the fbi and the nctc are valuable contributions and having the privilege of sitting on both intel and homeland security i get to see as well as anybody what everybody is doing and everybody is working in the right direction except the u.s. senate. my hope would be that we would start helping you rather than hurt you. i yield back. >> i would like to associate myself with your remarks and my colleagues from oklahoma. we need to move not just the three cyber bills reported out of this committee i think unanimously that some version of information-sharing. i hope is that we will have a chance to do at least those for this year. that's my goal. if we can do more, god bless us. we have members of our committee. thank you for joining us today. our first witness is a retired brigadier general francis taylor. mr. taylor's undersecretary for intelligence analysis in the department, security. how long have you been in the job now? >> four months. >> he provides the secretary of dhs leadership in state and local and tribal and private sector partners with, security intelligence and information t

we know our business quite well at nctc where we have the responsibility under the statute to createds to maintain the government's consolidated database, unknown and suspected terrorists, called tide. we share a subset of that classified database with the terrorist screening center which is then responsible for using it for various screening purposes, airports and the like. some of that information is shared under sharing agreements with other countries. i think the important point is that when it comes to u.s. person information, that for example nsa collects, that they have a series of rules and laws and policies that limit what can be shared about u.s. persons and minimization procedures based on what they collect so that at every step in the process, from the initial collection of that information to its use in classified databases, to its use for screening purposes, and finally potentially sharing it with other countries, there are a number of steps all designed to protect the privacy and civil liberties of u.s. persons that are taken along the way. i think that's about the best

we work every day with the fbi, with the nctc, in gathering information and sharing data.that sense, i think our capacity is much more effective than it was 13 years ago. there's always room for improvement and change, but i think the leadership of the ct community of our government understand it is we don't cooperate, bad things will happen. i think the nature of the threat, i think nick probably characterized it best, 9/11, 2001, we were focused on al qaeda and afghanistan and pakistan. today, al qaeda, al qaeda adherence and other jihadists, essentially global. they are operating in north africa, they are operating in the middle east, they are operating in south asia. so much more diverse, nonetheless, they still see us as the enemy and therefore, a threat to the united states and our operations around the world. >> mr. rasmussen, i believe the threat's growing, i think it's more grave. you had mentioned the effect of edward snowden's disclosures, i mean, has that degladed our ability to protect ourselves? has that degraded our intelligence gathering capabilities? >> i

nctc's tie nctc's tied to data mart environment is a database of known and suspected international terrorists and helps us ensure all relevant information collected by the government on identified individuals including individuals identified as syrian foreign fighters all that information shared with intelligence law enforcement and screening agencies. we are absolutely relentless in the efforts to ensure that the data is as accurate as possible thousands entered accurately in the records are as comprehensive as they can possibly be and we are mindful of privacy and civil liberties concerns with respect to u.s. persons. in the case of u.s. persons in the nomination to tie goes to the least four layers of review including illegal level of review to ensure that the underlying derogatory information is sufficient to meet established standards. our management at nctc of this terrorist identities has created a valuable forum for identifying and sharing information with partners in the community. our collective efforts identify and hansen expedite the nomination of individuals we assessed to be syr

i would thank you all for your viable, the fbi and nctc contributions. having the privilege to study on intel and homeland security, i get to see as well as anybody what everybody is doing. everybody is working in the right direction except the u.s. senate. my hope would be that we would start helping you rather than hurt you. i yield back. >> i would like to associate myself with the remarks of my colleague. some version of the information sharing came out of the intel committee. is thate is a -- hope we will have a chance to go through all four of them this year. god bless us. on behalf of all the members of our committee, thank you for joining us today. our first witness is retired brigadier general francis taylor. how long you been in a job now general, -- now, general? >> one month. >> one month. [indiscernible] for years in the state as counterterrorism coordinator as the assistant secretary for diplomatic security and eight years as vice president at general electric. second witness is the undersecretary for national protection and programs direct

. >> this is the most traumatic event that nctc has had in its 90 years of history. >> just very hard to fathom that this, in the blink of an eye, happened. >> the school will hold a vigil for the victims tomorrow night. >>> today a symbol of hope worn by the students of the university of virginia. original is one of the school's team colors. it's also hannah graham's favorite color. she never made it back home. officers have a suspect in custody. jesse matthew is facing a charge of abduction with intention to sexually molest hannah. >>> ash and stones flying into the air. more than 200 people were trying to scale its peak when the volcano erupted. two flights headed to tokyo have been diverted. the last eruption was back in 1979. >> a big mess there. >>> coming up next, the new law that helps protect children caught in the middle of domestic violence. >>> a south bay race for mayor. >>> and while we saw a sunny afternoon here at home, thunderstorms continue to fire across the sierra and not to mention rain, lightning, and everyone some snow. >>> we'll hear from first responders after

>> that's a pretty well informed question, you know our business quite well, nctc, where we have the responsibility under the statute that created us to maintain the government's consolidated database on known terrorists, called tide. we share that classified data base with the terrorist screening center who then is responsible for using it for various screening purposes, airports and the like. and some of that information is shared under a sharing agreement with other countries. i think the important point is that when it comes to u.s. personal information, that for example nsa collects, that they have a series of rules and laws and policies that limit what can be shared about u.s. persons and minimization procedures in what they collect. so at every step of the process, from the initial collection of that information to its use in classified databases to its use for screening purposes and finally potentially sharing it with other countries, there are a number of steps all designed to protect the privacy and civil liberties of u.s. persons that are taken along the way. so i think th

members of the committee, to counter this threat, the men and women at nctc remain vigilant around thee are dedicated to working with partners particularly the fbi and dhs to identify these threats, degrade networks and disrupt plots both at home and abroad. we appreciate the continued support and thank you for this opportunity. we look forward to your questions. >> thank you, direct popper i recognize myself for questions. we mentioned there's no specific and credible threat to homeland. having said that, i don't think ii i've seen the threaten environment. particularly as it exists overseas with the so-called islamic state in the levant, we've known about this threat for over year. i don't think it was until the beheadings of the journalists and out in british aid worker that it got the attention of the american people as to what kind of evil we are dealing with. and it has changed popular opinion in terms of driving policy to eliminate a threat that they don't want to see here in the united states. perpetrate those acts of brutal savagery. and at the same time, you have core al qaed

we've been happily hosting nctc officers under our federal executive fellowship program here. the national counterterrorism center is a relatively new part of the united states national security bureaucracy. it's only about 10 years old. it has many responsibilities but the most important responsibility is to prepare the national terror threat assessment. t snee -- nctc, determines how serious the organization is and how serious the environment is. when president obama meets with his homeland principles, it is matt who opens the meeting saying here's what the threat is and how serious we think it is. it's a pretty heavy responsibility. he is not the secretary of state. he is not the secretary of defense. he doesn't decide what targets we bomb. he doesn't decide whether we bashar al-assad. those in the audience have seen his bio, graduate of the university of virginia and harvard law school and worked in the department of justice and the national security agency. he worked on the guantanamo bay review process in 2009. we asked him several weeks ago if he would come and give a p

i thay reflects the commitment ithin nctc and the broader intelligence community to our fidelity to theconstitution. >> i believe i asked for unanimous consent for this. but i'd also ask for unanimous consent which i look to refer to the chairman's review h.r. 5488, which is legislation that is called no fly for foreign fighters. it doesn't tie your hands but it refines the watch list to make sure that everyone that should be on it is on it, particularly since the foreign fighter concept is continuing to grow. i ask unanimous consent to introduce that into the work and it forward to discussing with you gentlemen. > thank you, mr. chairman. over 100 americans have joined isil. do we know howy

i know this is something nctc has spent a lot of time on as well. >> have you seen something, mr.en, with regard to there's a growing compet competency threat from isil? >> at this point i would characterize it it as basically as -- as operational in terms of asperational. the primary concern about cyberright now is the use of internet to recruit and track followers. >> director johnson, or secretary johnson, you may feel kohl fortable in commenting on that. but i want to thank must remaining minute to thank you for your leadership and close cooperation with this committee as we have worked to structure new legislation that would enhance the ability for the agencies across the board to better prepare to be responsive of this growing technological threat. can you tell me -- r -- i know you support it -- but can you tell me why you believe this legislation is critical to the enhancement of your mission and why it's so critical that we react in a timely fashion on this? >> congressman, thank you for your leadership in this area. i think it's critical. there are several reasons why i

. >> this is the most traumatic event that nctc has had in its 90 years of history. >> reporter: the lady lions had just played a scrimmage against southern nazarene university. >> it just broke my heart. i couldn't believe that those girls we just played against and prayed with after the game, some of them are not here anymore. >> reporter: two small college communities now mourning an almost unbearable loss. dan schenamen, nbc news. >>> now to health news. federal health officials are monitoring nine children in colorado for symptoms of muscle weakness and paralysis. at least four of those kids have already tested positive for a rare virus strain that's spreading across the country. the cdc says 277 people in 40 states have tested positive for enterovirus 68. virtually all of them children. doctors say the paralysis could be an extreme complication of the virus that typically develops like a very bad cold. >> some of of these kids i think are just having some weakness, and some have progressed to paralysis. >> parents have been warned to watch for symptoms in their kids like extrem

and to quote the direct i don't have -- director of nctc from his speech yesterday, at this point in time we have no credible information that isil is planning to attack the united states he added, in our view, any threat -- this is from the sympathizers and foreign fighters, any threat to the u.s. homeland is likely to be limited in scope and scale. we as a nation have made some costly mistakes in the past in places like vietnam and iraq by making hasty and falseage cease of the threat we face and we really should not do so again. so while i support limited air strikes along the current line, i think the doubles down we need is in the form of intensive engagement, including thru financial and military incentives with regional partners who are the most immediately threatened by isis and above all we must stay the course and push the iraqis to get past the divisions in baghdad and take the fight to isis. i think we do face a long-term threat in isis, the desire to kill westerners. i believe we'll see a campaign in the region to destroy its leadership. but we should not own this strugg

additionally, this is likely one of the last congressional appearances for nctc director matt olsen who his retirement. we thank you for your service, sir, over the years. 25 years of service to your government. director olsseolsen, we appreci you being here and everything you have done to protect americans. it's been an honor to work with you. secretary johnson, you have been on the job for nine months. i appreciate your good work and relationship we have built over the years -- months that you have taken office. i look forward to having you appear before this committee again. thanks for your -- if i could say, i was in new york yesterday. secretary johnson was leading the governors of new york, new jersey, the fbi, cvp, joint terrorism task force in such a professional manner. it was really refreshing to see that kind of leadership coming from our department on a very serious topic. so thank you for your leaders p leadership, sir. the chair now raises the ranking member, mr. thompson. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for holding this very important hearing. however, we also are f

i think that reflects the commitment within nctc and broader intelligence community to our fidelity to the constitution constitution. >> if i might, mr. chairman, thank mr. olsen for his service. and ask unanimous consent i believe i asked for unanimous consent for this, but i'd also ask for unanimous consent which i'd like to refer to the chairman's review h.r. 5488, which i'd like to ask unanimous consent to put into the record, which is legislation that is called no fly for foreign fighters. it doesn't tie your hands, but it refines the watch list to make sure that everyone that should be on it is on it. particularly since the foreign fighter concept is continuing to grow. i ask unanimous consent to introduce that into the record and look forward to discussing it with you gentlemen. >> without objection, so ordered. dr. browne from georgia. -- broun from georgia. >> thank you. it was mentioned in oral testimony that over roughly 100 americans have joined isil. do we know how many americans have actually joined isil as well as other terrorist organizations around the world? it any of

know, it was toney limb and the chairman of the joint chiefs and the policy person nd matt olsen from nctc, the number two in intelligence in the dni. and it was very good solid briefing. it's still going ofpblet were were there many questions? >> i'm not going to describe this classified briefing. is set ink the course and my hope is that everybody comes together now and supports it. i think that's the most important thing we can do. >> on a different subject why you felt it was important to nd that letter and what your reaction was to the vice video? >> i have no idea whether they had access or not so i really can't comment. >> why do you think it's important that the n.f.l. have a no tolerance policy in concerns of domestic violence? >> because i think that a lot of men underestimate this and i to say. it's very hard but this was an extraordinary event. in fact, that you got the ctual events and got the -- as somebody very prominent and rrific in his sport, and our society has too much of it. we just can't allow it. so we'll see what the n.f.l. does. i'm out of here. thank you. [inaudib

. >> this is the most trauma attic event that nctc has had in 90 years of history.ansportation board is investigating the accident. we now know five babies have tested positive for tb at a texas hospital. one hospital employee who is contagious is working with the infants in el paso, texas. they are not considered to have active tb. the health department said 850 babies may have been exposed and while positive results are serious, the disease is manageable. ebola outbreak in africa is spreading. there is a shortage of doctors. hospital beds and medical supplies and despite international aid. they need more help immediately. meantime near washington, a special isolatelation unit is going to admit a doctor for observation. he was exposed while volunteering and he may not be infected. >>> much more ahead on kron 4 weekend. giants get a win over the padres. we will check out the live shot with the approach to the bay bridge. we will be right back. . >>> giants getting it done beating the padres at a final three to one. and leading the way with the two run single with tw

i know this is something nctc has spent a lot of time thinking about as well. >> have you seen something, mr. olsen, with regard to the activities that lead you to believe there is a growing competency that may create an actual threat from isil on the cyberdomain? >> it's something we are concerned about. at this point i would characterize it as basically just aspirational in terms of any capability of isil or other similar groups to carry out cyberattacks. i think as director comey said, the primary concern about cyber right now is the use of the internet to recruit and attract followers. >> director johnson, you made -- secretary johnson, you may feel comfortable in commenting on that, but i want to take my remaining minute to thank you for your leadership and close cooperation with this committee as we have worked to structure new legislation that would enhance the ability for the agencies across the board to better prepare to be responsive to this growing of technological threat. can you tell me -- i know you support it, but can you tell me why you believe this legislation is critica

and to quote the direct i don't have -- director of nctc from his speech yesterday, at this point intime we have no credible information that isil is planning to attack the united states he added, in our view, any threat -- this is from the sympathizers and foreign fighters, any threat to the u.s. homeland is likely to be limited in scope and scale. we as a nation have made some costly mistakes in the past in places like vietnam and iraq by making hasty and falseage cease of the threat we face and we really should not do so again. so while i support limited air strikes along the current line, i think the doubles down we need is in the form of intensive engagement, including thru financial and military incentives with regional partners who are the most immediately threatened by isis and above all we must stay the course and push the iraqis to get past the divisions in baghdad and take the fight to isis. i think we do face a long-term threat in isis, the desire to kill westerners. i believe we'll see a campaign in the region to destroy its leadership. but we should not own this struggl

i know this is something nctc has thought a lot about as well. >> have you seen something with regard the activity that leads to you believe there is growing competency that may have a threat from isil on the cyber domain? >> it is something we are concerned about. but at this upon the i would characterize it as basically just aspirational in terms of any capability of isil or similar groups to carry out cyber attacks. i think as director comey said, primary concern is the use of the internet to recruit and track followers. >> director johnson, or secretary johnson, you may fell comfortable in commenting on that but i want to take my remaining minute to thank you for your leadership and close cooperation with this committee as we have worked to structure new legislation that would enhance the ability for the agencies across the board. to better prepare to be responsive to the growing technological threat. can you tell me, not just -- i know you support it, but can you tell me why you believe this legislation is critical to the enhancement of your mission and why it is so critical that