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Source: Congress.gov
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A quorum being present, the committee will be in order. The committee is meeting today for consideration of several bills aimed at addressing the evolving threats to our homeland. Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare the committee in recess at any point. Pursuant to committee rule 7D, any requests for recorded votes may be postponed. Before I discuss the purpose of our business meeting today, I want to take a moment to reflect on the passing of our colleague, Congressman Sylvester Turner. While we will always truly miss him, His decades of public service to the people of Houston and to our nation contribute to his legacy that will endure forever. I extend my prayers and my greatest sympathies to his family, and I recognize the ranking member for any comments that he'd like to make on the unfortunate and untimely passing of Mr. Turner. Well, thank you. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, and as you've indicated, Mr. Turner was a member of this but a longstanding public servant in the state of Texas will be missed. But I'd like to also begin by honoring him. Congress Turner's career with the Committee on Homeland Security was all too brief, but he still leaves a legacy. He got a fast start and had already introduced a bill H.R. 1034, the DHS Cybersecurity on the Job Training Program Act. Less than a month after joining the committee, picking up where his predecessor, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, had left off. So our hearts are with Representative Turner's family and friends and the entire Houston community he represented. as both a state representative and, as I indicated, mayor of the great city of Houston, Texas, before joining us here. May he rest in power, and I yield back.
The gentleman yields. I think it would be appropriate for us to take a brief moment of silence for the memory of this incredible public servant. Thank you. I now recognize myself for an opening statement. Good morning, everyone, and I want to thank my colleagues for being here today. Today's markup reflects our bipartisan commitment to protecting Americans across our great nation from the rapidly evolving threats to our homeland and our way of life. I'm proud of this committee's continued efforts to enhance the Department of Homeland Security's ability to carry out its no-fail mission, defending us from threats both foreign and domestic. Now more than ever, the most pressing foreign threat within our borders is the Chinese Communist Party. As part of its malicious strategy to undermine American power and interests, the CCP has increased its influence over our institutions of higher education for decades. We must dismantle this sinister effort by Beijing to undermine our sovereignty. That's why Chairman of Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee, Representative Pfluger's bill is so important. H.R. 881 would restrict American taxpayer dollars from funding U.S. colleges and universities that maintain ties with the CCP. Both Beijing and the Iranian regime continue to carry out transnational repression operations on U.S. soil to threaten and harass dissidents. That's why we're considering several bipartisan bills today that will help policymakers expose, assess, and counter threats from maligned nation-states
that target American citizens or lawful permanent residents. This committee is also concerned by increasing sophisticated cyber attacks on our federal networks and critical infrastructure by Chinese-backed threat actors. We must protect our cyber borders. From our drinking water and oil and gas to our telecom networks, Beijing could wreak havoc on services Americans depend on every day. Believe me, the CCP will not hesitate to exploit our vulnerabilities, so we must be ready. I look forward to discussing Representative Ogle's bill that creates an interagency task force to improve coordination among the federal agencies responding to CC-backed cyberbullies, growing threats to U.S. critical infrastructure. This committee is also continuing its important efforts to prevent the tragic loss of American lives from deadly drugs like fentanyl. The Catch Fentanyl Act, introduced by Representative Higgins, would establish a pilot program to test technology enhancements to better detect illicit drugs, currency, and smuggled individuals at land ports of entry. We cannot forget the seriousness, the lingering threats posed by the border crisis. Under the Biden administration, DHS apprehended an unprecedented number of special interest aliens, or SIAs, illegally crossing our borders. These encounters included individuals from adversaries' nights adversarial nations like China, Iran, and Russia. Representative Green's bill would require DHS to publish the number of special interest alien encounters each month and deliver much-needed transparency for the American people. Following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria and threats from both ISIS and al-Qaeda to resurface in the region, We cannot turn a blind eye to individuals both on and off U.S. soil who are increasingly being radicalized to commit violence against Americans, including potentially unvetted individuals who illegally entered the U.S. during the last administration.
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