Department of Homeland Security Insider Threat and Mitigation Act of 2017

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 666) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish the Insider Threat Program, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the legislation. Recent high-profile cases of government employees leaking classified information have caused drastic damage to U.S. national security and diplomacy. The names Snowden and Manning are now synonymous with the term ``insider threat.'' Unfortunately, Snowden, Manning, and others were able to conduct their traitorous work undetected because the government had at one time vetted and granted them access to secure facilities and information systems.

In response to these cases, it is vital that Congress ensure Federal agencies have the tools to detect and disrupt future insider threat situations before damage is done. H.R. 666, in contrast to its unholy numbering, has the important and respectable goal of authorizing and expanding insider threat detection and mitigation efforts at the Department of Homeland Security.

DHS has over 115,000 employees with access to classified information and many more with access to law enforcement sensitive data. Unauthorized disclosures of classified information, whether deliberate or unwitting, represent a significant threat to national security. The very nature of modern communication systems, as well as DHS' important information-sharing role with State and local partners, adds complexity to the challenge and requires thoughtful programs to educate employees and enhance DHS-wide detection capabilities.

The bill directs DHS to develop a strategy for the Department to identify, prevent, mitigate, and respond to insider threats and requires DHS to ensure that personnel understand what workplace behavior may be indicative of a potential insider threat and how their activity on DHS networks will be monitored. The bill codifies a comprehensive insider threat program at DHS that can be implemented through the Department and its component agencies and, most importantly, reinforces the importance of preventing future insider attacks.

I want to thank Homeland Security Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member Thompson, and Congressmen Dan Donovan and Lou Barletta for working with me to bring this bill to the floor.

The same bill passed the House floor in November 2015 by voice vote. Unfortunately, last-minute scheduling issues with the Senate prevented the bill from reaching the President's desk. I am pleased that the House is willing to take up this measure so quickly in the new Congress so we can move it through the process. I look forward to working with the Senate to move this measure forward.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill so we can establish a comprehensive, transparent, DHS-wide insider threat program. I urge support for the bill.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, at the outset, let me thank the ranking member for his support and for his kind words, and let me fully agree with him on the outstanding job General Taylor did during his time at DHS and throughout his career in public service.

Mr. Speaker, on a daily basis, adversaries are targeting DHS and other Federal agencies seeking to acquire sensitive information. U.S. citizens with trusted access to government facilities and electronic networks have been responsible for some of the most damaging attacks to the U.S. Government.

This bill provides the framework for DHS to implement an insider threat program that identifies and disrupts malicious insiders who seek to do the Department and its employees harm. It also seeks to protect the Department's workforce by conducting a transparent process to reinforce cyber hygiene, data security, and an awareness of malicious activity through a robust training program.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote for this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 666, the Department of Homeland Security Insider Threat and Mitigation Act of 2017. H.R. 666, the Department of Homeland Security Insider Threat and Mitigation Act of 2017, authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to address the homeland and national security risk posed by trusted insiders.

Typically, trusted insiders are given unrestricted access to mission- critical assets such as personnel, facilities, and computer networks. While DHS, like other Federal agencies, conducts extensive vetting of prospective employees, there is a risk that someone with insider status exploits their position to damage the United States through espionage, terrorism, or the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive national security information.

As the ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security, I am supportive of the Department of Homeland Security's current Insider Threat Program. It is targeted at preventing and detecting when a vetted DHS employee or contractor with access to U.S. Government resources, including personnel, facilities, information, equipment, networks, and systems, exploits such access for nefarious, terroristic, or criminal purposes.

Though I support the DHS program, I do have some concerns about DHS and other Federal agencies deploying continuous evaluation programs without transparency and congressional oversight. I am concerned that Federal agencies, with the understandable urge to protect their IT systems and facilities, are racing to acquire the capability before knowing whether such costly systems are even effective.

Therefore, I would like to reiterate to this Congress, as I did last Congress, that prior to establishing any such program, under which certain DHS employees would be subjected to ongoing automated credit, criminal, and social media monitoring, the Department engage Congress about not only the potential costs and benefits of such a program but what protections would be in place for workers subject to such a program.

Mr. Speaker, we live at a time when the threats to our Nation are complex. When this bill was considered last Congress, the prospect that a foreign intelligence agency would carry out an espionage campaign to influence the outcome of our Presidential election was material for the movies or for a good spy thriller. Today, in light of the Russian Government's actions in the 2016 elections, we have a greater appreciation for the importance of counterintelligence efforts. As such, this bill is particularly timely. None of us wants to see someone exploit their access to DHS networks to carry out cybercrimes or other criminal activity.

Even as DHS works to detect and prevent such threats, it is important that such activities be carried out in a transparent way so as not to compound the chronic morale challenges that exist within its workforce. Each time DHS considers making an adjustment to its insider threat program, thoughtful consideration must be paid to whether the operational drawbacks and costs for such an adjustment outweigh the benefits of such a change.

That said, I commend General Taylor, the previous Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis at DHS, for the attention he gave to the insider threat challenge. I look forward to continuing to work with the Department's successor to bolster security within the Department.

I would also like to give Mr. King particular credit for his interest in this effort to make sure that problems don't come from the inside if we can help it.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 666.

I yield back the balance of my time.