Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Act to help protect our homeland from the world's most dangerous weapons.

Yesterday, we observed the 17th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. On that day in 2001, 19 Islamist terrorists turned airplanes into cruise missiles and crashed them into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Had it not been for the heroic passengers on United Airlines flight 93, this very building, the Capitol, could have been destroyed.

Almost 3,000 innocent people were killed and thousands more injured. It was the most devastating attack on our homeland in our Nation's history, targeting our military, economic, and political symbols of power.

While attending a memorial service at the Pentagon yesterday, many of us remembered the images from 9/11 and they returned to me: the towers falling, the Pentagon on fire, and our brave first responders running into harm's way to save their fellow citizens.

I also remembered that in the aftermath of the attack, we pledged to never forget: never forget the pain we felt, never forget the victims, and never forget that our enemies will search for new ways to attack our country.

Today, the most serious threats to our national security come from biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons. Over the last few decades, North Korea has been developing nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles to deliver them.

The terror-sponsoring regime in Iran has also been building a nuclear program, and Bashar al-Assad's evil dictatorship in Syria has used chemical weapons to kill innocent civilians, including women and children.

Russia recently used a chemical weapon in an assassination attempt in Great Britain, and reports of terror groups like al-Qaida have been in pursuit of weapons of mass destruction for many, many years.

These weapons are real and lethal. A WMD attack in the United States could kill millions of people and bring economic mayhem. We cannot allow these weapons to be used on our soil.

To prevent this from happening, we must give the Department of Homeland Security the authority it needs to counter the threat. This legislation will consolidate the Office of Health Affairs and the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, along with other department programs, into a Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office.

I personally talked to the Secretary who strongly supports this legislation. I believe DHS is making good progress in this direction, but this legislation will ensure that they have the necessary authorities to counter these dangerous threats.

This is an opportunity, I believe, for both parties on the day after 9/11--both Republican and Democrat, as we do so many times on this committee--to come together and pass legislation that will strengthen our homeland.

I would like to thank Congressman Donovan from New York, where this awful, tragic event happened 17 years ago, for all of his hard work on this issue, and Congressman Payne, who has always been a team player, if you will, on the other side of the aisle, for working together to get good things done for the country which will better protect the American people.

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