Dutch Ruppersberger: “I yield myself as much time as I may consume. I support this amendment because the time is right to step back and take…”

“I yield myself as much time as I may consume. I support this amendment because the time is right to step back and take stock of where we are and how we are doing in our fight against terrorism. The threat is not going away, but it is rapidly changing. The Director of the FBI, Jim Comey, recently said that the terrorism threat is very much alive and growing in new and more dangerous places around the world. It even surprised him, when he started, just how virulent and dispersed the terrorist threat had become. From Pakistan to Yemen, Afghanistan to Syria, north Africa to Iraq, the threat from al Qaeda is waning in some areas, but growing in others. Unless we approach this dangerous problem holistically and precisely, we risk just squeezing the balloon, suppressing terrorism in one area, only to see it grow in another. So I think it is a good idea to sit down and take a comprehensive look at the problem today, to make sure that we are confronting it in the precisely right way, to make sure that we are measuring our effectiveness correctly, and to make sure that we have the right and most current legal authorities. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time. The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe). The amendment was agreed to. Amendment No. 9 Offered by Mr. Gallego The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 9 printed in House Report 113-465.”