up to the plate and with quality individuals with real talent. The Mission Statement of this committee is simple. To enhance the economic and National Security of america and to promote the efficient, more efficient accountable government. Very similar messenger some of the Mission Statements of your own departments and agencies. I do not want to spend a lot of time because we have got a number of members here but again, i just want to acknowledge your service to this nation comedy sacrifice that you and your families are undertaking to serve this nation. And with that i will turn it over. Thank you very much mr. Chairman. Director wray and rasmussen, thank you for being here today. Secretary duke i welcome you to the committee for the first time as the departments acting secretary. I want to let you know that i have fidgety efforts that you and fema are making to assist the victims of hurricanes in texas and florida and puerto rico. I will have to say that we are very concerned about what we are seeing in puerto rico. I know there have been logistical challenges because of the devastation in puerto rico. But im looking forward to the briefing that we will receive today from fema about what is actually occurring on the ground and those americans are very deserving of whatever it takes for us to address the crisis. The humanitarian crisis that is impacting 3. 5 american citizens in puerto rico as we speak today. The hearing today is about threats to the homeland. Heartbreakingly just last month, we suffered a terrorist attack here at home. The violence perpetrated by White Supremacists and neonazis at the charlottesville rally with tragic violence and evil. It stunned many of us. The thought that chance and blood and soil transfer not a 21stcentury american college. The boldness and the outspokenness of something that is so evil, proudly marching under a nazi flag is something that i think many of us did not think we would see in this country. But now we have seen it. I direct your attention to a document that is on the easel. I think Many Americans understand that we have from White Supremacists, and others. This data comes from the gao. This is not from a think tank or anyone that has bias. This is from the government auditors. We have had 62 incidents since 9 11. 106 fatalities. By the white supremacist, antigovernment and other violent extremists. Compare that to 23 acts of violence by islamic violent extremists. The fatalities are almost equal. And so one of my goals at this hearing today is to get specific responses as to whether or not the level of investigation response matches the level of threat as it relates to these two types of terrorists that want to do harm. And i am worried that we have, this committee is a good example, we have had multiple hearings. On the threat of isis. As it relates to Homeland Security. We have had zero hearings about the threat of domestic terrorists and the threat that they pose in our country and our response to it. We also face the threats from foreign terrorist organizations like isis and those inspired by them. We only need to look overseas over the past four months to see what our allies have suffered. The suicide bomber in manchester, england in june. The pedestrians on the London Bridge and in august a van in barcelona, spain. This month, a bucket bomb on a london subway. We know the organizations are targeting europe. We know that they are also in addition to domestic terrorists, there are also Foreign Terrorists that want to kill americans and you want to importantly radicalize americans here at home to do so. That is why we depend on you, the men and women of the dhf, the fbi and the and ctc. We rely on you to keep america safe. That is why i am so concerned about some of the budget choices made by the administration. For instance, mass transit locations and other soft targets where large people gather is served as prime targets. In addition to Aviation Security, the tsa helped secure mass transit passenger rails, freight well, highways, buses, pipelines and seaports. According to tsa 4 billion trips are taken each year on mass transit. The president s budget plans to cut critical tsa programs at a time that we cannot afford to let up when it comes to security measures. A large portion of the cut is taken from the viper team. They are deployed across the country to provide critical assistance with securing airports, subways and bus terminals. By the way, they also deployed to houston to help with the property. The president s budget would number 43 million reducing viper teams from 31 down to just 18. To cover the entire country. President s budget would also other dhs programs that provide critical programs. There is one that would help prepare kansas city plant and enhance Communication Systems another that will allow st. Louis to build an integrated response structure among First Responders. This is a type of assistance we should be providing our cities in the face of threats like london, barcelona and manchester. But the president s budget will eliminate all of these Grant Programs for next year. There unfortunately is not enough time in seven minutes or single hearing all of the threats our country faces. We face cyber ransomware, russia trying to hack elections, this month dhs ordered agencies to remove Cybersecurity Software from federal Computer Systems because of its manufacturers ties to russian intelligence. We have Border Security issues, we even have potential threats to agriculture. Just last month they had a roundtable in kansas city to learn what agritourism can do to us and the food supply. So we are here to talk about the greatest threats that america faces what we are doing and most importantly, what we can do to help you in your most important work. Thank you very much. Okay senator i would ask consent that my written statement be entered into the record. It is tradition to swear in witnesses so if you stand and raise your right hand. The first witness is the honorable elaine duke. She is acting secretary of the Department Upon the security. She became acting secretary on july 31. She served as deputy secretary since april. Her previous decades of federal Service Included two years in the departments undersecretary for management. Thank you secretary duke. [inaudible] those that shield our nation from threats of terror each and every single day. Last night we learned of a cbp agent that was shot and is critically ill in jacksonville, florida. Each week i sign out condolence letters for Law Enforcement officers and it is on behalf of them that i testify today and came back to service. In recent weeks, hurricane harvey, irma, josc and maria have placed a spotlight on natural disasters. With femas leadership our department and the whole federal government have come together to respond to these crises. I am impressed with the professional sample professionalism i have witnessed. But there is a long road ahead in puerto rico. For those in disasters let me say this, i promise to do everything in my power to bring relief. We will stand with you, sidebyside in the weeks and months and years to come. Natural disasters are not the only threats we face as a nation. Right now, the terrorist threat to our country equals and in many way exceeds that in the. Around 911. We are seeing a surgeon terrorist activity because of the fundamentals of terrorism has changed. Our enemies, their crowdsourcing, violent, online promoting a doityourself approach that involves using any weapons that they can get their hands on easily. The primary International Terror threat facing our country is from global jihadist groups. However, the department is also focused on the threat of domestic terrorism. Ideologically, motivated extremists. Here in the United States are a threat to our nation, our people and our values. I condemn this hate and violence. In my department, we are focused on countering this. Dhs will not stand on the sidelines as these threats spread. We will not allow terrorism to become the new normal. We are tackling the dangers ahead in two ways. First, we are rethinking Homeland Security for a new age. There is no longer a home game and an away game. The line is blurred and the threats are connected across borders. That is what dhs is moving towards a new integrated approach. Bringing together intelligence, operations, interagency engagement, and International Actions like never before. Second, we are raising the baseline of our security posture. Across the board. We are looking at everything from travelers screening to information sharing. Higher threat levels mean that we need higher standards. For example, we are now requiring all foreign governments to share Critical Data with us on terrorists and criminals. And to help us confidently identify their nationals. We must know who is coming into our country and make sure they do not pose a threat. That is why i recommend it and the president approved test but tailored restrictions to countries that do not cooperate with us on immigration screening and bedding. This will protect america and hold foreign governments accountable. We are elevating Aviation Security standards. Our ongoing global Aviation Security plan which we began this summer is making us bound flights more secure and it is raising the baseline of Aviation Security worldwide. We are also making historic moves to keep dangerous individuals and goods from entering america illegally. That includes building a wall in the southwest border. And cracking down on Transnational Criminal Organizations that bring drugs, violence and other threats across our borders. Within our borders we are rededicating ourselves to terrorism prevention. To keep extremists from radicalizing our people. As part of this effort, we are prioritizing education and community awareness. We are redoubling our efforts to stop terrorists, recruitment and emphasizing importance of Early Morning to make sure that communities report suspicious activity before it is too late. Americans are also alarmed by the spike in cyber attacks. Our adversaries continue to develop advanced capabilities online. They seek to undermine our Critical Infrastructure, target our livelihood and our secrets and threaten our democracy. On behalf of the entire department, i appreciate the Critical Role this committee plays in helping us execute our mission. I also respectfully ask the committee to focus on reauthorizing the department as quickly as possible. Thank you for letting me appear today and i look forward to your questions. Thank you secretary duke. The next witness is christopher wray. He is the director of the federal bureau of investigations. On august 2, 2017 he was sworn in as the eighth fbi director. He previously served as assistant attorney director, attorney general of the department of justice in charge of criminal division. Director wray. [inaudible] members of the committee, for the opportunity to talk to you today about the threats here in the homeland and the tremendous work being done by the people at the fbi to confront those challenges. From my earlier years in Law Enforcement and National Security i already knew how outstanding the men and women of the bureau are. But to see it over the last week from his position makes me feel more honored to be the director. There mission focused, passionate, determined to be the very best at protecting the american people. And upholding the rule of law. Having been away from government for number of years, some of the changes i have now seen in the first few weeks upon getting back abstractly particular. The evolution of the threats, the expertise developed in the capabilities that have been built. Changes in technology have dramatically transformed the nature of the threats that we face and challenged our ability to confront those threats. In the terrorism early in my prior experiences primarily with large structured terrorist organizations like al qaeda. And to be clear we still confront threats from large structure organizations like al qaeda planning largescale sophisticated tax. But we also face groups like isil. And they inspire people to take to the streets with crude but effective weapons like hatchets and car bombs. These are smaller in scale but greater in volume and these organizations often move from plotting to action in a very very short period of time with very little planning. And using lowtech and widely available attack methods. These terrorists use of social media and Encryption Technology has made it harder to find the messages of hate and destruction they are spreading. In harder to pinpoint these messages are gaining traction with here in the homeland. The same can be said of domestic extremist movements that collectively pose a study threat of violence and economic harm to the us. In that instance primarily through loan offenders. In the cyber arena, the threats are not only increasing in scope and scale, theyre also becoming increasingly difficult to investigate. Cyber criminals have increased the sophistication of their schemes that are harder to detect. What was once a comparatively minor threat, someone hacking for fun or bragging rights and trying to prove a point just so he could do it has now turned into fullblown nationstate manipulation and a multimillion dollar business. In a counterintelligence arena, foreign governments pose a rising threat to the us. That threat also is more complex and more varied than it has been at any time in the fbi history. Historically, as the committee may know, counterintelligence focused on protecting Us Government secrets from foreign intelligence services. Today in addition, we face threats from nationstate targeting not just our National Security secrets but our ideas and our innovation. We now see threats not just from traditional Intelligence Officers but from less traditional spies posing as businesspeople or students or scientists. All of those threats are amplified by the growing challenge that we in the Law Enforcement community referred to as going dark. It affects the spectrum of our work. The exploitation of encrypted platforms present serious challenges to Law Enforcement ability to identify, investigate and disrupt threats. Whether it is i want to add to that that obviously we all understand that whether it is instant messages, text, oldfashioned letters, citizens have the right to communicate with each other without unauthorized government surveillance and free flow of information is critical to democracy. But the benefits of our increasingly digital lives have been accompanied with new dangers. And we wrestle with how criminals can use these to vetted advantage. And lawful authority, the reality is we are all too often flying blind. We need to Work Together to find a thoughtful but quick and Effective Solutions. The news is not all bad. Not by a long shot. There are Great Strides being made. Intelligence is being far better integrated into our mission for the quality of our partnerships both across agencies, state and local, foreign are at a whole new level. While great progress has made we need to keep improving. I think the changes in technology are one of the primary concerns that we have. I look forward to answering the committees questions. Thank you, director. Our final this is mr. Nicholas rasmussen. He is the director of the National Counterterrorism center. On december 18, 2014 he was sworn in as the fifth director of the National Counterterrorism center. He previously served as the Deputy Director since june 2012. Director rasmussen. Good morning, mr. Chairman. Members of the committee. I am pleased to be here with my colleagues and close partners. I am talking about elaine duke and christopher wray. We are confronting an array of terrorist as we sit here today the discipline of prevention is evolving and changing beneath our feet every day as well. Requires that we spond with extraordinary agility. I will briefly discuss two areas to complement what my colleagues have already said. First quickly i will share what we have seen by way of changes or a shift in priority in the terrorism landscape since i was sitting before the committee one year ago. Second i will say a few words about we can do a better job tackling the threat of those were mobilized to extremist violence here at home. Lets begin with what has changed for his nooses this time last year. The developments in three principal areas. The collision success and shrinking the territory the isis controls in iraq and syria as compared to one year ago. A significant uptake and a task inspired by isis that we have seen against western interest across the globe in the last year. As compared to the number of attacks directed by the isis group from its headquarters in iraq and syria. And finally the third new threat development i will point to this year is the resurgence of aviation threats. Reaching a level of concern that we in the Intelligence Community and not face since al qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula taught in 2010. To start with isis losses on the battlefield. Since i spoke with the Committee Last year isis lost a number of Senior Leaders has been expelled from key cities and suffered other defeats. As they cope with the loss of territory they will look to preserve by operating as a covert operation and insurgency. In some ways they are reverting to their roots. With tactics recently. 2004 through 2008. When it operated as an insurgency called al qaeda in iraq. However the territorial losses unfortunately do not translate into a corresponding reduction in their ability to inspire attacks. While progress has been made and shrinking the size of territory that they control, this is not diminished their control to inspire attacks are beyond the conflict zone. Over the last zone attacks have taken place in the united kingdom, other countries in europe. This highlight the global threat. While this is testament to really effective and strong Law Enforcement and intelligence work, we also know that there ability to reach globally is still largely intact. His uptake and inspired attacks is in contrast to the pattern of western attached directed and enabled by the Group Headquarters in syria that we saw in 2015 and 2016. All of this underscores our belief that there is not in fact the direct link between isis is battlefield position in iraq and syria and the groups capacity to inspire external attacks. It makes here that the battlefield losses alone are insufficient to mitigate the threat that we face from isis. Winning on the battlefield in places like mosul and raqqa is necessary but insufficient in the process of eliminating the isis threat. As a result we need to be patient in terms of expecting return on the investment we are making with our campaign against isis. It will simply take longer than we would like to translate victory on the battlefield to a genuine threat reduction. It is also worth the same as focused as we are addressing isis, al qaeda has never stopped being a primary counterterrorism priority for the community in the United States. The various categories have also managed to sustain recruitment, maintain relationships and there are sufficient resources to enable their operations. This is a strikingly Resilient Organization and we are well aware of that. I will touch quick on the Third Development that has stood out over the last year. The threat to civil aviation. As youre well aware terrorist attacks aviation as a way to garner local attention. Aviation has taken center stage in the last year as evidenced at both isis and al qaeda groups have demonstrated the ability to conduct attacks. All of these that have succeeded and failed to demonstrate several things. First they show the persistent focus of terrorist on targets of western aviation. Second, it shows terrace are aware of security procedures. They will actually do and they try to learn from it. And thirdly suggested that as have an ability to adapt their practice in an attempt to defeat the Airport Security measures that we engage in. It is for these reasons that aviation related threats have long been and will remain at or near the top of those the things we worry about. Why dont i stop there mr. Chairman . I have some words to say about terrorism prevention and our efforts to deal with homegrown efforts but i will save that for questions. Thank you all for your testimony. I appreciate the attendance by the members. We have two rounds which im happy to accommodate but we will limit the questions to five minutes. I will ask witnesses as well, there is a pretty tried and true technique with two seconds remaining, respond quickly. We need to keep this thing going to respect everybodys time. Often times in these situations i was in for questioning but in light of the events in puerto rico, i would like to give secretary jude the opportunity to describe first of all the challenge, health fema, how your visit to the challenge in houston, florida and what we face in puerto rico. Puerto rico has immunity challenges. The capacity of the puerto rican government is severely diminished. Both because of hurricane irma, the prior existing financial situation and the devastation by the direct head of maria. Maria it was my motion of being a category five hurricane. The devastation is complete. So what we are doing is standing strong with the governor. We sent, we are attacking the areas of the diminished capacity. There is food and water on the island, there is gasoline on the islands. We are focused on today with search and rescue very much complete is distribution. We have asked the distance agencies to augment the local National Guard and distribute channels that we can get goods and gasoline out more quickly. That is what we are focused on today. The second thing we are focused on is communications. Right now we are primarily dependent on satellite phones which is not effective but it helps with emergencies. But it is not helping people find their loved ones. We are increasing the number satellite phones and we have at t on the island now. We are supporting them with getting their people and equipment there. They have agreed that they will restore any tower even if it is not theirs. And they are providing services to any person of puerto rico regardless of the carrier. We are working on the cell phone coverage. The electrical grid is more of a challenge. We are doing the assessment. It is completely devastated in terms of point of delivery. The Distribution System and the whole power system from start to finish is virtually gone. So that is going to be a longterm recovery. We are working with department of energy, the private industry and working on that. That is where we are there. The governor is Still Standing strong. We have dod trips support in the National Guard. The National Guard provided security. And we are in a fullcourt press. Additionally, we have texas and florida that were predominantly hit by the first two hurricanes. In texas last week we were able to sign a housing plan that really is going to bring people back to the communities quickly. It is a type of Housing Recovery Program that has never been done before and we are very proud. That texas is with us on that and wants to lead the housing recovery. In florida, electrical grid is restored predominantly. Key west still has challenges. The predominance of people in key west and mobile homes destroyed. That will be a challenge of how we recover the housing situation. Do we just restore with new mobile homes or do we try to provide something more resilient for those floridians as they recover . That is a summary. Im happy to answer your questions as we go forward. Two other questions to clarify. First of all in my memory i cannot remember three major disasters like this just back to back. Houston, florida and now puerto rico. Can you give us some sense of the number of federal employees including fema that are kind of on station, the three zones and also talk about the significance of President Trump he is done in terms of 100 percent funding in puerto rico and why that was necessary. We have over 10,000 federal employees on site right now. One of the things the president has done for irma, maria and harvey has declared declarations early. That has our response to get ahead of the measures. It has been hugely helpful. Additionally in puerto rico, yesterday he gave 100 percent cost share which means they do not have to contribute in the first 180 days. It has been hugely important and must getting industry there. The Electrical Industry and others didnt want to go there. Unless they knew they were getting paid. This has allowed us to mobilize industry to move forward. That is helpful. Additionally, i cant stop without thinking the cabinet members. We have Small Business administration, hhs, department of energy, mva, labor, everyone has come together with their assets in support of dhs and fema in the governors and the response. Secretary, thank you. It is good to hear that. I look forward to the detailed brief. In a some of my colleagues are also very interested in the specifics on the ground in puerto rico. Seems to me we should have known 100 percent match before the hurricane even hit. Clearly from the financial status of the island they were in no position to make a match. It is unfortunately have to wait this long to make that identification as 100 percent match. I want to talk about what i mentioned in my opening statement. Out of that most americans realize that the number of incidents by white supremacist militant antigovernment organizations are almost triple the number of attacks of those who identify with a Jihadist Movement internationally in this country. Can you director christopher wray, talk about how many do you have dedicated agents fulltime to investigating International Terrorism versus terrorism that has been responsible for almost as many deaths of the International Terrorism faith that is the white supremacist antigovernment militant right in this country. [inaudible] can you turn the microphone on . Thank you very much. First, i agree with you that the domestic terrorism threat is a very very serious one indeed. Something to spend a lot of our time focused on. I do not have sitting here right now, the allocation of the agents. That number but what i can tell you on this particular subject is that we have about 1000 open domestic terrorism investigations as we speak. And that over the past 11 to 12 months, i think weve had 100 trevor 176 arrests for domestic terrorism. Ive now been starting, in my first few weeks in the job getting to some of the field offices and there are significant numbers of agents who are working very very hard on that subject. So i can assure you that it is a tough top priority for us. Really appreciate if you would provide to the record some breakdown of the resources that are being allocated in these various areas. I think that the threat is one that if you ask most americans, they would assume it is a threat from isis influence is much greater and the reality of the fact do not support that. So i would like to get a better sense of the balance of resources in the area if you will. Lets talk about counterterrorism budget cuts. The president s budget calls for elimination of almost and a half billion dollars. In customer counterterrorism. While the same budget so that we need to build a wall that even Border Patrol agents say is not their top priority for Border Security. Can you talk about the substantial cuts and how that would impact the current counterterrorism efforts and security in a way that is possible for you to talk about . Either director rasmussen or any of the three of you . It is difficult for me to comment because the intelligence portion of the budget is, i dont think exactly what you have your fingers on with the question youre asking. In terms of resources i have available to me, at the National Counterterrorism center and comfortable that we have the resources necessary to carry out the various missions we have. Particularly some of the extra or additional work we are doing in the areas of screening and vetting to support secretary duke and her team at ths. We are very tiny slice so i do not want to, i am not in any way evading the question but im saying the resources i have available have not been significantly reduced. I am in a position to carry out my mission. Secretary duke, what about think everyone would agree the viper teams have been very effective. As they have worked around the country reducing the viper teams down to eight, are you going to try and advocate to reverse that as we move forward . Im hoping the appropriators will. Class we have to do a riskbased approach and we value the viper teams. They have had a significant mission. We funded those that we could within the constraints of balancing the risks with the demonstrated and legible value of the teams. Thank you mr. Chairman. I finished before five minutes i hope everyone follows ranking members excellent example. Senator portman. Thank you chairman. Welcome all three witnesses. Ms. Duke youre here from the first time as acting secretary. And director wray you here for the first time. Were glad youre still here, we need you. This has been a horrible Hurricane Season and our hearts go out to the victims in the wake of the devastation. Three storms that makes is probably the worst Hurricane Season we have experienced. Our thanks go after the First Responders and volunteers. Some for my state and the states were presented here that lent a hand to their fellow citizens. Our citizens today and the Virgin Islands and in puerto rico, i think a particularly difficult situation. I understand that in texas and florida weve also had a tough situation but we have the capability to get to handle it better at the state level. He talked a little bit about when youre starting to do secretary duke. My question really is about what more can be done by dod because as i understand it, and you mentioned distribution. There is gas on the island, there is food and water but is not getting out to the locations that need it. For too many locations that need it. It seems to me the infrastructure is going to have to be provided by the federal government. What he tells about dod corporation. It seems that youre not going to disney fema folks, you will need bodies in vehicles and other infrastructure, communications infrastructure. What is dod doing and what can i do more of . Finally, what more can we do . And you need to come to us for additional appropriations later this fall. But what can congress be doing right now . Dod is providing tremendous support. We have about 60 ships in the area between dod and coast guard. With additional on the way including a hospital ship. One of the things dod is doing that is critically important is assessing the forts in the airports. If we can get the ports in the air force to full operations that will be huge. We were able to reactivate the close air force base, Roosevelt Roads peers know were flying our supplies through that airport and have been able to open puerto rico to commercial flights to allow persons to come back to the United States that want to come back. I think what dod is doing is helping us get the supplies they are but also helping us open the access roads. They also leading the degree removal which is huge. We still have areas that we cannot access by roads. We did send more troops done yesterday. Including a general that we enjoyed the coordinating on the ground peers we do have a general onsite now that i think is going to help speed things up and put decisionmaking on the ground. I think that was a big step forward. In terms of congress, there is funding. We did ask yesterday in a congressional call to hold off congressional visits because of the limited airspace. Spacing between flights and we thank you all for doing that. I know many of you want to get there and see it and we thank you for postponing until at least next week. A congressional visit so we can use every minute of air space and time for those that have survived this terrible event. Thank you. It is an urgent situation i think it is different response needed. Glad to have our military resources are being used for the think it is required. Lets change the subject for a while and think about fentanyl and carfentanil. Biochemical issues. As we know we have no Current Crisis in the country. In fact, more people are dying every day and my state of ohio, your home state and on our states. Last year, it is not getting better, it is getting worse. More deaths from overdoses from heroin, synthetic heroin. Like fentanyl and carfentanil. In Car Accidents is the number one cause of death now in my state and in our country. By the way, 58 percent of deaths in ohio over the last year came from fentanyl. Not from heroin. And this is coming into our country. By the us mail system. Primarily from china. So this is a threat, it is in and asked him if this is an external threat. We cannot to get them to stop this poison from coming into our communities. I know you are aware of the issue. He tells what progress you are making to stop this and do support our legislation and the members of this committee are cosponsors of this legislation . It is pretty simple. Just as the post office has to provide the best information to Law Enforcement to be able to identify the packages and avoid the threat. Absolutely. I think the work of the committee has helped. I am meeting with the postmaster general next week. We have done visibility into a certain percentage of packages but it has to increase. Additionally we are seeing the routing change. As we address china, the routing is changing to some stops. So we are definitely focused on that. I feel confident the attorney excuse me, the postmaster general is at the table now. Would like your support on this legislation and because it is a change in law to require the post office to do other private carriers have to do. They know how to take advantage of our weaknesses. And this is a weakness. By the way the product is also being with a nice peers of carfentanil particular to director wray hope you will focus on that as well. I have a concern about terrorist groups and state actors using this as a biological weapon as well. Senator langford. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you all for being here. Know that you are bringing duke thank you for stepping up. You came to her with general kelly and then he ran off another dobson thank you for stepping up. I know we have a visit scheduled in my office i believe to go through several details. I will skip through some of those. Let me ask you some specific questions about puerto rico first. There was a waiver requested for the jones act waiver for puerto rico. That was denied. That waiver was given to houston, it was given to florida. Obviously the Virgin Islands, they are away from the jones act entirely pentecostal lampshades going back and forth. Flamenco and the timsince that this cost them about 1,000,000,000 and a half dollars in Economic Activity every year. But they are especially needing this now and just getting nestled in. Can you help me understand why and where the conversation is on jones act for puerto rico . First of all, we do not know of fuel shortages on the island of puerto rico. The challenge for todays getting it distributed. In terms of the jones act waiver, we have researched this. I read this in the news. We have no known jones act waiver request. We did receive a congressional letter today. Where double checking to make sure it is not true. There are no forages, we are looking jones ask you a link is used appropriately. There are two issues. What is the process afforded carriers with us flag carriers for the other is tariffs and other things that make the fuel cost higher in puerto rico. That is what we are hearing. People suffering from the parents to request or actively engage in that it would help them. It is a week to get a vessel to them through the longer it takes to get the waiver done then the vessels cannot even start getting there. To be able to get that would be helpful. Another interesting point we can talk about later on is dealing with fema. And the decision about nonprofits. Congress years ago said nonprofits were included in Disaster Relief aid. The Administration Previous administrations a deep run that is excluding charges. Im still trying to get a definition of that because often the churches of the ones that are the Community Location where food and everything is distributed from there. But then they also cannot get Disaster Relief. The museum or the library or whatever around them can. That is why think the administration has the authority to make this decision. Congress is a race we can assist. Previous administrations have designed nonprofits as a church. So with a synagogue, mosque or church should not apply on that but we could talk about that later. I want to talk about Election Security as we deal with countering violent extremism and whats happening and destabilizing us. We watched this weekend, the russians and their farms in internet folks start being they were saying take a knee they were trying to raise the noise in america and make a big issue, it seemed like an even bigger issue as they were trying to push divisiveness. We continue to be able to see that and will see it again in the elections. My question for you is, does dhs, you have the responsibility to oversee elections. That is nationwide and to work with our state that organize the elections. Does dhs have the resources it needs to do onsite assessments for all of the states that requested between now and the 2018 elections . We do have the resources to do it. Not all states have requested. There still an issue in some states if they want the federal involvement. But we do have the resources. Okay we will follow up on that in greater detail. I visit with dhs focus on the design of the border wall. Trying to work through the Border Security for the southern border. Several members of this committee were also involved in some of those conversations. We are still waiting on details, descriptions, design, cost. The cost per mile of the border wall 10 years ago is about three and half million dollars. The initial request was about 20 million. Per mile. So we are waiting for not only why the dramatic increase in cost, with the final design will look like but also the longterm view of this. Not just look at the 77 miles requested currently but where do we go and in what order and how do we do it . And simple things that can be cheaper. For instance, getting rid of the very actively growing 2027488. That eradication would be important as well. Any comments you make about the future of the wall and where we are going. We have, i am looking at the plan next week. Well have it to congress shortly after. As a committed in my confirmation hearing, this is not included just the wall. It includes infrastructure, technology and other cosecuring mechanisms. Thank you, i will followup. Questions to follow up on that you are working on a northern border and southern border strategy. What is the timeline . Will have the northern border strategy by the end of the calendar year for the southern border strategy within the next month. That is critically important as we go through decisionmaking and as we look at cane eradication viewed another medication as mesquite. Clearly an arizona and is an Invasive Species there. Easy to hide. It needs to be eradicated so we have a better chance of catching border crosses the first mile in. I want to talk about cybersecurity. I do not have a lot of times i will do this quickly. Two questions. How do you grade our current vulnerability . In this country. A is impenetrable, and f being in trouble. How do you grade the current collaboration and coordination across executive Branch Agencies including dod . We will start with your secretary. Coordination across the federal agencies has gotten very high. I would probably give that a b because i never think were done. And we know the threat is significant. In terms of grades it would depend on the Critical Infrastructure sector. Right now we are focused on energy and Critical Infrastructure and the attacks on that. That was probably the highest threat right now. Because of the importance and the focus on that i would give it the lowest grade. Director . Senator, i would agree with secretary doucet on the cooperation side, i think there have been dramatic advances and progress in the weight of the number of the ppd 41 and other things. Much better coordination. Secretary duke i tend to be dissatisfied with our efforts. So maybe a b and threats, im still trying to get my head around them so i recall that incomplete. Nothing to add senator. I think we always hear there is coordination. And then an event happens and it seems like no one really seems to know what the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing. I would be very careful to give too high marks of coordination because im not sure we in the congress understand who is doing what and how it is being coordinated. And what we need to do. We have these one offs whether it is election challenges and then we look at what happened at the fcc. What happened at the obviously, the equifax penetration. And these have all created incredible challenges. One of the things we know about cyber is that it is critical. That we engage in a dialogue with the American Public about cybersecurity and cyber hygiene. Which agency has taken that onto really begin the process like you see something, Say Something, who is doing this, the actual education of the American Public on how they can be part of a Cybersecurity Network . That is our responsibility at Homeland Security. We are trying to resensitize americans to that name. There is much more to do. I think we are short. I think you ask anyone and who is that person who has been trying to train their kids on how they can protect themselves. It is incredibly vulnerable. Because this is as strong as the weakest link. I am deeply concerned that we dont really have a handle on what we are doing in cybersecurity and at the end of the day we will spend all of our time and resources looking at all of these other threats and completely miss one of the most serious threats that could be pursuing this country. Director wray, obviously, very concerned about what is happening in indian country. Pretty hard on your predecessor in terms of the role that the fbi plays and reservations my state. Missing women, across the board. I know you and i had a discussion in the bathroom. Youre working on it. I want to encourage you impersonally in spite of Everything Else is going on personally engaged. You are the only cop on the beat for many of my communities for suffering from record amounts of drug addictions and abuse. People suffering Violent Crime at much higher rates. Now, a continuation of maybe thirdparty or third country involvement from Law Enforcement. Please, Pay Attention to this. I know him to be a steady hand with the challenges his silent faces several what i got from him last night was so concerning what to read an excerpt and ask consent for the full email to be entered into the record. Without objection. The situation is critical theres no electricity anywhere on the island 40 of Running Water hospitals run the verge of collapse many had to transfer all patients to other facilities because they have run out of gas or generators. Patients are dying in their homes because they cannot fill prescriptions and do not have access to i. C. E. To keep the insulin cool or get dialysis with electricity. Entire communities the government cannot reach due to landslides and debris. This is happening in america today. Of the sec a dramatic increase in assistance then many thousands could die. So secretary duke of would like you to respond to the email and also what kind of planning in but was made when the storm hit. But here we are with a dire situation and my friend says we need the army in the National Guard deployed and this cannot wait another day despite federal agencies coordinating their is a limited presence of people throughout the communities. The president and Vice President and i spoke to the governor yesterday about 1 00. I will followup with him again to reach out to to meet directly brothers challenge is getting to the outer parts of the island because of the debris removal is so strong. So to use the dod to cope with distribution the early that is of the commonwealth would do itself have heard stories of shortages also of extortion so to avoid that were using dot for that as of yesterday afternoon. Thank you for that response but i have to tell you and theyre saying all their needs have not been met american lives are at stake and i am concerned why there were not more assets as soon as the storm hit were almost one week out. We have been airdropping. Is a challenge we will never stop board be satisfied. I have a number of questions on homelands security but i yield back. Senator peters . Thanks for being here today. Such as the travel ban that has significant consequences at the end of last year to seek a spike of antimuslim incidents in michigan off and rash of bomb threats against Jewish Community centers as well. That is why my colleague and i wrote a letter calling for the dhs and diego j. To provide communities with the resources they need they all believe this is something we have to address. Make no mistake there are some elements they have become emboldened and to look no further than the White Supremacy and charlottes fell so falling going up so how many agents do we have . Last day broader question what are the resources . What is your budget . In your department for domestic terrorism versus international . There is no specific delineation domestic versus international. We do believe homegrown violent extremist that motivation is the biggest threat that but no specific delineation. My answer is similar. We dont have allocations between the two we tend to move those other analysts seamlessly depending on the particular time period depending on that threat assessment on that community any response to the question of you could provide information how those allegations are occurring. We will see what we can provide to be helpful. I have no response the legislation recreated this specifically to make clear we were not to ring gauge and tracking and analyzing threats to domestic terrorism. The currently do not have any domestic so with this legislation be something we could consider . I am aware of ongoing discussions about the possibility of the domestic terrorism statute but there is not a domestic terrorism crime as such we refer to domestic terrorism as a category really it is the way in which we allocate which agents are squad will work on it. I will say in the domestic terrorism context we take the approach to use all the tools at our disposal so lot of those cases we can charge under gun charges and explosive charges and with state and local Law Enforcement who can bring straightforward easy to make cases. We have a lot of tools and i am looking forward to learning more about. We take both seriously oftentimes we noted is internationally motivated or domestically motivated so we take every threat and every act of violence very seriously they have a commonality with those International Terrorist organizations but this occurrence is stronger but also through Education Program to help communities respond and counter it. Are you ready senator . How was it going . Thank you for your service and for joining us here today. So the president has indicated a willingness to find Common Ground in legislation for erg uh huh daca students with an ongoing interest but they had the opportunity teetoo travel with some of my colleagues with the president s chief of staff of johnson and others but there are some places where the wall would make sense but if you think of the Pacific Ocean and mexico it doesnt make sense and a lot of places and i think you know, that. Is fiercely with long walls or fences with ramps make sense theres about Bear Mountain views of the fixedwing aircraft of the stationary towers are mobile towers with that surveillance but also tasked to do a search and rescue so then to look for a life raft so the idea whether fixedwing or helicopter they are tethered without sophisticated Surveillance Technology to see at night during bad weather and for those Long Distance for mexico of you dont have that technology it doesnt make much sense. Ic forces on the border makes sense and that they do their job better with better intelligence and informations hints sharing that information also with that needle in the haystack the you could make the needles bigger but it is also helpful if you make the haystack smaller by making sure future people come to cut into our country to make the space at that much smaller the last administration the bipartisan support in congress to address those root causes trying to get out of the countrys put just like at home depot you can do it we can help. Those all make sense were all looking at only in between points of entry but also points of entry with information sharing and our goal is to keep the bad people out and the licit movement of goods were not funding Transnational Criminal Organizations and we are open to doing that i offered to talk about the reform bill with any member to let you know, how that would play out and i would reaffirm that offer i n in dialogue with all of them and working through International Banks so how can we make it how to stay in the country is the ultimate goal and then look to set that up. So very briefly before we have any time that is expired . We have to have a multi disciplinary approach that is built into the act. Irresponsibility of the Intelligence Community to provide the best possible service for those who carry out the screening of individuals we made as a business process improvement of more work to be done for sure. Secretary to kim response to the jones act you were informed i am informed there have been at least two request from house members and another led by senator mccain because i am troubled live you are unaware that would suggest there is not a sufficient priority for porter rico in your agency. Is there somebody underneath you other than the fema director of that Agency Status and can i have the name of that person . We have the request from congress if i misspoke i apologize bills go to customs and Border Protection we do not have any from industry which is ready typically come from. Is there a person under you to report about the status of your agencys work in a direct in addition . Can you put somebody in place that is responding to congress as relating to the jones act . Yes. Follow up and give us a name. With that issue that senator mccain school raised i was troubled to hear the director although you are on top of it that your agency has 1,000 open investigations in 176 arrest. The fbi and issued a intelligence bulletin were you said separateness extremist will have violence over the next year so if we open in a congressional investigation according to their joint bulletin with those separateness that seco lead or in part of access to support their beliefs with the intellectual and moral superiority use of other races. I believe this committee has done a great job with congressional investigations when there are americans at risk of harm and violence so i would ask we do a similar investigation. With the issue of daca, secretary duke september 51 issued a memo rescinding daca said to make that decision to rescind daca you indicated there would be some period of time to apply the ayatollah with those two are working on the ground they have seen a slowdown in the Daca Recipients to apply will you extend the amount of time they will have . We have had no request. I did talk to one senator about a possible before extension but we have had no indication on daca recipience they are having trouble we did check to make sure it is an easy system to reapply and they do not have to reproduce their documents caddie had it an employment from those who are working on the ground to get information from them . To get a complete picture of what is happening . These young people are terrified at the better of the ground in california. They were told by your agency that if they submitted this comprehensive information about their background and status to apply for daca it would not be shared with i say abashed to the former secretary are you willing to keep the promise to the shell people to not share their information with vice . Can you answer that question finally it has not been answered when asked. I cannot unequivocably promise that. So we will not keep our promise to these children . I am not familiar the promise that was made to these children but i do know having to your non renewable suspension is not the answer i look forward to come up with a better solution. I will submit for the record with United States government told the german people applied we would not share their information with isis had you not seen it . No i have not. I will give a copy to you and certainly your staff. And i will get you an answer. Away like that before the end of the weeklies and also with you last testified with the new enforcement priorities that was a descending level of priority . The former secretary said there was no priority so which is the of policy of your agency in what is the policy on the ground . Those are enforcement priorities but the i. C. E. Agent is not restricted from apprehending anybody in violation of the law. There seven enforcement priorities have been instructed those on the ground which are the highest given the limited resources resources . Yes. Give that to me please. Now . We have a the d. A. Chess policy and the i. C. E. Policy they all say that is the priority and there is any targeted enforcement they are against that priority however if the i. C. E. Age it encounters one that is not a priority but is still the illegal immigrant there would be apprehended using the discretion of the i. C. E. Agent. Really . In terms of the investigation of white supremacist i met with of director prior to the steering to confirm he said 1,000 active investigations on white supremacist and isis related . But also do you take the threat of white supremacist terrorist any less seriously than those portrayed by isis . No we do not. We take both very seriously as hour focuses on violence and threats of violence against people in this country and that is our concern isnt ideology but the danger and threats towards people of the country. It is also true we have about 1,000 isis open investigations at this time so were very busy. Except for the difference for the foreign fighters is there any difference in your prosecution techniques . Is there any difference in that approach . In most ways they are but the biggest is that there isnt a domestic terrorism like this support to foreign terrorism and of course, there are certain investigative tools. Thanks to the witness is to be here today secretary duke testified or that you noted dhs lacks authority to counter threats from the an me a burial systems we are very involved with customs and Border Protection one of those said six test sites so can you describe it in greater detail of the Unmanned Aircraft what authorities you dont have or should have . We are seeing an increased use of drums they could be for surveillance over and materials but what we lack car a the signals or the ability to interdict the signals to determine if it is friend or foe type of drawing. Were not the only ones but because it is a new threat the ability to monitor does not exist generally. So to give direction of what would be helpful how you did better monitor those drawings with reasonable protections we be some information you can provide us to determine . And are you talking about the border or other locations . Could be others as well but other agencies have different types of problems we are looking for from the border states. The same kind of question whether you doing in this area we have a test site redeveloping these capabilities it could be something we could work on so from the fbi perspective you talk about the threat they present . It is the topic we are discussing a lot we do know that they have an interest in drones and with those expectations is coming here imminently. I think they are relatively easy to acquire and operate an quite difficult to disrupt and monitor soil like to try to figure out a solution. Any kind of group are they working on this issue right now . Starting with the intelligence were we saw isis and other groups using these capabilities we brought the intelligence professionals to present a clearer picture to share with state and local partners to explain the tactics and techniques that those could be used to bring harm to communities like a grenade or explosives so sharing that is the front step the first up with those true defensive measures that they could employ a at a manageable cost. There is a community of experts that is two years ago it was not a problem then it is the emerging problem now is a real problem. So food takes the lead in that effort . Is there a coordinating mechanism to develop a strategy and implement . Were simply trying to catalog so it isnt just the Law Enforcement committee that the Broader Community with the equities here as well. Im trying to convene everybody in the federal government who has a stake in this and that work is underway. I am participating in that. I dont know who is the true bellybutton thomas. Who is a good lead to do this in the best way . Getting your recommendation to find out what you think to get a lead. I will come back with a better answer with the best place to plug in. We started to talk about this with national Homeland Security council was an interagency process and that would be the best process to come up with a federal position. To find a good the to make sure were helping. I appreciate your service by alaskan digressions dont hold this against the they will go to mr. Duke. To require a report to be sent back to congress by august 4th talking about the most Effective Solutions for the southern border. We have yet to receive that. First of all the you know, about that . Can you give me a timeline . We are beyond finding season we may deal with that next week is very important that we will not give you a blank check. I do know about it. I am supposed to receive it next week but if you have specific needs an issue deal with the funding bill we can work with you on that. Is supposed to be a comprehensive report you will look for the most costeffective ways to make the southern border secure that the politics of a wall should not be in the picture but what you believe are the best options to make the border secure. We should not be backing into a thing but looking forward giving us ideas what you want with the potential cost. That is what i need not over 80 miles of the border but on the border. Are we on the same page . Absolutely. It think it is critically important nobody doesnt want secure borders but the last proposal was 24 million per mile i dont think that is the most effective way. We have technology and by the way you can tweak technology to make it more effective. I hope we have a good comprehensive look for you are the professionals we need an unbiased political opinion what is best for this country. Thank you for that. The president s budget sought to aluminate Law Enforcement with over 300 nationwide. I do not understand what went into that and i am not blaming you because it was drafted before you were in this position but they would have fewer people on the ground it would burden the Unfunded Mandate which by the way i do not believe they have the resources to fund. We have seen plenty of tragedies so what is your position . Do you believe funding tsa is a critical, a critical component . And what did your conversation with the folks above you on this issue . Teeeight just position is we try to look at what expenditure brings the most value to Aviation Security some reductions in the budget like having someone posted at the exit of behavioral recognition where we dont have evidence or we feel is a lower risk of protection we do believe we have to be more efficient but it is an ongoing process we have to refine that. I appreciate that but the Reimbursement Program is critical and by the way i cannot thank you enough the security cost money getting key would agree in this to be the epitome of shooting yourself in the foot. Thank you for your service. Cyberterrorism is a an emerging threat here in montana and two weeks ago the Columbia Falls School District precedes Cyber Threats promising harm and demanding a ransom the forced closure of 30 schools across multiple School Districts affected 15,000 Montana Children it was unprecedented we have never seen that before the culprit has been identified as the Dark Overlord a overseas criminal organization are you aware the cyberthreats with the fbi investigating. Yes we are actively involved in that matter your referring to in montana. I want to be careful not to discuss an open investigation but there are variants that are hitting that they illustrate it is everywhere it is a logger just ran somewhere to a fortune 500 company that hospitals and schools and it is growing we have a lot of matters on going an been other cases we redirect into the hands of Law Enforcement but make no mistake is a very serious threat with fine details but what is the fbi doing to attribute the cybercrimes to bring the criminals to justice . There are a variety of technological things we can do also working with partners to Exchange Information to identify the tell tale signs one of the things b. C. More and more in this area was hallett trans since boundaries so we are working more and more with the partners so we can deal with the elusive says. General kelly in his short time at the helm boosted Department Morale in one of those under reported stories is what you have seen in the apprehension coming across the southwest border. So to share in these remarkable improvements that our quantifiable of 60 or 70 percent and i have confidence you will continue so the recent cyberthreats that had montana ans shocked and nervous but as you mentioned in your testimony americans will not be intimidated and also to punish those that exploit cyberspace so what efforts has the just taken . We went up six points an Employee Survey also. Be greatly respect that so thank you. We are working with the critical ever structure cybersecurity has to start with those that own the system so through monitoring and diagnostics to protect federally the federal system to keep that critical ever structure aware of threats that might come out recently one of the more severe actions was a significant threat in terms of software so it depends on the situation but we work closely with the fbi so there was seamless from being a criminal activity. Last year prior to your testimony that director testified in his basic with those capabilities of global reach to have a larger the cohesive enemy a month or two later to say despite the progress isis ability to carry out terrorist attacks is not to be significantly diminished as a reminder of the groups global reach to say that capacity or capability has not been mitigated is that your feeling we really are making great gains is their global reach and diminished diminished . That means profound with one distinction that i point to we have seen a reduction in the ability to direct and command and control their safe haven that is the good news but the bad news the expanded ability with those places across europe been inside the a homeland. The good news and bad news element under command and control structure can be larger and more complex and not to minimize for those two would acquire a firearm. I dont want to overstate the threat is mitigated. And to mitigate the battlefield successes is necessary it just will produce the results. And director comey testified with that diaspora unlike anything we have seen before so are we not seen that spreading . Just based on the data at the past couple of years those that are deciding to use day and ultimately die to preserve their selfdeclared caliphate. And then to deal without large outflow it is coming this is not nearly as large in volume as we anticipate. That is a good thing. We would say that Quality Matters quality over quantity those that escaped from that conflict zone with a specialized set of skills or a rolodex with the Extremist Community in europe in side United States volume is not what we expected it to be. And to move to libya and afghanistan as a safe haven . Yes but not him large volumes. But there are other conflict zones are there looking to move. I would add one related point were starting to see those that are traveled the way things are going on the of battlefield so its variation. We were talking about the Critical Infrastructure to be above almost Everything Else to infiltrate that feeling of the threats the other thing we talked about which is concerning connecting every ready everybody for good and ill with that terrorist organization the drug cartel to describe that witches brew. This seemed is a blurring is different kinds of threats with a counterintelligence arena and the nation states to enlist the help of hackers for higher Transnational Criminal Organizations and to a previously was thought of as cybercrime into all the different types of threats we are facing with him scripted platforms with the modality of the threat to changing. We used to have a joke by the fbi if you want to get information out of them to get what they needed even those at redoing the same work so the a specter general report that we viewed the dhs department of justice of how well they are sharing information of the government that is responsible for counterterrorism then youre not doing a good job to share information rico of those people to miss use or leak that but to share information since those were still burning in the top in the twin towers but this isnt the local vs. Federal but this is federal and federal so look at those routes with those three parts of the government working together hand in hand . And to have a one on one meeting within the first week of my rifle on the job to learn what issues i needed to be focused on and i will continue to evaluate the recommendation as well so somebody who is in government so we clearly have a long way to go to have that perspective it is so much better than that was it is light years going into the field office to see people from dhs from the fbi and cia with this agency yes we can get better but i do want to do assure you that great progress has been made do we have that specific plan to implement that recommendation . We are focused with the Law Enforcement and Intelligence Community one of the major areas were close to and to come up with a model that should be finalized very soon to have clear sharing of information and that is one of the most important areas and what we can focus on. How long it has taken us to notify states about the efforts of Voter Registration files and more concerning one state was notified within the next day to say it did not occur. I assume you agree we are still at risk from russia trying to lou interfere in the election process and if you do agree with that would is the strategy Going Forward . And then to prevent that from happening and if brushup played around in democracy. They dont even understand that. And then to break a the backbone of democracy in a variety of ways it does want to make sure you are preparing for a this next year and have a plan. In terms of notification notify the states when the intrusion occurred and we notified the systems owner and i know a the counterparts working through those contribution an attribution pieces. Are you ready for next year . Were spending an enormous amount of time talking about this three subject very subject and collecting intelligence rico russians and other state actors are trying to influence others as well that is where the partnerships are sold important to exchange those capabilities and also looking at a multi disciplinary effort so the Counter Intelligence people working together. So if somebody looking at the dark money going into the Political Campaign millions and millions of dollars is somebody going through the super pac taking money without attribution . The there is something i could provide you. That notion that nobody ever gets to know is like tailormade for russia. As a result of citizens united. Said recently coming off that fbi web site. So with other Civil Liberties i hear a lot about hate groups and hate crimes what about those debtor under greater scrutiny . We do a couple of Different Things with our focus is rico tracked movements or ideologies so with that terrorism angle with a hate crime we focus on the threat of violence with proper accreditation to start that investigation. To have the history to be very sensitive about non investigating people for their beliefs. That is entirely appropriate my question is are you tracking those hate groups . If i call the fbi to say who is on your list is there a list . Networks of people are working together. I dont know if we called them hate groups but then we have nine designated movements as the identifier. They have not created that for you . Absolutely. With those entry exit visa the report came out in may for those that overstayed their visas from last year. We have 600,000 people in the country that have overstayed and we dont know where they are. A question from the 9 11 commission a decade and a half in the making of the requirement to put that verification and then to go find them and figure out why they are still here. There is a Pilot Program and how that is advancing . Using those biometrics is doing very well now being used by the tsa in the way we intended it has proved itself. When is the rollout . 1 2 tunicate back to with the date. That would be helpful. This is been a request for very long time but this is exceptionally important. Agreed. I asked you before about any state requirements for those assessments i have had this had this before so of their more than a few states to ask us we are not personal ready i would like to have a long your conversation what you will need to be at that point that currently it is not fulfilled as those requests are not there yet but we could not make it in time for the 2018 election. To find out how to get ready for that where they are right now to understand the risks before correcting but to understand the significance of the cyberthreat they face and are they prepared to do an audit . The states elections are theres been are they prepared to verify with paper to audit after the election if the machines have been affected . There are those an artificially delineating i would like to see more sense of urgency but those Cyber Threats are here every day. If they get into the database bin you lose the integrity of the election at that point because they show up and are registered and they used to be now somebody changed it. Or what once the socalled caliphate truly fails so to that end, i want to ask you about the team of Homeland Security investigation officers that are now deployed to 30 u. S. Embassies and consulates. The. They make decisions about whether to grant the visa for the nationals. Given the chance of many fighters will return to their home countries it is going to be even more important that we have visa t to be teams of more than the u. S. Diplomatic posts where they are deployed. Is thi that something the depart can commit to . I dont know if additionally we are increasin increasing betg overall but that has been very useful for us. Theres a number of us to think 30 isnt enough and we want to do everything we can. I want to echo my colleague from california i think we need a thorough Oversight Effort in this regard focused on the threatthreat of white supremacid neonazis and there are some complexities that go to the domestic terrorism and International Terrorism from the initial review, the fbis ability to prevent and address acts of International Terrorism appears to be very different from their ability to prevent and address domestic terrorism. It is defined in statute as you pointed out. If the charlottesville attacker had emerged from his car. Is that true and what i would te the case . Under the various materials statutes and things like that. Our approach i in the terrorism arena in both International Terrorism and of the immediate post9 11 era is to look for every possible tool that we have and a lot of times the best. There are charges we can bring so even though you may not see them from your end as they domestic terrorism charge, they are very much domestic to the present cases that have been brought under other criminal. I am also concerned about making sure that we are doing everything we can to go after these domestic terrorism groups who promote violence. So ive just been trying to think through what to say we have a case of neonazis and terrorism. Terrorism. There is nothing as i understand it the defining factor for the International Terrorism can be whether the idea is the ideology that has been espoused and comes from outside of the United States. That would appear to be an ideology from outside americas borders so they could be considered International Terrorists. Weve brought the cases and we will continue to bring them when we have the proper elements of the offense ive not been hearing from my folks that they feel hamstrung. Thank you for your service very much and for being here today. To be able to participate my first question i want to Say Something for the leader at the tsa and a great leader and the coast guard for years. The report found that they need to take action to evaluate the effectiveness across the security countermeasures and the report from the gao to assess whether the programs are effective in deterring or detecting the potential attacks on the Aviation System and under the Previous Administration he and others have worked to institute reforms and i thought they made a lot of progress, but the institute reforms to determine and improve training and workforce morale, so we partner with the airlines and others to invest in the 21st century screening technologies and i understand that as a successor there are two guys that qualify. But to confirm with my other colleagues earlier this year come heres what i want to ask just sort of asking as a favor and that would be to ask you to work with the admiral to take a look at the gao report, take a look at it and make sure that they continue in order to ensure the continued security of the Aviation System. We are both committed to that. Now one question on t revised travel ban. The limited travel from the eight countries is the new travel ban indefinite and claimed, the nationals from these countries will not be able to travel to the u. S. Until such a time as the presidency is fifth two removed them and another is listed in the original travel ban or the new one has been associated with deadly terror attacks in the u. S. , some of them are currently suffering from the humanitarian crisis and in addition to the new travel and its been reported from the refugee missions i have to think the ban may have an adverse impact on the National Security so i would ask can you share with us any analysis the department has conducted to determine the cost and benefit of imposing a new ban, can you share any analysis the department is conducting to determine the cost and benefit from posting the ban. This is what the review as we did a thorough review of the countries and we havent done a cost analysis. We structured an approximation as soon as the country gets the information and starts doing the information sharing. We are hoping this will give incentives to work with us and i want to point out the refugees are not subject to the ban of any country. Would it be in the top five action programs on the homeland . I dont know that ive got my priority is in that space that i would say that getting sufficient information from the Foreign Countries allow us to prioritize targets of interest. Its under very tight time constraints and the countries of origin. For the senators questions earlier, our particular piece is to provide the best possible intelligence and input to the director said to a very complex decision to make sure that we can do that in a repeatable and consistent and predictable way. We end up owning these responsibilities to count on the best possible input. We have the amount of Information Available to us and so we will be in a constant efforts to increase theffort tof information we are relying on to provide that input. I would say in conclusion thank you for your responses. It seems peculiar to me that the countries that have never posed a threat to us you cant come here we wont allow you to travel to the nation for these reasons and there are other countries that have. It just feels peculiar. Senator harris. To make sure that its still there and it is on page six of 27. The information i share and request for consideration to be used for Immigration Enforcement purposes and they are told and answered in this document. Individuals whose cases are deferred pursuant will not be referred. I also have a twopage letter signed by jay johnson where he indicated since announced in 2012, dhs has consistently made clear that the information provided by the applicants would be safeguarded from other immigration related purposes. So i would ask you to familiarize yourself with these documents because we are talking about 700,000 young people in this country right now who are in fear about their future and about their lives right now and their families and employers and friends. As it is in relation to keeping a promise to these people and thinking about the situation right now and in their future. I would also point out to you and i asked you during the confirmation hearing about this document that was a memo with Homeland Security indicating there were seven new priority enforcement areas and the seventh which reads in the judgment of an immigration officer have responsibilities if in their judgment that person poses a risk to Public Safety and National Security. I ask you then what are the factors for consideration and how you train your agents on how they should exercise the judgment knowing that you have limited resources and there are potentially a lot of people that fall in that category. You indicated to me that he would get back to me until those agents are being trained and you havent done that. On a separate matter, youve indicated on september 5 that it would be rescinded and that these individuals would have until october 5 to reapply otherwise they would fall out of status. And my question is did to her Agency Directly notify the recipients that they will be eligible to renew their applicants, did you notify them or was this just through the press packs to apply to renew their status which requires many forms to fill out the information in those forms that requires them by october 5 to also provide a 495 application fee and it requires them to supply the passport photograph between 15 to 20 less time you looked at the minimum wage of 7. 25 per hour. So, my question to you is given the responsibilities they are required to mee me to apply befe october 5, giving also be talked about it in this hearing in the impact of harvey and irma and maria, will you consider extending the deadline to allow these kids to apply. Im just as passionate and i commit tcommitted to working wih congress to do the right thing. And unconstitutional program that only keeps a twoyear window status is not the right answer. Are you going to extend the deadline . We havent been notified. Ive looked at the process and there is a money issue with the procesbut theprocess itself is. That is constraining and i hope that we can come up with a better solution. Were 700,000 young people supposed to suffer because you didnt figure out how to implement this properly . Were 700,000 young people supposed to be terrified because they cant come up with a lot of money within one month, that would be the congresss responsibility, who came up with these decisions that they would be given one month from september 5 to october 5 that is something that we came up with and to end the program in a compassionate manner. I did ask yo would ask you to cr extending that deadline. I would just point out again one of the reasons many of us asked president obama not to use his executive authority is because it would create the status issues. From my standpoint i will do everything i can to solve this problem in the humane fashion im happy to work with you and any member on the side of the isle with my colleagues to fix this. We have six months to do it and we must Work Together in a bipartisan fashion. Thank you. That isnt the best way to do it, so hopefully there will be some give and ta and wcan actually do things to secure the borders well. With that, again i want to thank all of the witnesses. Not only for your testimony written in the time youve taken but the commitment youve made to the nation its a 24 seven job and we thank you for doing that. The hearing is adjourned. An audible conversations [inaudible conversations]