Small Business Development Center Cyber Training Act of 2021
Floor Speech
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Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Velazquez and Ranking Member Luetkemeyer for the opportunity to support this bill.
I rise in support of H.R. 4515, the Small Business Development Center Cyber Training Act, which increases the ability of Small Business Development Centers across our country to provide cybersecurity planning assistance and counseling to small businesses. This important bill requires that at least five staff members, or 10 percent of the total number of employees, in each Small Business Development Center in the country are certified in cybersecurity planning and assistance.
My community is fortunate to have two Small Business Development Centers, one in Reading and one in Exton. As a former entrepreneur myself before joining Congress, I know intimately and firsthand how important these centers are. I am grateful for their commitment to help entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground, establish themselves, and ultimately to thrive. With the enactment of this bipartisan bill, they will be able to help more small businesses in southeastern Pennsylvania defend against cyberattacks.
I want to make the following clear to everyone in Congress and across America: If we are not protecting our small businesses, we are not protecting our economy. The rise in cyberattacks against our economy and our economic infrastructure should be cause for very serious alarm. We need to be doing everything in our power to not only shore up our defense but also to equip our small business owners with the tools that they need to defend their businesses.
I was proud to introduce this bipartisan bill with my colleagues, Andrew Garbarino from New York, Steve Chabot from Ohio, and my friend and colleague from Pennsylvania, Dwight Evans. I thank the Small Business Committee chair, Nydia Velazquez, again for helping bring this important bill to a vote in the House today.
I urge my colleagues to join me and to vote ``yes'' on this very important bill.
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