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Washington, D.C. – Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul reintroduced the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP) Act to authorize an interagency program to strengthen counterterrorism operations and better coordinate U.S. assistance to address rising extremism. The TSCTP program, created in 2005, is a multi-agency effort to help partners in West and North Africa increase immediate and long-term capabilities to address terrorist threats in the region. This bill will also increase congressional oversight and ensure more effective use of taxpayer funds.

“In the last year alone, ISIS and Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist attacks in the Sahel have more than doubled, killing over 4,000 people. A military response alone will not address this threat. That is why it’s so important for a strong, coordinated U.S. response that appropriately balances our diplomatic, development and defense efforts to build partner countries’ capacity to combat terrorism and address the root causes of extremism. We have learned first-hand these groups, left unabated and exploiting safe havens, will pose grave threats to U.S. national security interests.”

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