Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today urged his colleagues to heed the advice of career counterterrorism experts and oppose Democrats’ bill to reorganize the federal counterterrorism offices. Democrats’ Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act would establish duplicative offices and prescribe which threats officials should prioritize, rather than allowing them to respond to continuously evolving threats. Career counterterrorism officials at the Justice Department have warned the bill would jeopardize their ability to fully combat terrorist threats.
“When it comes to crafting policies that help defend our nation against terrorism, we ought to listen to the experts. Career counterterrorism officials at DOJ have warned that this bill is not only unnecessary, but could hamstring their abilities to fully respond to evolving threats. These agents have a duty to assess and investigate all potential threats, so we should not be enacting laws that dictate which threats the agency should prioritize. The bill also creates duplicative offices that could silo resources and information needed to thwart potential threats both at home and abroad. I appreciate my colleagues’ desire to strengthen our ability to respond to threats to the homeland, but we must ensure that the laws we pass achieve this objective. According to the experts, this bill misses the mark,” Grassley said.
