And, it was quite an exciting event. And, it is my pleasure to welcome Network Associates and all of their great partners to the Washington area for the same purpose. In the Congress I serve as a Chairman of the Congressional Internet Caucus, and also Chairman of the House Republican High-Tech Working Group. So, I have the challenging job of bringing the Congress and the legislative initiatives of our country into the information age. One of the things I want to talk to you about today bears very directly upon what Network Associates and other good companies are doing to make sure that the folks in this country and around the world are secure in their communications, whether it be their e-mail, their medical records, their financial transactions, their intellectual property, their industrial trade secrets, whatever the case might be.
Security is of paramount importance.
We unfortunately today have a federal government policy with regard to the use of strong encryption, a vital component of network security, that discourages the use of strong encryption. So I, and other Members of Congress, have introduced legislation, the SAFE Act, Security and Freedom through Encryption, HR 850, which is very bipartisan, it has 256 cosponsors in the House, the leadership of both parties are strongly supporting it, which will change this administration's policy to allow companies like Network Associates and others to create good software and hardware products, that utilize strong encryption, to be able to export that encryption, and make this a secure network around the world. Because, after all, when you are talking about the Internet, the ability to sell something domestically is not enough. You have got to have interactive global communications systems. Products being sold by this countries' great leaders in this industry is vitally important.