Bombing Prevention Act of 2022

Floor Speech

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Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, I thank my cosponsor for his work on this, and I can't tell you how thrilled I am to see this bill come to the House floor for consideration.

As a former Army bomb tech, I know how critical it is for our military to be adequately equipped on the front lines to dispose of explosive threats. This is all the more true on our home front, where the public safety continues to be threatened by terrorists and other bad actors who consistently use bombs and explosive hazards to advance their agenda.

But it should not take a tragedy to enact sensible change and to continue to equip our homeland security officials with the tools they need to mitigate bombing incidents and to protect the critical infrastructure of our Nation and the lives of our citizens.

The Office for Bombing Prevention, or OBP, was created in response to terrorism events, both at home and abroad, including the bombing of a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988; the World Trade Center in 1993; Oklahoma City in 1995; a Madrid train in 2004; London in 2005; the Boston Marathon in 2013; and Nashville on Christmas Day in 2020.

OBP leads the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to implement the National Policy for Countering Improvised Explosive Devices and enhances the Nation's ability to prevent, protect against, respond to, and mitigate the use of explosives against critical infrastructure, the private sector, and Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial entities.

Currently, the OBP sits underneath the jurisdiction of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA. However, our recent history has proven that OBP needs a bit of promotion in order to adequately inform the Secretary of Homeland Security on ongoing threats and to keep the general public out of harm's way.

I say recent history because, unfortunately, our Nation has not been safe from threats, most of which, thankfully, never led to serious injury, destruction, or death. The 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, the IEDs left outside the RNC and DCCC on January 6, 2021, and over 50 reported bomb threats between January and February of this year targeted disproportionately at HBCUs, Black churches, mosques, and synagogues.

It is our responsibility as Members of Congress to lead and address these unacceptable threats while simultaneously reducing the amount of threats designed to instill fear in the public. I applaud my colleagues for responding to these events seriously and appropriately, and I have full confidence the OBP will have the tools necessary to carry out this mission.

Our bill authorizes OBP and directs the office to develop a strategy for further securing critical infrastructure against terrorist explosive threats and attacks and to evaluate effective technologies to defend against them. Further, OBP will be required to promote security awareness of risks posed by the misuse of explosive precursor chemicals, bomb-making materials, providing technical assistance to the public and private sectors to support security preparedness, assist other agencies with information sharing and responding to various threats, and working with relevant stakeholder interests in bettering this overall effort.

It has come to my attention that in response to the bomb threats at our HBCUs, the OBP led a briefing with 150 leaders on training opportunities and engaged with educational stakeholders about accessing OBP's counter-IED capability development programs, information, training, and tools. This kind of responsiveness to a dire situation only strengthens my confidence that the men and women at OBP are ready and informed to respond to ongoing bomb threats and prevent further incidents and potential devastation.

We should be proud, as Americans, to feel a sense of security each and every day. Security and strength are what brings us together and the foundation for what we fight for. Unfortunately, we live the reality that anyone can be a threat to this security and strength, even when we least expect it, from our grocery stores, to our places of worship, to our schools. We must continue to fight and ensure that Americans live free from fear of the malicious use of explosives and from the threat of a terrorist's agenda. Our citizens should feel and remain secure at their jobs, their schools, and, most importantly, around their families. That is my mission as a Member of Congress; that will be the mission of the Office for Bombing Prevention, and that is why I support H.R. 6873.

I thank my co-lead, Representative Malinowski, one more time, as well as Representative Katko for his leadership on the Homeland Security Committee, and for meeting with me to discuss my priorities for bombing prevention from our service branches to the domestic front.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill.

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