Energy Emergency Leadership Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 362) to amend the Department of Energy Organization Act with respect to functions assigned to Assistant Secretaries, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 362
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Energy Emergency Leadership Act''. SEC. 2. FUNCTIONS ASSIGNED TO ASSISTANT SECRETARIES.
(a) In General.--Subsection (a) of section 203 of the Department of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7133(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(12) Energy emergency and energy security functions, including--
``(A) responsibilities with respect to infrastructure, cybersecurity, emerging threats, supply, and emergency planning, coordination, response, and restoration; and
``(B) upon request of a State, local, or tribal government or energy sector entity, and in consultation with other Federal agencies as appropriate, provision of technical assistance, support, and response capabilities with respect to energy security threats, risks, and incidents.''.
(b) Coordination.--The Secretary of Energy shall ensure that the functions of the Secretary described in section 203(a)(12) of the Department of Energy Organization Act (as added by this Act) are performed in coordination with relevant Federal agencies.
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Mr. PALLONE. 362.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation and the two bills that will follow it are bipartisan bills that will help protect our energy grid from cyberattacks.
In hearings before our Energy Subcommittee last year, we heard from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, from the members of FERC, that our energy grid is being attacked each and every single day by state actors or their entities.
Former Energy Secretary Perry started to address this important issue by creating the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, or CESER. He further enhanced its stature by making its leader an Assistant Secretary.
We agree with those decisions, and this legislation would help elevate the importance of this issue while putting Congress' bipartisan stamp of approval on these executive actions.
H.R. 362 would simply amend section 203(a) of the Department of Energy Organization Act by establishing a new assistant secretary position responsible for cybersecurity and emergency response issues.
The Department of Energy is the lead agency for ensuring the cybersecurity of the electric grid, and the newly created assistant secretary would have jurisdiction over all energy emergency and security functions related to energy supply, infrastructure, and cybersecurity.
This bill would also authorize the new assistant secretary to provide DOE technical assistance, as well as support and response capabilities with respect to energy security risks to State, local, or Tribal governments upon request.
The bill would also require the assistant secretary and the Department of Energy to coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security and other relevant Federal agencies in carrying out the bill's provisions.
This bill would go a long way, in my opinion, in helping to protect the Nation's electric infrastructure from hackers who would attempt to disrupt our energy grid and cause untold harm to our economy, our daily lives, and our overall national security.
Mr. Speaker, I want to commend Representatives Walberg and Energy Subcommittee Ranking Member Upton for their leadership and for working with Chairman Rush and me on the Energy Emergency Leadership Act. I also want to thank Ranking Member Upton and full Committee Ranking Member Walden for their ongoing partnership with us over the years on cybersecurity matters. That partnership was essential in getting these three critical bills to the floor today.
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Mr. PALLONE. Will the gentleman yield?
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Mr. PALLONE. Yes, Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely my intent and the intent of the Energy and Commerce Committee that these bills be implemented in coordination with the Secretary and the Department of Homeland Security. In fact, the sole reason we are amending these bills is to make clear that the Department of Energy must implement these bills in coordination with other Federal agencies.
I want to make clear that we intend, first and foremost, DOE to coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security. We have made that clear to DOE at the highest levels, and the Department has acknowledged that it will coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security in implementing these bills.
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Mr. PALLONE. If the gentleman continues to yield, yes, Chairman Thompson, it is correct, and I thank my friend, the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, for that question and the opportunity to further clarify what these bills do and do not do.
These bills completely confine themselves to codifying or further specifying authorities and obligations the Secretary of Energy already has as the sector-specific agency for electricity under the FAST Act, the Federal Power Act, and the Department of Energy Organization Act.
So let me make this clear: Nothing in these bills is intended to infringe, curtail, or otherwise affect the authorities of the Department of Homeland Security as they exist at this moment. And I will go even further to say that nothing in these bills actually affects, in any way, shape, or form, the existing authorities or prerogatives of the Department of Homeland Security or its Secretary in any area. Any interpretation to the contrary is simply incorrect.
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Mr. PALLONE. If the gentleman continues to yield, that is correct, Mr. Chairman.
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Mr. PALLONE. If the gentleman continues to yield, yes, and I would be pleased to do so.
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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman and understand that he continues to have concerns, and I know I may not be able to address them all today, but I commit to working with my friend from Mississippi and my Republican colleagues to try to further address these concerns going forward.
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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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