Cybersecurity Act of 2012--Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

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Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I want to rise very briefly--I know there are a number of Members who are seeking recognition--to thank my friend and colleague from Illinois for his statement today. He has worked very hard on this bill. I know it is an issue he cares deeply about, and I very much appreciate his taking the time to come to the floor and to urge Members to vote for the motion to proceed to the debate on this absolutely vital piece of legislation.

I must say I was disappointed to hear some of the comments made on the Senate floor today in opposition to this bill. The fact is both Republican and Democratic officials have, with very few exceptions, endorsed the framework of this bill and urged us to move forward. In fact, they have warned us repeatedly in saying the only question is when a major cyber attack will occur. Not whether it will occur, but when it will occur. We have letter after letter, statement after statement from national and homeland security experts, representing both President Bush's administration and the current administration, urging us to act.

Indeed, yesterday the Aspen Institute Homeland Security Group put out a statement, stating the following:

The Aspen Homeland Security Group strongly urges the U.S. Senate to vote this week to take up S. 3414, the cyber-security bill, for debate on the Floor.

The statement goes on to say:

We urge the Senate to adopt a program of voluntary cyber-security standards and strong positive incentives for critical infrastructure operators to implement those standards. The country is already being hurt by foreign cyber-intrusions, and the possibility of a devastating cyber-attack is real. Congress must act now.

This letter is signed by officials from the previous administration, such as Charles Allen, Stewart Baker, Michael Leiter, and Michael Chertoff. There are numerous representatives of past administrations and individuals who are renowned for their expertise. How can we ignore their warning that we must act, that it is urgent, and that we must have voluntary standards for critical infrastructure--infrastructure that, if it were attacked, would result in mass casualties, mass evacuations, a severe blow to our economy, or a serious degradation of our national security?

That is the definition of the core critical infrastructure we want to cover and to help make more secure through a partnership with the private sector. And it has to be a partnership because 85 percent of critical infrastructure is owned by the private sector. We have worked hard to alter our bill to take suggestions from the private sector, from our colleagues, from the administration, and from experts across the philosophical range to improve our bill.

I heard a Member saying this morning that somehow we are going to be hurting the high-tech sector of our society. Well, that is not what Cisco and Oracle think--certainly two of the leading businesses in the high-tech sector. This morning they wrote to us, the chief sponsors of the bill--Chairman Lieberman, Chairman Rockefeller, Chairman Feinstein, myself, and Senator Carper--and I want to read a brief excerpt from their letter. They said:

..... we appreciate your efforts to craft legislation that addresses the important issue of cybersecurity by supporting American industry in its efforts to continue to be the world's leading innovators.

The fact is, it is American businesses that are being robbed of billions of dollars every year due to cyber intrusions from foreign governments, from transnational criminals, and from hackers. This is a threat not only to our national security but to our economic prosperity.

That is why the letter from Cisco and Oracle goes on to say:

We praise your continued recognition of the importance of these objectives through the provisions of S. 3414.

They say they support those provisions. Continuing to read from the letter:

We also commend your commitment to ensuring that the IT industry maintains the ability to drive innovation and security into technologies and the network.

So the idea we heard this morning on the Senate floor that somehow we are going to bring innovation in America to a standstill or hurt this important sector of our economy is not supported by a reading of our bill, and it is certainly contradicted by the letter we received from Cisco and Oracle, leading companies in the high-tech sector.

Finally, I would point out they thank us for our outreach, our willingness to engage in an exhaustive process around this issue set, and to consider and to respond to the views of America's technology sector. That is what we have done. That is what we are continuing to do with our colleagues on both sides of the aisle who bring varying views to this issue. But what we cannot do is to fail to act when the warnings are so constant and alarming about the threats to our Nation, to our economy, and to our way of life.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the statement from the Aspen Institute Homeland Security Group as well as the July 26 letter from Cisco and Oracle.

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