Date: 2016-05-16
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of H.R. 4743. the National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium Act of 2016. because it will establish an important resource to ensure that private sector entities are better prepared to protect against cyber threats. As a senior member of the House Committee on Homeland Security. I am well aware of the threats posed by cybersecurity vulnerabilities. and this bill takes an essential step to strengthen domestic cybersecurity. H.R. 4743 establishes a National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium to engage academic. nonprofit. private industry. and federal. state. and local government partners to address cybersecurity risks and incidents. including threats or acts of terrorism. The Consortium may provide training to State and local first responders and officials to equip them with the tools and skills needed to prepare for and respond to cybersecurity risks and incidents. including threats and acts of terrorism. in accordance with current law. I thank both Chairman McCAUL and Ranking Member THOMPSON for the bipartisan work done to bring the bill before the House for Consideration. I am pleased that during the Committee markup of H.R. 4743. two important Jackson Lee Amendments were adopted. The first Jackson Lee Amendment to H.R. 4743 establishes metrics as a measure of the effectiveness of the National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium program. Having the information provided by my amendment to H.R. 4743. will allow the Congressional oversight committees to better plan future programs around cybersecurity collaborations that are intended to share knowledge on best practices in securing computer networks from attack. The second Jackson Lee Amendment added an additional objective of the bill. a directive that should help participants prepare to address continuity of operations. This amendment provides a focus for the Consortiums work on the issue of continuity of operation. which addresses whether an entity can survive a cyberattack. continue to provide information or services during an attack. or the likelihood that the time to recovery from a successful cyberattack or threat is predictable and reasonable. Just as the attacks on the morning of September 11. 2001 came without notice so may a major cyberattack. In March. of this year. U.S. Attorney General Lynch announced "wanted" notices for a group of Iranian hackers the United States believes are behind a 2013 computer intrusion of a small New York dam and a series of cyberattacks on dozens of U.S. banks. There are many companies offering continuity of operations services to companies large and small with the intent that they will be there to support their clients in the event of a cyber incident. The work of the Consortium should go beyond planning to the answering questions regarding the operationalization of plans in the event of an attack or cyber incident. We know that planning is crucial. but we must encourage cybersecurity planning to go beyond the planning process to understand the capacity of an entitys continuity of operations plans by looking at continuity of operations of service providers should an incident impact an area or industry. I support H.R. 4743. because it provides this assurance by providing critical cybersecurity collaboration among experts and industries that are essential to critical infrastructure operations or have a significant economic presence in our nations economy that a cyberattack would have broad repercussions. I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 4743.