three weeks ago, a new york times article revealed that the fbi had arrested several members of an organization called the base, a dangerous white supremacist group. they aren't your parents neo-nazis, the base is an acceleration asked pagan aesthetic and group whose name speaks to the admiration for al-qaeda and isis. they hate jews and african americans, but they don't like president trump or the united states either. their goal is to use terrorism to start a race war and collapse the united states. triggering societal collapse maybe a sick fantasy but the reality is that domestic terror has claimed more lives than international terror since 9/11. last week fbi director wray told the judiciary committee that he was, quote, elevated, racially motivated violent extremism to a national threat priority. the same band without homegrown extremism an isis. our enemies, explicitly russia exploiters racial tension to divide and weaken american society. the head of the base lives in russia. russia likely support right-wing supremacist group in the united states in europe and russia targets our service members with misinformation. when our enemies take advantage of our vulnerabilities, our national security is threatened and depend on a sufficient response. the threat also has specific implications for the personnel subcommittee. first, white supremacist terror groups in communities value military skills that would enable them to commit terrorism or fight a race war. they recruit vets to join entering their members, seek to infiltrate sympathizers, and many members claim to have military experience. this does not make white supremacist terror groups unique. al-qaeda also recruited members of the egyptian and saudi military's. so there are several warning signs that individuals white nationalists and white supremacist tendencies are in fact serving in our military. recent high profile examples include a marine attending it to thousand 17 charlottesville rally, i coast guard officer arrested with a cachet of weapons and a west point grab espousing hit on social media. a survey showed that a number of troops who had witnessed white supremacist and racial ideology in the military increased from 22 to 36% from 2018 did 2019. like in previous decades, as supremacist activities, backed by events such as charlottesville, have increased in recent years, it is likely increased in the military as well and supremacists in the military put service members safety, recruitment and retention at risk. third, i am concerned that does not take the military -- i'm concerned that the military doesn't take this threat seriously enough. has the tools it needs, or dedicate sufficient resources to the threat. our accessions and vetting enterprise loves white supremacist activity in with gang affiliation rather than treat it as a national security issue on par with foreign terror. that lack of urgency and focus trickles down to commanders and leaders who don't appear to be sufficiently apprized of this threat or taught how to deal with it. even if they are dealing with it, the military lacks statistics to prove it, in part because the absence of a stand-alone you see him day extremism article. this raises hard questions about whether military law enforcement needs additional authorities to combat this terror threat. today, we will be joined by two panels. the first will consist of experts for organizations that study, track and educate on extremism. the second, we will have d.o.t. officials responsible for the accessions policy for the military counter intelligence and law enforcement security, and the military criminal investigations agencies. i'd like to focus on three main concerns today -- . first, what is the scope and magnitude of this threat, and what are its impacts. second, what is being done to prevent these individuals from entering the military, and then find, investigate and prosecute them? the military leaders take this issue seriously. some of the testimony will suggest that many of them are just administratively discharged. nothing further is down about them. that is inconsistent with our need to make sure that the country is secure as well. third, what additional tools might we need to give the military to combat this threat? before i introduce the first panel, let me have ranking member kelly have his opening remarks. >> thank, you chairwoman spear. i wish to welcome both of our panel today's hearing. i've dealt with white supremacy on the front lines as a district attorney. from murders to rapes to assault to intimidation to officer shootings, i've dealt with all of those things in my district in mississippi during my time as a prosecutor in a district attorney, but i've also served in the military for 34 years. no group is more diverse, culturally integrated, then our united states military, none anywhere. we must keep it that way. it should be a cultural site where people can go to know what it right looks like and we have to keep it that way which means this is an important hearing to make sure that we keep us the bases that we are. i think extremist activity of any kind is unacceptable and cannot be a tolerated in the military. they cut to the very core of what the military was founded, on good order and discipline. george washington once wrote discipline is the soul of an army, it makes small numbers formidable, procure success to the week and a steam to all. the thought of extremist activities like what white percent of the sea invading the military is in direct contrast to what the military stands for. as a former brigade commander and of italian commander in combat i can tell you from experience that soldiers must and do trust each other with their lives, regardless of their backgrounds are the colors of their skin. service members are judged based on their ability to perform their job and the content of their character, and any other distinctions have no place in the military or in society. i'm interested in understanding the true magnitude of these issues from today's witnesses. as i prepared for this hearing i realize we don't have a lot of reliable data. aside from a recent newspaper poll on racist behavior in the military, we have few solid statistics on extremist behavior in the military. the definitive data we do have comes from the department of defense where there have been 21 criminal cases involving white supremacy over the last five years amongst all for services and components. d.o.d. is now tracking investigations into what supremacists as well as other extremist activities and sharing this information with the fbi. this is a step in the right direction on the law enforcement side, but i think data is a huge heat unpacking the issue. we need to define the problem and get reliable data on how prevalent it is in the military. i would like to understand the magnitude of extremist and white supremacy -- white supremacy activities all across society and what data is being tracked outside the military. i'm also interested in your recommendations, specifically as pertains to training and data collection for the military. i would also like to hear what the department screening processes and the ongoing monitoring of extremist activities. my understanding is there may be a gap in the reporting of the non criminal cases that have been handled administratively like by commanders that resulted in an administrative discharge. i would also understand whether we also need to have standardized training across the services. i want to thank our witnesses and our chairwoman for being here today. thank you and i yield back. >> thank, you ranking member kelly. thank, you witnesses, for joining us today. you will have five minutes to present your testimony. i would also like to ask unanimous consent the nine committee members be allowed to participate and ask questions. after all, the committee members who had the opportunity to ask questions. without objection, so ordered. okay, our first panel starts with doctor heidi bay, rich cofounder and chief strategy officer of the global project against hate and extremism. doctor mark coverage, senior research fellow at the center on extremism at the anti defamation league. miss lee shall brooks, chief workplace transformation officer at the southern poverty law center. we will take a short recess and switch out to our second panel at the end of the first panel. so, would you like to begin? >> yes, i'd like to thank the esteemed members of the subcommittee for invited has twice a day. it's a great honor. my name is hearty. of a ph.d. in political science from pretty university and i'm a cofounder of the newly established global project against hate and extremism. for the last two decades, i've researched extremist activity in the united states and monitor what supremacist in the military, often forwarding that information to military investigators. i also argued, as i will today, for more vigilant practices and stronger policies to root out extremist from the ranks. nothing i say in my remarks today should be taken to impugn the honorable man and woman who served in the armed forces, whose efforts i applaud. barring what's promises for the militaries of the utmost importance. as my written testimony and documents the packing of white supremacy is in the ranks is a serious and growing one. many of us know of soldiers with serious views who've gone on to commit extreme acts, timothy mcvay in oklahoma city as we often think of but this is not -- responsible for murders and domestic terrorism plots in some cases, international terrorism and white supremacy and the terror associated with it is on the rise. in fact, bucking the trend of declining rates of terror globally, we have a growing the white supremacist movement both in the united states and abroad. some of these folks are trained white supremacist and other countries on military tactics. this is a significant threat to our troops, to the american public, and most of the country. the armed services own soldiers know that white supremacy is a problem. it is already been cited. military times he's done a poll three years in a row that shows between one and four and one in three soldiers are aware of having encountered white nationalism or racism in the armed forces so here are just my top level recommendations to deal with white supremacy in the armed forces. it's very clear that screening measures need strengthening. the military does not have it tattoo data based, for example, that shows extremist tattoos. it does not have clear procedures to investigate social media accounts, which is where you find most extremism nowadays. i might be wise to consider how the online activities of active duty troops are monitored, the recent arrest of a coast guard lieutenant who had all this horrible stuff online tells us we are not paying attention. military recruits do villa questionnaires and ask whether they have been a member of an organization dedicated to terrorism but this process relies on self reporting and it's unclear how much that self reporting is verified. there is new for more rigorous enforcement procedures and data, as is already been mentioned by the ranking member, the regulations against racist and white supremacist are generally strong but if not, enforce they are paper tigers, current regulations have penalties that are largely left up to commanders, often at the unity level. there appears to be no process to track people expelled from white supremacist groups, there is little data in the domain to not serious the problem is. all of these are serious issues, as well as it being unclear how information on extremism and one branch are shared with other branches or the guard of the fbi. they need to be mandatory reports every year about the levels of white supremacy in the military. there was a house amendment that intended to add questions about white nationalism to military climate surveys, but was dropped in the national defense authorization act i would suggest that this should be looked at again. i pentagon's, investigatory task forces, each branch, should be looked, that how they look extremist networks, what level of investigatory resources exist there, and the data should be generated so that we know has serious the problem is. there are also loopholes in the regulations for other kinds of extremists from. one example are folks involved in the militia movement. these are people who believe in war against the federal government and are increasingly anti immigrant and anti muslim, and some of these organizations have thousands of members, and specifically tried to recruit for the armed forces, that is something i would also suggest needs to be looked at. the military needs to report hate crimes statistics to the fbi. frankly, all federal agencies may do, but this is another piece of data that would be helpful for understanding these problems, and there also is evidence of the existence of extremism in the ranks is now you're being told by terrorism. members of the most violent neo-nazi groups have recruited veterans from wars in iraq and afghanistan as well as active duty service members and that military expertise is now being shared with white supremacists in other countries. this is something else that merits examination. i also want to say it's very important that everybody in the leadership speak out against white supremacy in the ranks. this is a bipartisan issue. it has been for a long time it really should be a no-brainer that this has to be done by everybody from the commander-in-chief on down, so, in closing, i want to just say that i agree with former joint chiefs chairman who said there is no place for bigotry and racism in the u.s. military indeed ideas as of, all i hope the policy suggestions are provided here and in writing can bring us closer to eradicating these ideas from the ranks of our incomparable armed forces. it's been an honor to speak here. thank you. >> thank, you doctor by rich. . >> gentleman's pair, ranking member kelly, distinguished members of the subcommittee, good afternoon. i am a cabbage, a senior research fellow with a deal center on extremism. that is an honor to appear before you today to address the issue of white supremacy in the u.s. military. for decades, 80 all has fought against, hate antisemitism and extremism in all forms, by exposing extremist groups and individuals who spread hate and incitement violence. today, idiots the foremost non governmental authority on domestic terrorism, extremism, hate groups and hate crimes. the issue of extremism in the military is one 80 all center on extremism his track for many years. we all are the services about military members tied to extremism, provide assistance upon request to recruiters and investigators, and offer training on extremism and related subjects. for example, adl provides annual training to the command staff of the army criminal investigation command, and provost marshal general, in 2009, 80 on wrote then secretary of defense robert i'm gates urging him to take measures to deal with white supremacy in the armed forces. the problem has only grown in urgency since then. in my testimony i would like to share important context of what the nature of the extremism in the armed forces. active and reserve components are large enough, numbering over 2 million men and women, to protect, reflect broader american society in key ways, including the presence of extremism. each time the white supremacist movement as church in the u.s., that surge has been mirrored by a similar inquiries within the armed forces. it happened during surges in the 19 eighties, the 1990s, and the 2008 to 2011. today it is happening again, as the u.s. is experiencing a surge in white supremacy propelled by the rise of the alt-right, which has brought many young, newly radicalized white males into the white supremacy movement. this is aggravated by the spread of hate online. with each surge, the military incur is not only an increase in extremists but also increases in crime and violence the company them. extremist in the military have engaged in murders and hate crimes and stolen weapons and military equipment and they provided information to other extremists. the current surge of white supremacy is no exception. less than two weeks ago, coast guard lieutenant christopher haspel was sentenced in federal court to 13 years in prison in connection with the plot to commit domestic terrorism. prosecutors described him as a man inspired by -- who intended to exact retribution of minorities in those he considered traitors. had law enforcement not caught him, they, noted we would not be counting the bodies of the defendants victims. internet searches of his included, where congressman and senators live when they're in d.c.? how to read the u.s. and jews, and, most liberal fellow judges -- federal judges, among others. he wrote, i cannot strike just wound, it must find a way to deliver a blow that cannot be shaken off. other extremists in the military in recent years have distributed information related to explosives and wmd's, assaulted people during white supremacist rallies, acquired bombs explosive materials and used a firearm to threatened -- even more been exposed attending white supremacist events, joining extremist group, distributing business propaganda and posting white supremacist chat rooms and forums online. the presence of extremist in the armed forces is dangerous to service members, our families and others, and harmful to the good order, discipline, and morale and effectiveness of our troops. it is a problem the military cannot afford to ignore. ideals experiences working with occurrence -- services deposits concern that the policies are not moving forward as implemented nor are key personnel always train assist medic fashion. we encourage you to work with the department of the services to ensure uniformity in clarity regulations, to provide proper training for those involved in recruitment, disciplined military justice on how to respond to evidence of extremism. we offer our expertise and experience to help the services tackle this issue, including developing curriculum or train the trainer events, most importantly we encourage all d.o.d. and military leaders, as well as, you to speak out against hate, setting an example from the top is essential, we must protect the men and women who protect our nation. thank you. >> thank you, doctor. next is missed price. >> thank, you chairwoman speier, ranking member kellyanne committee member, thank you so much. i name is lisa brooks, i'm a daughter of a veteran of the korean who are, and the mother of son who proudly served the u.s. army for two tours. this issue is deeply personal to me. white nationalist movement in the united states is surging in presents a series danger to our country and its institutions, including the u.s. armed forces. we saw investigations have revealed dozens of veterans and active duty service members who are affiliated with white nationalist activity. this is far from a new problem. in fact, the southern poverty law center has been documenting white nationalists and that's -- why supremacist infiltration in the military and urging officials to take action since 1986. in that year, we wrote, defend secretary weinburger, and expose the fact that active you do marines at camp lagoon were participating in paramilitary flux land activities and even stealing military weaponry for clay and use. in december 2019, as was mentioned it was reported that the national defense authorization act was altered in the u.s. senate to remove the mention of white nationalists in the screening process for military analyst ease. according to 2019 poll that was referenced by the military times, 36% of active duty service members who were surveyed reported seeing signs of white nationalism or rac