FTO Passport Revocation Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 237, as amended, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation authorizes the Secretary of State to deny the issuance of or revoke the passport of an individual who is affiliated with or providing assistance to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

I would like to thank the author of this legislation, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe), for his leadership on this issue and for working with us in a bipartisan manner.

Mr. Speaker, as Chairman Royce said a few moments ago, this is a commonsense bill. It is a reasonable step our government can take to address the rise of the so-called Islamic State, or ISIS, while acting within our authority to deny or revoke passports for those who are affiliated with or are aiding, assisting, or abetting an organization that the Secretary has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.

Whether you call them ISIS or ISIL or Daesh or their latest preferred term, the Islamic State, one thing is quite clear: this organization has captured large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria with lethal efficiency.

This brutal terrorist group has engaged in mass executions, targeted religious minorities, raped and enslaved women, destroyed priceless historical treasures, and effectively redrawn the borders of the Middle East.

With its extensive propaganda efforts, including the sophisticated use of social media, ISIS has recruited tens of thousands of foreign fighters--reportedly more than 1,000 a month--including a significant number from Europe as well as some, remarkably, from the United States.

Mr. Speaker, this flow of foreign fighters is a serious threat, especially with U.S. passport holders among them. The Foreign Affairs Committee has held hearings looking at the impact of ISIS and its use of foreign fighters. Our colleagues and constituents alike are very concerned about what might happen when these fighters return home, radicalized by ISIS ideology and armed with the knowledge of battlefield tactics.

H.R. 237, the FTO Passport Revocation Act, would address this problem by authorizing the Secretary of State to deny passports to known members or supporters of ISIS and other terrorist groups. It would allow the Secretary to revoke the passports of those who have already left the United States so they are unable to return and sow terror here at home.

Mr. Speaker, the United States has a strong national security interest in defeating ISIS. I support the various lines of effort to counter the terrorist group, cracking down on ISIS' finances, countering their propaganda efforts, and stopping the flow of foreign fighters. To be clear, this legislation will not solve the problem of foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria, but it is a sensible and important step in the right direction.

Many of our coalition partners, including France, Britain, and Australia, have already taken steps to restrict or revoke passports for ISIS supporters. We must use all the tools at our disposal for protection of our homeland.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

ISIS is absolutely a barbaric regime that cannot be negotiated with and must be defeated. They literally want to return civilization back centuries and centuries.

It is hard for me and I think it is hard for almost any American to imagine what could possibly be going through the mind of a U.S. citizen who would be attracted to go over there and make common cause with ISIS.

Mr. Speaker, as the son of an immigrant who knows the sacrifices his father and grandparents made to come to this country, the fact that someone would actually jeopardize the most valuable thing they have, their American citizenship and their U.S. passport, to join ISIS is completely unfathomable.

We absolutely have to give our Secretary of State this authority. ISIS sadly presents a real threat both abroad and at home. This is a commonsense measure that we can take, and we must absolutely take it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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