Congress seeks to punish countries that fail to hinder foreign fighters

The House Foreign Affairs panel will vote this week on a plan to combat international travel by terrorists.
A memorial still remains outside as workers return to work for the first time at the Inland Regional Center (IRC) in San Bernardino, California, January 4, 2016. The office building in San Bernardino, California, where 14 people were massacred last month by a married couple inspired by Islamist militants, reopened on Monday. Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, stormed into a holiday party attended by his co-workers from a San Bernardino County social services agency and opened fire on Dec. 2, k
A memorial remains outside as workers return to work for the first time at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California, Jan. 4, 2016. Fourteen people were massacred at the office building last month by a married couple inspired by Islamist militants. - REUTERS/Mike Blake
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Julian Pecquet
@JPecquet_ALM

Congress is starting the new year with a clear warning that the Middle East and Europe need to do a whole lot more to prevent jihadis from moving around the globe.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee is scheduled to vote Jan. 7 on legislation to create a plan to combat international travel by terrorists and other foreign fighters. The bill, from panel member Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., notably requires the State Department to single out at-risk countries that fail to meet “minimum standards” for combating travel by foreign fighters.

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