McCaul Statement on US Chamber of Commerce Support for Cybersecurity Legislation

Press Release

Today, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's support for Senate passage of cybersecurity legislation. These cybersecurity bills are companioning legislation to H.R. 3696 the "National Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection Act of 2014."

Chairman McCaul: "I am very pleased the U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports the Senate's cybersecurity bills which "need to be passed expeditiously.' These bills mirror many of the provisions in my House bill. The Senate must stop sitting on its hands while the country's vital networks remain at risk to criminals, hacktivists and nation states. I once again urge the Senate to pass these important pieces of legislation that would, of note, provide a civilian interface for sharing cyber risk information with the private sector and streamline authorities so DHS can more effectively protect Federal networks."

From 2009 to 2013, the number of reported breaches just on federal computer networks -- the .gov and .mils -- rose from 26,942 to 46,605, according to the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team and it is only getting worse.

In 2013, US-CERT responded to a total of 228,700 cyber incidents involving federal agencies, companies that run critical infrastructure and contract partners. That's more than double the incidents in 2009.

In July, U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed H.R. 3696, the National Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection Act, introduced by Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Subcommittee Chairman Patrick Meehan (R-PA) and Subcommittee Ranking Member Yvette Clarke (D-NY).

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