II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2451

To increase criminal penalties for computer crimes, establish a National

Commission on Cybersecurity, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 13, 2000

Mrs. HUTCHISON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To increase criminal penalties for computer crimes, establish

a National Commission on Cybersecurity, and for other

purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. FRAUD AND RELATED ACTIVITY IN CONNEC4 TION WITH COMPUTERS.

5 (a) INCREASE IN CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR COM6 PUTER CRIMES.—Section 1030 of title 18, United States

7 Code, is amended—

8 (1) in subsection (a)(4), by striking all begin9 ning with ‘‘, unless’’ through the semicolon and in10 serting ‘‘or causes damage;’’; and
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1 (2) in subsection (c)—

2 (A) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘5

3 years’’ and inserting ‘‘10 years’’;

4 (B) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking ‘‘ten

5 years’’ and inserting ‘‘20 years’’;

6 (C) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘five

7 years’’ and inserting ‘‘10 years’’; and

8 (D) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘ten

9 years’’ and inserting ‘‘20 years’’.

10 (b) IMPROVED DAMAGE THRESHOLD.—Section

11 1030(e)(8) of title 18, United States Code, is amended—

12 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B), (C),

13 and (D) as subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E), respec14 tively; and

15 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol16 lowing:

17 ‘‘(B) causes loss or interruption of service

18 to the general public;’’.

19 SEC. 2. NATIONAL COMMISSION ON CYBERSECURITY.

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL COMMISSION ON

21 CYBERSECURITY.—There is established the National

22 Commission on Cybersecurity (in this section referred to

23 as the ‘‘Commission’’).

24 (b) MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSION.—
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1 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Commission shall be

2 composed of 12 members as follows:

3 (A) Three individuals shall be appointed by

4 the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

5 (B) One individual shall be appointed by

6 the Minority Leader of the House of Represent7 atives.

8 (C) Three individuals shall be appointed by

9 the Majority Leader of the Senate.

10 (D) One individual shall be appointed by

11 the Minority Leader of the Senate.

12 (E) Four individuals shall be appointed by

13 the President of the United States.

14 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each of the individuals

15 appointed under paragraph (1) shall be—

16 (A) individuals with a background in Fed17 eral, State, or local law enforcement;

18 (B) individuals from the technology indus19 try; or

20 (C) individuals with expertise in security in

21 the technology industry.

22 (3) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—

23 The members of the Commission shall elect a Chair24 person and a Vice Chairperson. In the absence of
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1 the Chairperson, the Vice Chairperson shall assume

2 the duties of the Chairperson.

3 (4) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of

4 the Commission shall constitute a quorum for the

5 transaction of business.

6 (5) APPOINTMENTS.—All appointments under

7 paragraph (1) shall be made within 30 days after

8 the date of enactment of this Act.

9 (6) VOTING.—Each member of the Commission

10 shall be entitled to 1 vote, which shall be equal to

11 the vote of every other member of the Commission.

12 (7) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy on the Commis13 sion shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in

14 the manner in which the original appointment was

15 made.

16 (8) PROHIBITION OF ADDITIONAL PAY.—Mem17 bers of the Commission shall receive no additional

18 pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of their serv19 ice on the Commission. Members appointed from

20 among private citizens of the United States may be

21 allowed travel expenses, including per diem, in lieu

22 of subsistence, as authorized by law for persons

23 serving intermittently in the Government service to

24 the extent funds are available for such expenses.
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1 (9) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meeting of

2 the Commission shall occur within 90 days after the

3 date of enactment of this Act.

4 (c) FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION.—

5 (1) SPECIFIC FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDA6 TIONS.—The Commission shall study the incidents

7 of computer crimes and the need for enhanced meth8 ods of combating computer crimes. The Commission

9 shall make findings and specific recommendations

10 relating to—

11 (A) improved coordination among all Fed12 eral agencies in combating computer crimes, in13 cluding a central information sharing mecha14 nism;

15 (B) the need for criminal laws designed to

16 deter computer crimes;

17 (C) development of a strategic plan for im18 proved international coordination to combat

19 computer crimes targeted at the United States

20 from foreign countries;

21 (D) the need for additional Federal re22 sources, as well as State and local resources to

23 combat computer crimes; and

24 (E) the enhancement of overall computer

25 security in the United States without creating
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1 legal or regulatory burdens on the private sec2 tor.

3 (2) FINAL REPORT.—

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara5 graph (B), the Commission shall submit to the

6 President and Congress, not later than 1 year

7 after the date of the first meeting of the Com8 mission, a report that shall contain a detailed

9 statement of the findings and conclusions of the

10 Commission, including the Commission’s rec11 ommendations for administrative and legislative

12 action that the Commission considers advisable.

13 (B) MAJORITY VOTE REQUIRED FOR REC14 OMMENDATIONS.—Any recommendation de15 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall be made by

16 the Commission to the President and Congress

17 only if such recommendation is adopted by a

18 majority vote of the members of the Commis19 sion who are present and voting.

20 (d) POWERS OF COMMISSION.—

21 (1) HEARINGS.—For the purpose of carrying

22 out this Act, the Commission may hold such hear23 ings and sit and act at such times and places as the

24 Commission may find advisable.
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1 (2) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—The Commis2 sion may adopt such rules and regulations as may

3 be necessary to establish the Commission’s proce4 dures and to govern the manner of the Commission’s

5 operations, organization, and personnel.

6 (3) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—

7 (A) INFORMATION.—The Commission may

8 request from the head of any Federal agency or

9 instrumentality such information as the Com10 mission may require for the purpose of this Act.

11 Each such agency or instrumentality shall, to

12 the extent permitted by law and subject to the

13 exceptions set forth in section 552 of title 5,

14 United States Code (commonly referred to as

15 the Freedom of Information Act), furnish such

16 information to the Commission, upon request

17 made by the Chairperson of the Commission.

18 (B) FACILITIES AND SERVICES; PER19 SONNEL DETAIL AUTHORIZED.—Upon request

20 of the Chairperson of the Commission, the head

21 of any Federal agency or instrumentality shall,

22 to the extent possible and subject to the discre23 tion of such head—
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1 (i) make any of the facilities and serv2 ices of such agency or instrumentality

3 available to the Commission; and

4 (ii) detail any of the personnel of such

5 agency or instrumentality to the Commis6 sion, on a nonreimbursable basis, to assist

7 the Commission in carrying out the Com8 mission’s duties under this Act.

9 (4) MAILS.—The Commission may use the

10 United States mails in the same manner and under

11 the same conditions as other Federal agencies.

12 (5) CONTRACTING.—The Commission, to such

13 extent and in such amounts as are provided in ap14 propriation Acts, may enter into contracts with

15 State agencies, private firms, institutions, and indi16 viduals for the purpose of conducting research or

17 surveys necessary to enable the Commission to dis18 charge the Commission’s duties under this Act.

19 (6) STAFF.—Subject to such rules and regula20 tions as may be adopted by the Commission, and to

21 such extent and in such amounts as are provided in

22 appropriation Acts, the Chairperson of the Commis23 sion shall have the power to appoint, terminate, and

24 fix the compensation (without regard to the provi25 sions of title 5, United States Code, governing ap-
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1 pointments in the competitive service, and without

2 regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub3 chapter III of chapter 53 of such title, or of any

4 other provision of law, relating to the number, clas5 sification, and General Schedule rates) of an execu6 tive director, and of such additional staff as the

7 Chairperson determines advisable to assist the Com8 mission, at rates not to exceed a rate equal to the

9 maximum rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule

10 under section 5332 of such title.

11 (e) EXPENSES OF COMMISSION.—There are author12 ized to be appropriated to pay any expenses of the Com13 mission such sums as may be necessary not to exceed

14 $500,000. Any sums appropriated for such purposes are

15 authorized to remain available until expended, or until 1

16 year after the termination of the Commission under sub17 section (f), whichever occurs first.

18 (f) TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.—The Commis19 sion shall terminate on the date that is 60 days after the

20 date on which the Commission is required to submit its

21 final report in accordance with section (c)(2).

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