On Wednesday, December 16, 2015, the House will consider H.R. 4239, the Tracking Foreign Fighters in Terrorist Safe Havens Act, as amended, under suspension of the rules. H.R. 4239 was introduced on December 11, 2015 by Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) and was referred to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
H.R. 4239 requires the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), not later than 60 days after enactment and every 180 days thereafter, to report to Congress on foreign fighter flows to and from terrorist safe havens abroad. The reports must include, for each terrorist safe haven, the total number of:
The reports may be submitted in classified form. Reports submitted in classified form must include an unclassified summary. The bill terminates the reporting requirement two years after the date of enactment.
According to the bill sponsor, “to fully combat the threat of terrorism, we must have a clear assessment of the number of terrorists being trained in safe havens across the globe so that our strategic counterterrorism efforts can succeed. Furthermore, in order to prevent future attacks like San Bernardino, we must know if U.S. citizens are being radicalized to bring terrorism to our shores. [This legislation] will give Congress a more accurate picture of the threats we face and how our national security agencies are combating them.”[1]
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[1] See Press Release—“House Intelligence Committee Members LoBiondo and Swalwell Introduce Bill to Strengthen Oversight of Foreign Fighters,” December 11. 2015.
A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) cost estimate is currently unavailable.
For questions or further information please contact Jerry White with the House Republican Policy Committee by email or at 5-0190.
