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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | June 22, 2016 12:28 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Rick Saccone and Rep. Kristin Hill |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Resolution Establishing a Select Committee on Commonwealth Security of the House State Government Committee |
| In the aftermath of the horrible tragedy in Orlando Florida which saw an individual, inspired by hate, murder 49 Americans in cold blood, the Commonwealth must increase its efforts to keep Pennsylvanians safe. The terrorist attack in Florida did not happen in a vacuum, as we have seen individuals who pledged loyalty to ISIS have attacked innocent civilians in both France and Belgium over the last twelve months. These attacks not only constituted attacks on our way-of-life, but were crimes against humanity. The efforts of terrorist group such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah and Hamas are growing more and more sophisticated as these organizations are turning new and innovative ways to fund their message of hate. These methods include a growing reliance on petty crimes with high reward and low risk on the black market such as illicit tobacco sales and other products. In recent testimony before the House Committee on Homeland Security, it was revealed that the attacks in Europe were funded in large part by these petty crimes. The constantly evolving method by which terrorist groups operate often hides the fact that these groups still use traditional crimes to perpetuate their assault on basic human dignity including narcotic, arms and human trafficking. Terrorist groups are not the only criminal organizations which use these methods within the United States and the commonwealth to fund their activities; law enforcement must also address these activities from other criminal organizations including gangs and drug cartels. Criminal organizations are not the only threat which the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania faces as the state must adjust its policies to face cyber-attacks. This threat is evidenced by the actions of foreign nations including China, Russia and North Korea. These nations have routinely attempted to hack into government or corporate agencies to steal proprietary information. Whether it was the North Koreans stealing blueprints for the F-15 or Russia or China stealing corporate information; Cyber-attacks are a new and growing threat to the safety of our economy and our state. As state policies have a major impact on the security of Pennsylvanians from criminal organizations, terrorist groups and foreign nations, we plan to introduce legislation which improves the security policies of the state. This legislation will establish a Select Committee of the House State Government Committee to review and address Commonwealth Security Issues. The purview of the committee will include reviewing current and proposed state policies that impact national security. In addition the committee will also be tasked with reviewing methods on how to improve the security of Pennsylvanians against a terrorist or cyber-attack. Please join us and co-sponsor this legislation to safeguard Pennsylvanians and our economy from threats posed by criminal organizations such as terrorist groups and cyber-attacks. |
Introduced as HR961