Press Releases

Washington, DC – The House Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency held a hearing Thursday morning entitled, “Identifying the Enemy: Radical Islamist Terror.” The hearing was centered on threat of radical Islamist terrorism, the importance of identifying the threat for what it is, and ways to defeat it.

Violent Islamist extremism is regarded by many security experts as the principle extremist threat to the United States.  The two most prominent Islamist extremist groups that pose a threat to the United States are al Qaeda and ISIS. Both groups present a direct threat to US security and advocate for the establishment of a global caliphate—a jurisdiction governed by a Muslim civil and religious leader known as a caliph—via violent means. Despite this, the Obama Administration has consistently failed to distinguish that the most urgent terrorist threat facing the homeland comes from radical Islamist terror.

Chairman Perry speaks at subcommittee hearing on radical Islamist terrorism

Subcommittee Chairman Scott Perry: 

“It’s time to stop hiding behind a façade of political correctness. Radical Islamist terrorists threaten our freedoms and threaten our way of life. If we are too afraid to name our enemy, and to dig deep into their ideological motivations, how are we ever expected to destroy this scourge?” 

“By disallowing the use of specific phrases, by denying contributing factors to this extremist movement, the Administration is undercutting prominent Muslims who truly understand that reforming Islam must come from within. We should be targeting the root causes of radicalization, instead of waiting until countless numbers of our citizens are murdered by these radicals, and then playing defense after the fact.” 

About the Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency

House Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency focuses on probing homeland security programs and operations to promote efficiency and save taxpayer dollars. The Subcommittee rigorously monitors the management of the Department of Homeland Security, such as acquisition management, human capital issues, employee integrity, information technology issues, and financial systems.

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