US Republicans push for new terrorism measures package
Republican leaders announced on 14 June that they are planning to repackage nine counter-terrorism bills, which have been previously approved (but have not passed into law), into a larger, more encompassing piece of legislation. Leaders of the Republican-dominated Congress are due to vote on the legislation this week, and have sent an urgent request to the Senate for action following the mass shooting in Orlando on 12 June. Republican Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan urged President Barack Obama to work with Congress to get the bills signed into law, arguing that: “Right now, the President doesn't have a plan to get the job done”. Among the provisions being considered are: a requirement for the President to provide Congress with the ability to intercept terrorists and limit their travel; to direct relevant departments to develop systems that will better vet travellers against terrorism watch lists and police databases; to direct the Department of Homeland Security to work more closely with communities to better tackle extremism; and a requirement for the National Intelligence director to report to Congress regularly.

Erin Kelly

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Republican House leaders said Tuesday they will repackage nine previously approved anti-terrorism bills into one sweeping bill that will be voted on this week and sent to the Senate with an urgent request for action in the aftermath of the Orlando massacre.

"Right now, the president doesn't have a plan to get the job done," said House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who urged President Obama to work with Congress to get the bipartisan bills signed into law.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said three of those bills are aimed at fighting radicalization of people inside the United States while the other six would strengthen efforts to combat terrorism abroad. He said the House will adjust its schedule for the week to take up the legislation.

The bills would, among other things:

• require the president to provide Congress with a strategy to intercept terrorists and foreign fighters and constrain their travel;

• direct Homeland Security and State departments to develop software and analysis systems to help check travelers against terrorist watch lists and law enforcement databases.

• direct the Department of Homeland Security to provide community awareness briefings at the state and local levels to counter violent extremism, identify and report suspicious activities, and identify terrorist threats more quickly.

• require the Director of National Intelligence to submit regular reports to Congress regarding foreign fighter flows to and from terrorist safe havens abroad.

All nine of the bills passed unanimously or almost unanimously in the House but have stalled in the Senate. Ryan and McCarthy said they hope their new strategy will make it easier for the Senate to approve the legislation.

McConnell didn’t say Tuesday if the Senate would take up the House package. He said any “serious legislative effort” would follow a briefing in the Senate on Wednesday by officials from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security.

McConnell signaled that Senate Republicans would be open to considering a proposal to ban gun sales to suspected terrorists if law enforcement officials advised it would be helpful and if it provided due process protections to help ensure that innocent Americans wouldn't be hurt. He said a Democratic effort to ban gun sales to suspected terrorists would not include those protections and is “politically motivated."

"Nobody wants terrorists to have firearms, and we’re open to serious suggestions from the experts as to what we might be able to do to be helpful," McConnell said.

Senate Democrats want to force a vote on a bill by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that would allow the attorney general to halt gun sales to known or suspected terrorists if there is a “reasonable belief” the weapons may be used to carry out an attack. The Republican-controlled Senate voted down the measure in December following the mass shootings in San Bernardino, Calif.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., complained Tuesday that House Republicans were blocking a vote on a related bill by Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., that would prevent people from obtaining a firearm if they are on the FBI's "no fly list" because they are suspected of terrorist activity.

"Republicans’ decision to block the bipartisan ‘No Fly, No Buy’ bill is dangerous and indefensible," she said. "If you’re too dangerous to fly, you’re too dangerous to buy a gun."

One solution that Ryan said he would not entertain is Donald Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the U.S.

"This is a war with radical Islam; it's not a war with Islam," Ryan told reporters. He said the vast majority of Muslims are "among our best allies in this fight against radical Islamic terrorists."

Ryan also made it clear that he believes the mass shooting at the gay nightclub in Orlando was a direct attack on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Some Democrats have criticized Republicans for not calling the shooting a hate crime.

"Members of the LGBT community were the targets," Ryan said. "They were simply attacked for who they are."

Contributing: Donovan Slack

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