Date: 2015-04-23
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. let me express my appreciation to the chairman and ranking member of the full committee. Again. they have shown the kind of leadership that the Nation needs on dealing with homeland security. My particular appreciation to the chairman and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity. Infrastructure Protection. and Security Technologies. as they have worked together and presented legislation that provided a very vigorous debate in the subcommittee and the full committee. We believe that we are making enormous leaps and bounds. We are not where we need to be. but we are making leaps and bounds on the whole question of cybersecurity. Over the last couple of years. Mr. Chairman. even someone just reaching kindergarten understands hacking. understands the collapse that we have seen in the variety of major retail entities and banking entities. and they recognize that we have a new lingo but a new problem. Frankly. almost maybe 10 years ago. or maybe somewhere around 7 years ago. as the infrastructure of the United States was under transportation security. we made the note that 85 percent of the Nations cyber is in the private sector. This legislation is a real approach. The National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act of 2015 clearly puts the Department of Homeland Security where it needs to be and provides the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center as the anchor of the information coming into the Federal Government and the vetting entity where Americans can feel that their data can be protected and our civil liberties are protected. Mr. Chairman. my amendment deals with the industrial control systems. All of us know them. I have been to water systems and seen the impact that a cyber attack could have. the electric grid. all of these are in the eye of the storm. and they are in private hands. Attacks against industrial control systems doubled last year. according to a new report from Dell. "We have over a million firewalls sending data to us on a minutebyminute basis." said John Gordineer. director of product marketing for network security at Dell. Gordineer said: We anonymize the data and see interesting trends. In particular. attacks specifically targeting SCADA industrial control systems rose 100 percent in 2014 compared to the previous year 2014. Countries most affected were Finland. the U.K.. and. yes. the United States of America. The most common attack vector against these systems were buffer overflow attacks. The underlying premise of my amendment. the public benefit of this amendment. is that taxpayer dollars provided to ensure cybersecurity of public and private computer networks will focus on realworld applications that reflect how businesses and industries function. So I thank both my colleagues for it. This amendment. in particular. will be an important addition to the legislation. which I believe can be supported by every Member. The amendment states that the Department of Homeland Security. in carrying out the functions authorized under this bill. remain current on industrial control system innovation. industry adoption of new technologies. and industry best practices. Industrial control systems are rarely thought of as long as they work as designed. Industrial control systems are used to deliver utility services to homes and businesses. add precision and speed to manufacturing. and process our foods into finished products. Industrial control systems are responsible for the lights that brighten our cities. for the clean drinking water. which I indicated many of us visited these systems. of the sewage. of automobiles that travel our highways. and the rows upon rows of foods that fill our shelves at grocery stores. We only need to look recently at a contamination of ice cream across the Nation to know that industrial control systems are extremely important. They are also used in largescale manufacturing. A day does not pass in this country when citizens lives are not impacted. So. Mr. Chairman. I am asking my colleagues to recognize that we are in control. but the industrial control systems may. in fact. control our daily lives. My amendment is asking that the Department of Homeland Security. in carrying out its function authorized under this bill. remain current on industrial control system innovation. industry adoption of new technologies. and industry best practices. I ask my colleagues. as I ask to put my entire statement into the RECORDit lists a whole litany of the private sector infrastructure dealing with industrial control. I am hoping that my amendment will be passed in order to ensure that all aspects of our cyber world are protected for the American people. Mr. Chair. I thank Chairman MCCAUL and Ranking Member THOMPSON for their bipartisanship in bringing H.R. 1731. the "National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act of 2015" before the House for consideration. As a senior member of the House Committee on Homeland Security. I am dedicated to protecting our nation from threats posed by terrorists or others who would wish to do our Nation harm. This is the first of 3 Jackson Lee amendments that will be considered for H.R. 1731. the "National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act of 2015." Jackson Lee Amendment No. 4 is simple and will be an important addition to the legislation. which I believe can be supported by every Member of the House. The Jackson Lee amendment states that the Department of Homeland Security. in carrying out the functions authorized under this bill. will remain current on industrial control system innovation. industry adoption of new technologies. and industry best practices. Industrial control systems are rarely thought of as long as they work as designed. Industrial control systems are used to: deliver utility services to homes and businesses. add precision and speed to manufacturing. and process raw foods into finished products. Industrial control systems are responsible for the lights that brighten our cities at night. the clean drinking water that flows from faucets in our homes. automobiles that travel our highways. and the rows upon rows of foods that fill the shelves of grocery stores. Industrial control systems are also used in largescale manufacturing of home appliances. medicines. and products large and small that are found in our homes and offices. A day does not pass in this country when citizens lives are not touched by the output of industrial control systems. The critical importance electricity. water. natural gas. and other utility services are all provided by industrial control systems. Industrial control systems help keep the cost of everyday consumer products low. and they are essential to meeting consumer demand for goods and services. Industrial control systems undergo constant improvements as owners and operators work to address vulnerabilities and improve efficiency. Innovation is occurring rapidly in industrial control systems. All industrial control systems have one thing in commonthey require computer software. firmware. and hardware. In its wisdom. the Committee on Homeland Security incorporated industrial control systems in its cybersecurity legislation. because industrial control systems are vulnerable to computer errors. accidents. and cybersecurity threats. Coupled with the cybersecurity challenges of industrial control systems is the rapid pace of innovation. For example. a new innovation being adopted by industrial control systems involves 3Dimential or 3D printing. 3D printing involves scanning a physical object with a printer made of a highpower laser that fuses small particles of plastic. metal. ceramic. or glass powders into the objects size and shape. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers. the 3D printing of jet engine parts to coffee mugs is possible. 3D printing has the potential to shrink supply chains. save product development times. and increase customization of products. 3D printing is not the only innovation that will impact industrial control systems. Electricity delivery depends on industrial control systems. The biggest innovation in electricity delivery is the smart grid. which is quickly replacing old electricity delivery and metering technology in cities across the Nation. The term "smart grid" encompasses a host of interrelated technologies rapidly moving into public use to reduce or better manage electricity consumption. Smart grid systems can aid electricity service providers. users. or thirdparty electricity usage management service providers to monitor and control electricity use. The smart grid is also making it possible to more efficiently manage the flow of electricity to residential and industrial consumers. Electric utility meters that were once read once a month are being replaced by smart meters that can be read remotely using smart grid communication systems every 15 minutes or less. The smart grid is capable of monitoring the consumption of electricity down to the individual residential or commercial property. DHS should remain current as innovations like 3D printing and smart grid technologies are introduced to industrial control systems. This Jackson Lee amendment is a good contribution to H.R. 1731. I request support of this amendment by my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. With that. Mr. Chairman. I yield back the balance of my time.