Cybersecurity Enhancement Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

Cybersecurity Enhancement Act Of 2009

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First of all, Mr. Chairman, I want to rise in support of this particular amendment of the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act. I certainly want to thank Mr. Lipinski for all the leadership that he has provided on this bill and the staff that worked so hard. I certainly want to thank my good friend from Texas also, Mr. McCaul, who has worked very hard on this issue, especially on the homeland security. We appreciate your working on that, Mr. McCaul.

This legislation will greatly improve the cybersecurity in both the private and public sector. As any modern business, small or large, will tell you, we live in a highly interconnected, highly technological 21st century.

As a member of the Homeland Security Committee, I know that we are under attack from cyberthreats every single day. Sensitive security and intelligence information pass through the Internet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And more than $1 trillion was spent last year fighting to keep this information safe. The more we rely on IT systems, the more we need to make the necessary investments to reduce cyber-risks and vulnerabilities.

My amendment today is simple. As we improve cybersecurity, we must help put Americans back to work.

My amendment requires that the advisory committee, as it produces a cybersecurity strategic research and development plan, determine how we ought to strengthen all levels of cybersecurity education and training programs to develop a well-trained workforce that meets our Nation's cybersecurity needs. We must work to enlist our Nation's high schools, trade schools, colleges, and universities to bring more young people into this industry.

We can also use the cybersecurity education to harness the technological powers of our own young people to keep our Nation and our Nation's businesses safe. We have an opportunity to strengthen the IT infrastructure in our workforce by getting together in partnership with our Nation's schools.

In my home State of Texas, we are leaders in the cybersecurity operation. As Mr. McCaul understands, Texas invests in people and productive technology both in the public and private academic sectors. In San Antonio, for example, we have the National Center for Excellence for Cybersecurity, which has increased job numbers in the cybersecurity and information assurance industries in Texas. We can also replicate this particular model.

Mr. Chairman, as you know, we want to make sure that we repair our economy and help put people back to work. This is why we must strengthen our cyberinfrastructure both in business, education, and government alike. We can focus on these goals; that is, how can we secure the IT future and how do we put people back to work?

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I urge all my colleagues to support this amendment.

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