Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2024

Floor Speech

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Mr. CLYDE. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer an amendment to cut the funding levels for the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, also known as CISA, by 25 percent, which equals about a $592.7 million reduction.

On CISA's website, the agency's mission reads: ``We lead the national effort to understand, manage, and reduce risk to our cyber and physical infrastructure.'' Great mission statement.

Unfortunately, CISA has dangerously and nefariously migrated far from its mission, kind of like one of the illegal aliens coming across our southern border.

Last year, CISA was involved in the infamous Disinformation Governance Board established under the Biden administration's Department of Homeland Security to regulate and police Americans' speech.

While this dystopian Disinformation Governance Board was rightfully disbanded a few months later after enormous public outcry, many will be shocked to learn that CISA has not stopped monitoring Americans' free speech.

According to a draft copy of DHS' ``Quadrennial Homeland Security Review,'' CISA drafted plans to target ``inaccurate information'' on a wide range of topics, including ``the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine, racial justice, U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the nature of U.S. support to Ukraine.''

Moreover, Twitter's business records suggest that CISA migrated its true mission to protect the Nation's critical cyber and physical infrastructure into controlling what Americans can say and what speech is accessible online.

This is wrong, dangerous, and a massive violation of our constitutional rights. Americans' First Amendment freedoms shall not be regulated or controlled by a rogue government agency either directly or indirectly through Big Tech. This government by proxy censorship has no place in our constitutional Republic.

For some background, CISA was first created with overwhelming bipartisan support prior to my service here in the House. Under the Trump administration, CISA focused on countering foreign cyber influence. Unfortunately, since the current administration took office, CISA has aggressively shifted beyond the original mandate of countering foreign threats.

In January 2021, CISA officials renamed the Countering Foreign Influence Task Force, one of the key bodies countering foreign disinformation founded during the Trump administration. They renamed it to the mis-, dis-, and malinformation team, or MDM team, meaning they took the word ``foreign'' out of the title. This shift in name represents a shift in CISA's mission from foreign to domestic to censor American citizens.

Earlier this year, information was reported that showed members of CISA had privately characterized those who raised concerns over government censorship of free speech. CISA had labeled these individuals bad actors.

CISA needs to return to its original mission of strengthening and protecting our national cybersecurity and infrastructure, not censoring free speech and infringing America's First Amendment liberties.

As CISA's budget has drastically increased by 44 percent over the last 3 fiscal years, this agency has dangerously expanded its mission to police free speech and to silence the American people.

There is a clear connection here. Given an extraordinary boost in funding, CISA has weaponized tax dollars to censor Americans and target speech they find disagreeable. It is time to end this injustice in order to protect the American people's unalienable First Amendment rights.

Therefore, I offer this amendment to reduce CISA's funding closer to its fiscal year 2019-2020 funding level. This agency must be refocused on its true mission and not get expanded funding to continue undermining our constitutional rights.

There is nothing like a budget cut to get an agency's attention.

Mr. Chair, I urge all Members to support my amendment in an effort to stop CISA's Orwellian practices and defend our cherished First Amendment freedoms.

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Mr. CLYDE. Mr. Chairman, the only thing that agencies in this town respect is funding.

Indeed, reduced funding is the only way that we will bring them back to their core mission. This agency has had a 44 percent increase in funding, and yet, they have taken that money, and what they have done to our First Amendment civil liberties, to our rights, is they have spied upon us.

In the cybersecurity world, they have taken our information and they have misused it. I think CISA needs a haircut, and I think this haircut will get their attention.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. CLYDE. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

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