Should Homeland Security Produce an Annual Threat Assessment? (H.R. 480)

What is H.R. 480?

(Updated February 25, 2019)

This bill would require the Dept. of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office of Intelligence and Analysis to assess the terrorist threat to the homeland in each of the next five fiscal years.

Each assessment would be required to include:

• Empirical data assessing terrorist activities and incidents over time in the United States;

• An evaluation of current and future terrorist tactics;

• An assessment of criminal activity suspected of financing terrorist activity;

• detailed information on all individuals denied entry to or removed from the United States as a result of material support provided to a foreign terrorist organization;

• The efficacy and spread of foreign terrorist organization propaganda, messaging, or recruitment;

• An assessment of threats, including cyber threats, to the homeland, including critical infrastructure and federal civilian networks;

• An assessment of terrorism and criminal threats posed by individuals and organized groups seeking to unlawfully enter the United States; and

• An assessment of threats to the transportation sector.

Argument in favor

Understanding the threat terrorism poses to the U.S. is critical — and requiring the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) to produce an annual threat assessment will help prepare the federal government to respond to this threat.

Argument opposed

The federal government itself and its partners are already conducting threat assessments and other military readiness research. It’s unnecessary to require an additional DHS threat assessment on top of what’s already being produced.

Impact

National security; DHS; and the Office of Intelligence and Analysis.

Cost of H.R. 480

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) reintroduced this bill from the 115th Congress to require DHS to release an annual, comprehensive homeland security threat assessment:

“The 9/11 Commission revealed that a ‘failure of imagination’ contributed to our country’s inability to identify the emerging threat posed by al Qaeda. As a result, we were blind to the approaching tragedy. Sixteen years later, our ability to accurately identify and evaluate threats to the Homeland remains stunted. Though talented professionals across federal agencies and at the State and local level are hard at work gathering and analyzing threat information, there is not a formalized process that evaluates homeland threats in a meaningful, comprehensive way. H.R. 2470 closes this gap by requiring the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to release an annual, comprehensive homeland security threat assessment. This will provide a common threat picture across DHS and for Federal, State and local partners. I believe the best way to honor the memory of those who lost their lives that day and since in the fight against terrorism is to hold our government to a high standard.”

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) is the only cosponsor of this bill in the current Congress. In the last Congress, this bill passed the House by a voice vote with the support of one cosponsor, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX).

Of Note: DHS and other federal partners, such as the RAND Corporation, already conduct a range of threat assessments and national security research for the Dept. of Defense (DOD) and allied defense ministries. This research includes threat assessments, military acquisition, technology, recruitment and personnel management, counterinsurgency, intelligence, and readiness.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) Press Release (115th Congress)