Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act of 2017

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1616) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to authorize the National Computer Forensics Institute, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 1616, currently under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, the National Computer Forensics Institute serves a vital purpose in preparing State and local law enforcement to combat computer and cybercrime.

Last Congress, the House passed this legislation by voice vote under suspension of the rules. I am pleased to support this legislation once again, and I am confident that this bill will once again receive bipartisan support.

The United States Department of Justice has declared that cybercrime is one of the greatest threats facing our country and that it has enormous implications for our national security, economic prosperity, and public safety. We have seen this just in the past few days after cyber vulnerabilities led to widespread computer disruptions around the world.

With this in mind, the National Computer Forensics Institute serves the vital purpose of providing legal and judicial professionals a free, comprehensive education on current cybercrime trends, investigative methods, and prosecutorial and judicial challenges.

The National Computer Forensics Institute is a 32,000-square-foot facility located in Hoover, Alabama. The institute boasts three multipurpose classrooms, two network investigations classrooms, a mock courtroom, and a forensics lab.

The special agents of the United States Secret Service staff the institute and work diligently training attendees in modern counter- cybercrime procedures and evidence collection.

When the attendees leave, they take with them the critical knowledge and equipment required to conduct autonomous and thorough cybercrime investigations at their home agencies.

Since its creation in 2008, the institute has earned praise for its work in preparing America's local law enforcement in how to deal with these important technology issues.

Over the last 7 years, the institute has instructed law enforcement professionals from every State in the country and from over 500 different law enforcement agencies.

In fact, law enforcement in my own district has benefited from NCFI training, including Lynchburg Commonwealth Attorney Mike Doucette and his staff.

Each professional educated at the institute is a force multiplier for the Secret Service. The institute itself is a force multiplier for other law enforcement cyber forensic efforts, complementing vital training offered by entities like the National White Collar Crime Center, otherwise known as NW3C. After successful completion of the NCFI and the NW3C programs, the students can bring their new knowledge back to their local agency to inform their colleagues how to properly conduct computer forensic investigations.

Mr. Speaker, I firmly believe that for our Nation to successfully combat the cybercrime threat, we must support legislation such as H.R. 1616.

I want to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Ratcliffe), a member of the Judiciary Committee, for sponsoring this important legislation.

Authorizing the existing National Computer Forensics Institute in Federal law will cement its position as a high-tech cybercrime training facility and will help law enforcement professionals nationwide in their efforts to combat cyber-related crimes.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Homeland Security,

Washington, DC, May 15, 2017.

Hon. Bob Goodlatte,

Chairman, Committee on Judiciary,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Goodlatte: I write concerning H.R. 1616, the

``Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act of

2017''. This legislation includes matters that fall within

the Rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on Homeland

Security.

In order to expedite floor consideration of H.R. 1616, the

Committee on Homeland Security agrees to forgo action on this

bill. However, this is conditional on our mutual

understanding that forgoing consideration of the bill would

not prejudice the Committee with respect to the appointment

of conferees or to any future jurisdictional claim over the

subject matters contained in the bill or similar legislation

that fall within the Committee on Homeland Security's Rule X

jurisdiction. I request you urge the Speaker to name members

of the Committee to any conference committee named to

consider such provisions.

Please place a copy of this letter and your response

acknowledging our jurisdictional interest into the

Congressional Record during consideration of the measure on

the House floor.

Sincerely,

Michael T. McCaul,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I am pleased to yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Ratcliffe), the chief sponsor of the legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin).

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Palmer).

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this good legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1616, the Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act of 2017.

Let me start out by thanking Chairman Goodlatte for his support and allowing this bill to come to the floor and Senator Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Ranking Member Feinstein for their support in introducing a companion measure over in the Senate.

Mr. Speaker, the bicameral, bipartisan support on this issue underscores its critical importance and the need for this issue to transcend political parties and partisan politics.

Mr. Speaker, this is Police Week in the United States. It is our chance to show appreciation for some of the most important unsung heroes in our Nation. I couldn't be more grateful for the opportunity to use my time before this legislative body today to thank each and every member of this country's brave dedicated men and women of law enforcement. From patrolling our streets to pursuing criminals of every kind, it is these men and women in blue who keep our communities safe and uphold the pillars of law and order in society each and every day. Every American should be grateful for those who run towards danger and who march into harm's way to keep us safe.

Nearly a decade ago I had the privilege of being appointed the United States Attorney under former President George W. Bush. Serving as the President's top Federal law enforcement official gave me the chance to work shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of great police officers and police departments across the 33,000 square miles of the Eastern District of Texas. It also instilled in me an incredible sense of gratitude for those in law enforcement who wake up each and every day simply wanting to make the world around them a safer place to live for all of us.

I could say it 1,000 times and it wouldn't do justice to the service that they provide: Thank you. Thank you for all you do. We are all grateful.

And while the simple truth is that we can never really repay those in law enforcement for the incredible sacrifices they make each and every day, as a lawmaker, I want to do everything within my power to give them the tools to help them keep us safe.

Today this body has a unique opportunity to stand up for those who selflessly and dependably stand up for all of us. H.R. 1616, the Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act of 2017, does exactly that by authorizing into law the National Computer Forensics Institute, or NCFI.

As the chairman said, the NCFI is a critical national training center located in Hoover, Alabama, that is operated by the United States Secret Service for the purpose of training our State and local law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges on how to investigate cyber and electronic crimes, on how to conduct computer and mobile device forensics examinations, to respond to network intrusions, and to preserve the chain of custody for digital evidence.

Mr. Speaker, in today's digital world, it is rarely that drop of blood or strand of hair that solves a crime or a case. Instead, far more frequently, it is proof of a text message that was sent or an online purchase that was made or geolocation data on a mobile device.

Since its creation, the NCFI has trained and equipped more than 6,000 law enforcement officials from all 50 States on how to handle digital evidence and solve and prosecute cybercrimes. By authorizing the NCFI into Federal law, Congress can ensure that the NCFI remains our Nation's premier cybercrime training center for State and local law enforcement officials for many years to come.

This isn't some theoretical program at the NCFI. The proverbial rubber is already hitting the road. In fact, three different law enforcement agencies in my own district have had their folks trained at the NCFI, folks like Don Waddle, a 25-year veteran of the Greenville Police Department in my home district. In a hearing I chaired last year about the impact of the training that Don received at NCFI, he talked about the value that not just he got as a law enforcement officer, but the community that he serves.

He told me: I am not the main benefactor of this training. The citizens of

Greenville and Hunt County and the entire northeast Texas area reap the benefits of this training with better recovery rates for stolen property, as well as more perpetrators being taken off of our streets.

Don is like thousands of detectives and prosecutors and judges across the country who because of their NCFI training are better able to serve their communities and do their law enforcement jobs in an ever- increasing digital world.

Mr. Speaker, the need for this bill could not be more clear. Cybercrime has surpassed drug trafficking as the most profitable criminal enterprise in the world. Today, let's vote to help fight cybercrime by passing this commonsense legislation to support our law enforcement and give our officers a leg up on the criminals who are increasingly using digital means in cyberspace to evade justice.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1616. I once again thank Chairman Goodlatte and my Senate colleagues for their support.

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

Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise in support of H.R. 1616, the Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act. This bill establishes the National Computer Forensics Institute as an official Federal program to be managed by the Department of Homeland Security and operated by the U.S. Secret Service. I strongly support it because it addresses a serious problem and advances a solution that is critically important to the safety of our people.

Cybercrime poses an enormous threat to national security, economic prosperity, and public safety. The range of threats and the challenges that they present for law enforcement multiply just as rapidly as technology evolves, causing serious insecurity in the personal lives, the work lives, and the finances of our people.

Over the past decade, our law enforcement community has recorded a significant increase in the quantity, quality, complexity, and danger of sophisticated cybercrimes targeting private industry, including our financial services sector and private individuals. These crimes include intrusions; hacking attacks; the surreptitious installation of malicious software; identity theft; and massive data breaches that have compromised and exposed the personal, financial, business, medical, and professional information of millions of U.S. citizens.

How many of our people have suffered the disruption, indignity, and anxiety of identity theft, for example?

For Americans who have been victimized by cybercrime, especially our seniors, it is a terrifying and demoralizing experience. For small businesses affected, it is costly and enormously draining.

Just as cyber warfare has transformed the nature of war in this century, cybercrime has transformed the nature of crime, adversely affecting the members of our law enforcement and intelligence services.

To date, the National Computer Forensics Institute has risen to the occasion, training more than 4,000 State and local law enforcement officers and 1,600 prosecutors. With this legislation, the institute will continue to educate State and local law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and judges on current trends in cyber and electronic crime investigations and best practices taken across the country. The institute will train officers on proper procedures to conduct these important investigations that are affecting more and more Americans every year.

In addition, the National Computer Forensics Institute will continue to work to protect our citizens' personal information from unwarranted governmental intrusion by establishing national standards for conducting these investigations. The institute will protect these important privacy interests along with the security of our businesses, our homes, our finances, and our personal effects.

For these reasons, I proudly support H.R. 1616.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time. Just to close, I want to echo Congressman Ratcliffe in observing it is National Police Week, so we have the opportunity to highlight the successful efforts that have already taken place to combat cybercrime.

As the operator of the National Computer Forensics Institute, the Secret Service has demonstrated its excellence and diligence in pursuing cybercrime both domestically and internationally. Its investigations have produced more than 4,000 arrests, involving more than a billion dollars in fraud, and saving the public billions of dollars more in potential fraud that would have taken place absent their intervention.

H.R. 1616 will strengthen these efforts in continuing to combat cyber and electronic crime.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1616, or the Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act of 2017. This piece of legislation will help our local and state agencies protect against the rising threat of cybercrime.

The Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act of 2017 will provide more protection for our citizens by sharing the expertise and knowledge of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with local and state agencies so that they have the ability to stop these threats at a local level. Law enforcement officials in states, tribes, and territories will be provided with additional training to identify potential issues.

Cybercrime is a growing threat to American security. Hackers have become notorious lately, stealing a plethora of information including credit cards numbers, security codes, bank numbers, and other personal information that can compromise the security of an individual. Further protections and training in cyber security also protect local municipalities and state government intranets and cyber services which are also at risk of compromise.

In DHS, there is an organization known as the National Computer Forensics Institute that is under the oversight of the United States Secret Service. The Institute oversees the fight against cyber threats on a national level. Under H.R. 1616, the members of the Institute will be able to provide high quality training to lower echelon departments at state and local levels, to assist them in the battle against cybercrime. On top of the training, the Institute will provide new, advanced technology to these agencies to even further their ability to combat cybercrime.

As technology has progressed, hackers have found new ways to dishonestly make a living. We are at the precipice of a new age of technological advances that come with more sinister implications. With new technology, new threats have materialized that can have major impacts on all of our lives. Hackers can steal personal files, ruin our reputations, and destroy our financial stability. They can slow or destabilize our local governments, making our lives harder.

This bill helps to put the United States at an advantage against hackers. We will now be able to more effectively combat these criminals

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Ratcliffe and the committee for their work on this bill.

The internet is an ever-increasing medium for criminals to carry out crimes, such as sex trafficking, credit card theft, and identity theft. We are currently witnessing an unprecedented global cyber attack. Attacks such as this threaten our economy and our national security. This highlights the need for law enforcement to be trained at local, State, and national levels to recognize and combat this activity.

Prior to 2008, training for State and local law enforcement and cybercrimes was difficult to find. Recognizing this problem in 2007, the State of Alabama offered the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security property and funds to construct a state-of-the-art facility if the Federal Government would fund the training and allow the Secret Service to operate it. I am proud to say this facility is located in my district in the city of Hoover.

The National Computer Forensics Institute, NCFI, opened its doors in May of 2008. State and local law enforcement officers come from all across the Nation to be trained at this one-of-a-kind facility, where they are trained by Secret Service agents on the same equipment and same software that our Secret Service agents use.

NCFI has trained law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges from all 50 States, and its graduates represent over 500 agencies. They are not only trained in solving crimes but also in prosecution.

I am pleased that the work that NCFI does is being recognized, and I am proud to be an original cosponsor of H.R. 1616. I urge my colleagues to support it.