Washington, DC – Chairman Dave Reichert (WA-08) of the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science and Technology, released the following statement upon House passage of the Promoting Antiterrorism Capabilities Through International Cooperation Act, H.R. 4942, today:

“In the just over two weeks since the five-year anniversary of 9/11, the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations have taken center stage again as a principle guide to our Nation’s homeland security measures.  In its report, the 9/11 Commission recommended, that ‘the United States should engage other nations in developing a comprehensive coalition strategy against Islamist terrorism.  There are several multilateral institutions in which such issues should be addressed.  But the most important policies should be discussed and coordinated in a flexible contact group of leading coalition governments.’ There’s no question that one of these important policies is the development of homeland security technologies that keep our country safe.  H.R. 4942 implements this 9/11 recommendation by applying it to the homeland security technology we develop to help our Nation’s first responders prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism, natural disasters, and other emergencies. 

“The international cooperation enabled by H.R. 4942 will give our Nation access to a worldwide library of lessons learned and scientific expertise that will no doubt strengthen our own homeland security measures. It is our duty, as allies united under a common purpose to defeat terrorism, that we join forces in the laboratory to combat our shared adversaries and meet our similar technology needs. H.R. 4942 incorporates the wisdom of the 9/11 Commission and the BIRD Foundation partnership between the United States and Israel to strengthen our hand in developing technologies that will make us all – the United States and its allies alike – safer and more secure.”

H.R. 4942 is modeled after a partnership created by Congress in 1977 between the United States and Israel called the Bi-national Industrial Research and Development Foundation, called the “BIRD” Foundation. The mission of the BIRD Foundation is to stimulate, promote and support industrial research and development of mutual benefit to both nations. In 29 years, the BIRD Foundation has invested $225 million in 690 cooperative research and development projects mutually beneficial to the United States and Israel. The BIRD model serves as a solid foundation for international cooperation in homeland security research and development.