National Cybersecurity Protection Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Senate amendment to S.
2519, the National Cybersecurity Protection Act of 2014. This
bipartisan measure is a product of extensive bicameral negotiations
and, in many ways, the culmination of years of oversight work by this
committee.

It not only sends a strong message of support for the Department of
Homeland Security as the lead civilian agency for cybersecurity, but
also pays special attention to the challenge of bolstering network
security for critical infrastructure.

Over the past decade, Americans have come to understand the need for
cybersecurity to be woven into everything that a company, government,
or an individual does, from running the most intricate machinery to
everyday participation in social media.

Americans used to depend on the two oceans to protect us from
invasion. Interconnectedness resulting from advancement in technology
has fostered great economic, scientific, social, and cultural rewards.
At the same time, their interconnectedness allows our enemies to do
harm without ever stepping foot on U.S. soil.

One of the strengths of S. 2519 is that it emphasizes voluntary
information sharing and collaboration between the Department and
critical infrastructure owners and operators to address this national
threat. Importantly, it does so in a manner that is consistent with our
constitutional values and principles.

Much like the House-passed version of this measure, H.R. 3696, that
was heralded by the ACLU as ``pro-security and pro-privacy,'' the
measure under consideration today effectively avoids the privacy and
civil liberties pitfalls that have plagued other cyber information-
sharing legislation.

S. 2519 leverages existing private-public partnerships such as
information sharing and analysis centers and sector coordinating
councils to foster better information sharing and does so without
dangling the controversial liability protection ``carrot'' before
companies. The opportunity to access timely threat information from a
Federal civilian agency should be carrot enough to motivate companies
to engage with DHS.

The legislation before us today represents an important moment for
the committee and the 113th Congress. At the beginning of this
Congress, expectations were high for some legislative action in the
area of cybersecurity. It has taken some time to get here, but what we
have before us is something solid that sets forth what DHS must do as a
lead civilian agency for cybersecurity.

We have seen cybersecurity legislation fail to become law multiple
times. While President Obama's executive order is making progress in
attempts to shore up some cyber weaknesses in our Nation's fabric, more
work needs to be done.

With this cybersecurity legislation, we will be doing our part as DHS
authorizers to raise the level of cybersecurity, particularly within
the Federal Government and protecting our Nation's critical
infrastructure.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she
may consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Clarke), the ranking
member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection,
and Security Technologies.

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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of
this legislation and thank my principal partner in the House, Chairman
McCaul, for his unwavering commitment to this issue and willingness to
work across the aisle to get it done.

I also want to recognize the contributions of the chairman and
ranking member of the Cybersecurity Subcommittee, Representatives
Meehan and Clarke, and our Senate partners.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge staff that helped us get this to
this point, Rosaline Cohen and Chris Schepis on my staff and Brett
DeWitt and Alex Manning on the majority staff.

Again, let me compliment the chair for not giving up and for staying
the course. Even doing it on the last day gets it done.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yea'' vote, and I yield back the balance of
my time.

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