Congressman John Ratcliffe
Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON D.C. This week important steps were made in the fight to keep our homeland safe to prevent restrictive abuses of our Second Amendment rights by unelected bureaucrats and to defend against cyber-attacks which threaten the personal privacy of Americans.
Seven Years and Counting: The President Tries Yet Again to Close Guantanamo Bay
When President Obama announced this week his new push to close Guantanamo Bay I spoke out firmly about huge risks posed by this plan. For seven years hes tried to convince Congress and the American people that the closure of this detention facility does not pose a direct threat to our homeland but hes dead wrong. Beyond this his plan fails to provide critical details as required by law and directly defies the prohibition against transferring terrorist detainees to American soil.
Im glad my Republican colleagues in both the House in Senate joined me in aggressively opposing the closure of Guantanamo Bay once again. Weve already voted for legislation signed into law by the president himself to prevent this action. And as a former terrorism prosecutor who put terrorist sympathizers in prison Ill remain steadfast against any attempt to advance this plan which presents such a significant national security threat to our country.
Curbing Second Amendment Abuse: House Passes Measure to Stop Feds from Restricting Sportsmens Access to Federal Lands
Later in the week I joined my colleagues in standing up to unelected bureaucrats whove been using federal law to block fishing hunting and target shooting on federal lands. I voted for and the House passed the SHARE Act (H.R. 2406) to prevent such abuses and to protect Second Amendment rights of thousands of Americans who wish to participate in perfectly legal and safe outdoor activities.
As a proud member of the Sportsmens Caucus and the holder of a Texas Concealed Handgun License you can count on me to continue holding the administrations feet to the fire when it comes to protecting our Second Amendment rights. After all the Constitution is clear when it says the right to bear arms shall not be infringed."
Threat Revealed: Cyber Capabilities Arm Nation States Terrorist Groups and Criminal Organizations for Potential Attacks
On Thursday I chaired a House Homeland Security cybersecurity subcommittee hearing where top cybersecurity experts confirmed the serious national security implications of nation states and other malicious cyber actors. While nation states such as Russia China and Iran are currently most capable of conducting cyber-attacks terrorist groups such as ISIS have exhibited high intent to do harm once they attain the proper sophistication.
This issue hit home just last month when the Titus Regional Medical Center in Texas Fourth District suffered a cyber-attack. For multiple days their electronic health record system was locked by malicious actors who demanded a ransom. As cyber threats keep growing and evolving I will continue utilizing my role as the cybersecurity subcommittee chairman to ensure our homeland and your personal privacy are protected from our cyber adversaries.
Some positive strides were made this week in the fight to restore constitutional and conservative values to our nation but the fight is far from over. You can count on me to continue leading the charge on these important issues until we get our country back on track
