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[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 491 Engrossed in House (EH)]

H. Res. 491

                 In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

                                                      October 17, 2005.
Whereas over 202,000,000 Americans use the Internet in the United States, 
        including 53 percent of home-users through broadband connections, to 
        communicate with family and friends, manage their finances, pay their 
        bills, improve their education, shop at home, and read about current 
        events;
Whereas the approximately 23,000,000 small businesses in the United States, who 
        represent 99.7 percent of all United States employers and employ 50.1 
        percent of the private work force, increasingly rely on the Internet to 
        manage their businesses, expand their customer reach, and enhance their 
        connection with their supply chain;
Whereas nearly 100 percent of public schools in the United States have Internet 
        access, with approximately 80 percent of instructional rooms connected 
        to the Internet, to enhance our children's education by providing access 
        to educational online content and encouraging responsible self-
        initiative to discover research resources;
Whereas almost 9 in 10 teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17, or 87 percent of 
        all youth (approximately 21,000,000 people) use the Internet, and 78 
        percent (or about 16,000,000 students) say they use the Internet at 
        school;
Whereas teen use of the Internet at school has grown 45 percent since 2000, and 
        educating children of all ages about safe, secure, and ethical practices 
        will not only protect their systems, but will protect our children's 
        physical safety, and help them become good cyber citizens;
Whereas our Nation's critical infrastructures rely on the secure and reliable 
        operation of our information networks to support our Nation's financial 
        services, energy, telecommunications, transportation, health care, and 
        emergency response systems;
Whereas cyber security is a critical part of our Nation's overall homeland 
        security, in particular the control systems that control and monitor our 
        drinking water, dams, and other water management systems; our 
        electricity grids, oil and gas supplies, and pipeline distribution 
        networks; our transportation systems; and other critical manufacturing 
        processes;
Whereas terrorists and others with malicious motives have demonstrated an 
        interest in utilizing cyber means to attack our Nation, and the 
        Department of Homeland Security's mission includes securing the homeland 
        against cyber terrorism and other attacks;
Whereas Internet users and our information infrastructure face an increasing 
        threat of malicious attacks through viruses, worms, Trojans, and 
        unwanted programs such as spyware, adware, hacking tools, and password 
        stealers, that are frequent and fast in propagation, are costly to 
        repair, and disable entire systems;
Whereas consumers face significant financial and personal privacy losses due to 
        identity theft and fraud, as reported in 205,568 complaints in 2004 to 
        the Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Sentinel database; and Internet-
        related complaints in 2004 accounted for 53 percent of all reported 
        fraud complaints, with monetary losses of over $265,000,000 and a median 
        loss of $214;
Whereas our Nation's youth face increasing threats online such as inappropriate 
        content or child predators, with 70 percent of teens having accidentally 
        come across pornography on the Internet, and with one in five children 
        having been approached by a child predator online each year;
Whereas national organizations, policymakers, government agencies, private 
        sector companies, nonprofit institutions, schools, academic 
        organizations, consumers, and the media recognize the need to increase 
        awareness of computer security and enhance our level of computer and 
        national security in the United States;
Whereas the National Cyber Security Alliance's mission is to increase awareness 
        of cyber security practices and technologies to home users, students, 
        teachers, and small businesses through educational activities, online 
        resources and checklists, and Public Service Announcements; and
Whereas the National Cyber Security Alliance has designated October as National 
        Cyber Security Awareness Month, which will provide an opportunity to 
        educate the people of the United States about computer security: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of National Cyber Security 
        Awareness Month; and
            (2) will work with Federal agencies, national organizations, 
        businesses, and educational institutions to encourage the development 
        and implementation of existing and future computer security voluntary 
        consensus standards, practices, and technologies in order to enhance the 
        state of computer security in the United States.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
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