Congress demands terrorism threat audits in allied nations
H.R. 8168 — Major Non-NATO Ally Terror Threat Assessment Act · Filed by Matt Van Epps (R-TN) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Mar 30, 2026 · Passed chamber
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security, working with the State Department and intelligence agencies, to assess terrorism threats posed by foreign terrorist organizations and designated terrorists operating in countries that are U.S. major non-NATO allies. The assessment must identify which terrorist groups are present in each ally country, describe their activities (including use of AI and emerging technologies), evaluate U.S. capability to monitor and prevent their members from entering the U.S., and identify resource gaps—all to be submitted to Congress in classified form within 180 days and then every two years.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to mandate a recurring intelligence assessment and congressional reporting requirement on terrorism threats in allied nations. It is a transparency and oversight mechanism, not a substantive policy change or appropriation.
What the text implies
- The bill's focus on AI and emerging technologies used by terrorist groups may drive DHS resource allocation toward surveillance and detection capabilities, potentially expanding domestic monitoring infrastructure.
- Biennial assessments of terrorist presence in major non-NATO allies could influence U.S. foreign policy, military aid decisions, or diplomatic relations with those countries based on threat levels identified.
- Classified reporting to Congress creates an information asymmetry: the public cannot directly verify threat assessments or challenge their accuracy, though members of Congress can request access.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill creates a systematic intelligence-gathering and reporting mechanism to help the U.S. government identify and counter terrorism threats originating from allied nations, improving homeland security awareness and congressional oversight. There are no restrictions on citizens' rights, no liability shields for private parties, and no hidden subsidies—only a transparency and accountability measure requiring the executive branch to assess and report on a known security risk.
Who stands to gain
- defense and intelligence contractors (potential resource allocation for monitoring/detection systems
- cybersecurity and AI firms (if DHS allocates budget to track terrorist use of emerging technologies)
Named in the bill
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Secretary of State, Director of National Intelligence, House Committee on Homeland Security, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs), Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs), Major non-NATO allies, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC)
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- Mar 30, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Mar 30, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Homeland Security and Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security”
- Jun 24, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
- Jun 24, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 28 - 2”
- Jul 13, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4396-4397)”
- Jul 13, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Garbarino moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $240,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 99 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Matt Van Epps, the sponsor, reported $601,900 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Fdd Action — $240,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (4,589 characters) on Jul 9, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Congress demands terrorism threat audits in allied nations” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr8168 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.