Combating Terrorist Recruitment Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from Tennessee for offering this bill, as well as Chairman McCaul for bringing it to the floor.

When the terrorists attacked in San Bernardino, many Americans said: What are we doing?

When you find out that these folks are trafficking on the Internet and messaging, they say: Where is our FBI? Where are the services protecting us, and why aren't they doing everything they can?

This is one thing they can do is offer testimonials from people who have been there who can give other people who might be interested in joining the truth. Yet there are some folks here who don't want to do that. They are interested in misrepresenting this bill.

I want to remind everybody that this bill is the result of a bipartisan task force, a bipartisan task force, Member-led, that said we need to do exactly this, and unanimously move this forward to the full committee.

They say it is unnecessary. Well, if it is unnecessary, why isn't Homeland Security doing this already? Why not? How long are they going to wait?

They say that they offered amendments. Really? They offered amendments?

They couldn't be bothered to answer the chairman's call when he said: Hey, can you collaborate with us on this so we have a good bill that everybody is involved in.

They waited until the day of the markup, and then came in with a bunch of amendments and concerns. It was apparent that all they wanted to do was slow the process down and, as a matter of fact, move the process to some other date.

How long are we going to wait? Do you want to ask the relatives of those who are killed by these people how long they want to wait? How about the next ones?

Now, some on the other side have picked this up as this is a politically motivated agenda. I say some because not all. As a matter of fact, many on the other side voted to move this bill right to the floor where it is now.

I don't understand why they would want to have America be less safe. I don't understand, Mr. Speaker. We spent 4 hours--4 hours--going over a two-page bill. Two pages. We entertained what they wanted to change, and we did make some changes, but it was apparent that all they wanted to really do was stall and stall and move this process forward down the line and never get to it.

Mr. Speaker, we don't have any choice. We have to move forward now. Those in opposition are simply willfully refusing to see what all America sees. We need to address this threat immediately. It is a two- page bill, and it doesn't deny Homeland Security from doing anything that it has already been doing.

As a matter of fact, these folks on the other side demanded at that markup--they demanded--that we say that Homeland Security must do this. And the chairman said: Okay, if you want to demand that they do it, we will demand that they do it.

Mr. Speaker, I think we ought to make America safe and pass this bill.

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