National security threat

EMP, Enhancement Of DHS Overseas Operations, Other Bills Pass House

The nation’s first Critical Infrastructure Protection Act legislation included in the National Defense Authorization Act was passed by the House.

It stands as “the first major legislation to produce a strategy to protect the critical infrastructure of the homeland against threats of electromagnetic pulse and geomagnetic disturbance, two of the most dangerous short term national security threats facing America,” said an announcement by Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), the bill’s sponsor, who noted, “I am grateful to Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX) for their critical roles in the passage of this historic legislation. I am especially grateful to House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul for shepherding this vital legislation through his committee. It is efforts like this that make Mike McCaul the kind of individual we need as Director of America’s Department of Homeland Security.”

“It is my hope that this legislation will ultimately effect the protection of America’s vital electrical grid against the highly dangerous threats of weaponized electromagnetic pulse and natural geomagnetic disturbance,” Franks said in a statement.

The House also voted on the Conference Report for S. 2943, the Fiscal Year 2017 Defense Authorization Act which includes bipartisan legislation authored by Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, to strengthen international border security efforts, including Customs and Border Protection’s Preclearance program and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Visa Security Program.