Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. RATCLIFFE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his leadership on these issues.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3490, the Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act. This bill will authorize the National Computer Forensics Institute, or NCFI, which is located in Hoover, Alabama.

Mr. Speaker, when FBI Director Jim Comey recently testified before the House Judiciary Committee, he told us that ``an element of virtually every national security threat and crime problem the FBI faces is cyber-based or facilitated.''

I want to pause and let that sink in for a minute because it makes a perfect case for this bill. The fact that our Federal law enforcement is seeing a cyber element to almost every national security threat and crime problem is incredibly compelling because you can be certain that our State and local law enforcement are seeing the same trend, but with a lot fewer opportunities to learn how to address it.

Now, we have all seen the crime shows on TV where pieces of DNA evidence--a strand of hair or a drop of blood--are used to solve a case. But in today's world, we have to rely upon digital evidence, an email that was sent or an online purchase that was made or geolocation technology that places an individual at the scene of the crime.

Mr. Speaker, today's cybercriminals present new challenges to law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges. It no longer takes a sophisticated cybercriminal to compromise personal and sensitive information of U.S. companies and everyday Americans. Any criminal can now easily obtain from the dark Web the cyber exploit tools that are needed to create this type of havoc.

And so, with the ever-increasing number of cyberattacks, it is vital that our State and local law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges be properly trained to respond to cybercrime and to protect the American people.

The NCFI, which my bill authorizes, does just that. The NCFI was created in 2007 by the State of Alabama and is now operated by the United States Secret Service for the purpose of training State and local law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges on how to investigate cyber- and electronic crimes, on methods for conducting computer and mobile device forensic examinations, and on performing network intrusion investigations.

The NCFI has already garnered a reputation as the premier crime-training center in the Nation, supporting State and local law enforcement investigators, prosecutors, and judges. To date, it has already trained and equipped more than 4,500 local law enforcement officials from all 50 States.

These NCFI graduates--all of whom are now equipped to hit back on cybercrime--represent more than 1,500 agencies nationwide, including agencies from Texas' Fourth Congressional District that I represent, like the Greenville Police Department, the Hunt County District Attorney's Office, and the Collin County Sheriff's Office.

Kelli Aiken, an assistant district attorney from Hunt County, told us that her training at the NCFI had ``transformed their evidence collection and prosecution, leading to more successful apprehensions, more prosecutions, and more convictions.''

So you see, Mr. Speaker, this isn't some highly theoretical bill where the rubber never meets the road. This piece of legislation takes what is already working and formalizes these practices to better amplify their impact going forward.

This bill gives our law enforcement across the country the necessary tools and training to successfully fight cybercriminals in the 21st century. That is why I am honored to introduce it and why I am grateful for its vote today here in the House.

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