Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council Act

Floor Speech

Date: Oct. 19, 2021
Location: Washington, DC

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. WALBERG. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Ohio for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4067, the Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council Act. I would like to thank my colleagues, Representatives Slotkin and Schrader, for joining me in leading on this important legislation.

Though we don't agree on every issue, I am proud of our bipartisan record when it comes to securing our Nation's communications networks and maintaining our leadership in next-generation wireless technology.

H.R. 4067 codifies an existing FCC council advisory council, the Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council, better known as CSRIC.

First established in 1992 under its previous name as the Network Reliability Council, CSRIC makes key recommendations to the FCC on a range of public safety and national security issues--everything from deploying next-generation 911 systems to emergency alerting during storms and disasters, to addressing threats from foreign adversaries.

At a legislative hearing earlier this year, we heard from cybersecurity experts who said that CSRIC is one of the ``crown jewels'' of our Government and that there would be tremendous, long- term value in backing it up statutorily while retaining its flexibility to tackle the new challenges of the day.

Another former CSRIC panel member spoke to how other countries around the world look to this body to implement best communications and security practices. He said--and I agree with him--that CSRIC is one of the unique platforms which enables the U.S. to lead the rest of the world in 5G, 6G, and beyond.

As the world becomes increasingly digital and our communications systems advance toward open-source software platforms, cyberattacks and threats are only going to increase. We have to be prepared as a nation to meet this moment, and CSRIC helps us do that.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4067.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT


Source
arrow_upward