National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium Act of 2016

Floor Speech

I rise in support of H.R. 4743, the National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium Act of 2016.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4743 allows the Department of Homeland Security to utilize university-based consortia to help provide cybersecurity training and support to State, local, and tribal leaders, including first responders.

There is strong bipartisan support for this legislation, as introduced by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Castro).

H.R. 4743 authorizes DHS to use consortia to provide State and local governments with university-developed cyber training and technical assistance, including for the development of cyber information sharing that jurisdictions in need can use.

Recent studies reveal that organizations at the State and local level describe their cybersecurity programs as being in the early and middle stages of maturity, and 86 percent of State and local respondents identified managing cybersecurity risk as one of their most stressful jobs.

By partnering with consortia, DHS can make a meaningful impact on raising the levels of cybersecurity on the State, local, and tribal levels.

Importantly, H.R. 4743 requires DHS, when selecting a consortium for participation in its cyber efforts, to not only take into account the prior experience of the institutions that would be conducting cybersecurity training exercises, but also the geographic diversity of the institutions participating in the consortium. The inclusion of geographic diversity should help reach more States and localities.

Moreover, I am pleased that the bill requires DHS to do outreach to colleges and universities, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and other minority-serving institutions about opportunities to provide research-based cybersecurity-related training exercises and technical assistance.

Mr. Speaker, States and localities need the ability to prevent, detect, respond to, and recover from cyber events as they would have any other disaster or emergency situation. For this reason, I support H.R. 4743 and urge passage.

Mr. Speaker, the inspiration for this bill was important work being done by the National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium, a group of five universities led by the University of Texas at San Antonio that has helped to raise cyber preparedness at the State and local level by evaluating communities, cybersecurity postures, and providing them with a roadmap to correct deficiencies.

While this consortium is making an important contribution to cybersecurity, there is an enormous need for training and technical assistance around the Nation. With the enactment of H.R. 4743, more institutions will be able to partner with DHS to provide such critical assistance.

As such, I urge passage.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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