To express the expectation of Congress to be consulted by the Secretary of Defense before the Secretary pursues a change in the command status of the United States Cyber Command.

1. Adds SEC. 935. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE UNITED STATES CYBER COMMAND at the end of subtitle C of title IX

   Adds a section

   In S. 3254 · Placed on Calendar Senate

   (2) needs the authority and capability to mitigate supply chain risks to its information technology systems that fall outside the scope of National Security Systems.

   Inserted: SEC. 935. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE UNITED STATES CYBER COMMAND.

   Inserted: (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:

   Inserted: (1) On June 23, 2009, the Secretary of Defense directed the Commander of the United States Strategic Command to establish the United States Cyber Command, which became operational on May 21, 2010, and operates as a sub-unified command subordinate to the United States Strategic Command.

   Inserted: (2) In May 2012, media reports indicated that General Martin Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, planned to recommend to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta that the two-year-old United States Cyber Command be elevated to full combatant command status.

   Inserted: (3) On August 14, 2012, General Keith Alexander, the Commander of the United States Cyber Command and the Director of the National Security Agency, addressed the TechNet Land Forces conference and stated that "[i]n 2007 we drafted . . . a paper . . . about establishing a Cyber Command . . . [which concluded that] . . . the most logical is to set it up as a sub unified and grow it to a unified, and I think that's the process that we're going to work our way through".

   Inserted: (4) On October 11, 2012, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta discussed cybersecurity in a speech to the Business Executives for National Security in New York, New York, specifically calling for a strengthening of the United States Cyber Command and stating that the Department of Defense "must ensure that [the United States Cyber Command] has the resources, that it has the authorities, that it has the capabilities required to perform this growing mission. And it must also be able to react quickly to events unfolding in cyberspace and help fully integrate cyber into all of the department's plans and activities.".

   Inserted: (b) Sense of Congress.--Congress--

   Inserted: (1) recognizes the serious cyber threat to national security and the need to work both offensively and defensively to protect the Nation's networks and critical infrastructure;

   Inserted: (2) acknowledges the importance of the unified command structure of the Department in directing military operations in cyberspace and recognizes that a change in the status of the United States Cyber Command has Department-wide and national security implications, which require careful consideration;

   Inserted: (3) expects to be briefed and consulted about any proposal to elevate the United States Cyber Command to a unified command before a decision by the Secretary make such a proposal to the President and to receive, at a minimum--

   Inserted: (A) a clear statement of mission and related legal definitions;

   Inserted: (B) an outline of the specific national security benefits of elevating the sub-unified United States Cyber Command to a unified command;

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   Inserted: (C) an estimate of the cost of creating a unified United States Cyber Command and a justification of the expenditure; and

   Inserted: (D) if the Secretary considers it advisable to continue the designation of the Commander of the United States Cyber Command as also being the Director of the National Security Agency--

   Inserted: (i) an explanation of how a single individual could serve as a commander of a combatant command that conducts overt, albeit clandestine, cyber operations under title 10, United States Code, as well as the director of an intelligence agency that conducts covert cyber operations under the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401 et seq.) in a manner that affords deniability to the United States; and

   Inserted: (ii) a statement of whether the Secretary believes it is appropriate either to appoint a line officer as the Director of the National Security Agency or to take the unprecedented step of appointing an intelligence officer as a unified commander; and

   Inserted: (4) believes that appropriate policy foundations and standing rules of engagement must be in place before any decision to create a unified United States Cyber Command.

   Original wording

   At the end of subtitle C of title IX, add the following:

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As printed