WMD Intelligence and Information Sharing Act of 2013

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1542, the WMD Intelligence and Information Sharing Act of 2013.

This bill would strengthen information-sharing at all levels of government regarding chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear terrorist threats.

Since the attacks of September 11, 2011, concerns about an attack on U.S. soil with a weapon of mass destruction or dirty bomb has come into sharp focus. The Director of National Intelligence has stated that the intelligence community remains concerned about the prospect that a terrorist organization or non-state actor could exploit a weapon of mass destruction and, with little or no warning, inflict significant damage to our Nation's citizens and economy.

The potentially devastating nature of WMD attacks has come into greater focus in recent months. In particular, there's evidence that chemical weapons were used in the Syrian civil war. Worries persist that in the chaos of this war, dangerous chemical agents could fall into the hands of terrorists or other rogue operators. The prospect that biological and nuclear weapons could fall into the wrong hands is also very concerning.

Recognizing that effective information-sharing is essential to preventing a WMD attack, H.R. 1542 requires the Department of Homeland Security to support homeland security-focused analysis of terrorist actors and their plans to conduct attacks involving chemical, biological, and nuclear materials against the Nation.

This bill requires DHS to coordinate with other components and the intelligence community and other Federal, State, local, and tribal authorities to provide recommendations on information-sharing mechanisms.

Robust partnership between DHS and local law enforcement is critical to enhancing situational awareness with respect to terrorism prevention, including prevention of a WMD attack.

I'm pleased to support this bipartisan bill and would like to acknowledge that the language under consideration today originated in comprehensive WMD legislation authored by my former committee colleague, Representative BILL PASCRELL of New Jersey.

While I support this measure, I would hope that this Congress could move forward on more comprehensive WMD prevention legislation in the very near future.

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