Floor Statements

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 move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 612) to establish a grant program at the Department of Homeland Security to promote cooperative research and development between the United States and Israel on cybersecurity.

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 materials on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 612, the United States- Israel Cybersecurity Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2017.

I was grateful for the opportunity to work closely with my colleague, Mr. Langevin from Rhode Island, on this vitally important legislation that will build upon the existing collaboration between the United States and the State of Israel on critical cybersecurity issues.

Following our successful congressional delegation to Israel in May of last year to discuss homeland security and cybersecurity issues, Mr. Langevin and I worked closely to champion two important pieces of legislation.

Last year, I introduced H.R. 5877, the United States-Israeli Advanced Partnership Act of 2016, which was signed into law on December 16 with Mr. Langevin's help and support. That legislation expanded a current cooperative research program between the two countries by adding cybersecurity to a program that had previously focused only on border security, explosives detection, and emergency services.

Today, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have H.R. 612, the United States- Israel Cybersecurity Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2017 come before the House. This bill would expand the memorandum of agreement already in place between our Department of Homeland Security and the State of Israel by authorizing the Secretary to carry out a grant program at DHS to support cybersecurity research and development as well as the demonstration and commercialization of cybersecurity technologies.

During our congressional delegation, Mr. Langevin and I were able to meet with top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to discuss how the United States and Israel can better cooperate in these vital areas. We also had the opportunity to meet with many of Israel's cybersecurity companies and technology startups.

Over the past several years, Israel has become a leader in cybersecurity and has developed a deep and talented cyber workforce, something we need greater focus on here in the United States. To that end, much of our discussion with Israeli officials and private companies revolved around how the United States and Israel can work more closely together and learn from each other as we combat growing cybersecurity threats. This legislation is a product of those successful discussions.

Mr. Speaker, the United States and Israel are both under constant threat from nation-state and other actors that wish to do our countries harm, so it is vitally important that the United States and Israel work hand-in-hand to build our cyber defenses to combat these cyber threats together.

Mr. Speaker, it is also vital that in the House both parties work hand-in-hand on America's national security vulnerabilities. Given the current political environment, I would like to commend and thank my colleague, Mr. Langevin, for his willingness to do just that, as demonstrated by his partnership on this issue. I very much look forward to continuing to work with him on more cybersecurity issues during the 115th Congress.

I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Rhode Island for his kind words. I also thank him and commend him for his leadership on cybersecurity issues for many years in this House. I look forward to working with him for many years, hopefully, to come. I thank him for his friendship and collaboration in helping to make America safer.

Mr. Speaker, I again urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 612.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017. I thank Chairman Goodlatte for the opportunity to again lead on this issue and for the inclusion of two of my bills--the Separation of Powers Restoration Act and the ALERT Act--in this incredibly important regulatory reform package.

Because you see, Mr. Chairman, the realities of President Obama's failed liberal progressive experiment are all too real for the three- quarters of a million Texans that I represent, realities like higher prices for families in Sulphur Springs trying to make ends meet, fewer jobs for those seeking work in Texarkana, and small businesses in Sherman and Rockwall forced to close their doors. Mr. Chairman, these are just a few of the countless devastating symptoms of overregulation that citizens across our great country have been forced to endure under President Obama.

The President gives a good speech, and he did so again in his farewell address last night. But the President read us a fictional tale last night. The inescapable truth is that for 8 long years, the constant stream of regulations being pumped out by the Obama administration has taken a terrible toll on families, on businesses, and on our economy. It has made our Nation less prosperous and leaves folks worse off than they were before.

The urgency to reverse this unsustainable regulatory quagmire couldn't have been made more clear than in November, when the American people rose up and voted for a new President who vowed not to subject us to more of the same. That is where my

bill and all of the bills in the Regulatory Accountability Act come into play.

When you look back at the last 8 years, many people wonder how the Obama administration was allowed to grow at such an alarming rate. Now, while there are a lot of troubling factors that go into that equation, the result of an infamous 1984 Supreme Court decision, the Chevron doctrine, is certainly recognized as one of the key culprits. For three decades now, this doctrine has required courts to defer to agency interpretations of congressional intent.

Said in more plain terms, Mr. Chairman, this means that when individuals challenge Federal regulators in court, the deck is stacked in favor of the regulators, the very same regulators who have written the regulations in the first place. Letting regulators grade their own papers, if that doesn't reinforce the need to drain the swamp, then I don't know what does.

My legislation, the Separation of Powers Restoration Act, will fix this perversion of our Constitution by ensuring that Congress, not executive branch agencies, write our laws and that courts, not agency bureaucrats, interpret our laws.

Mr. Chairman, title V of this bill is my ALERT Act legislation, and it provides another critical remedy to the current regulatory process by fixing the lack of transparency that is both unfair and harmful to individuals and small businesses across the country.

Right now, the current law requires the administration to release an update twice a year on the regulations that are being developed by Federal agencies--the problem is that the regulators are ignoring the law--as these updates have either been very late or never issued at all under President Obama's watch.

Up to this point, there hasn't been a way to reinforce and enforce these requirements. So the ALERT Act tackles this problem by forcing the executive branch to make the American people aware of regulations that are coming down the track; and it prohibits any regulations from going into effect unless and until detailed information on the cost of the regulation, its impact on jobs, and the legal basis for the regulation have been available to the public on the Internet for at least 6 months.

Mr. Chairman, the way our government has been allowed to function under this administration isn't how our forefathers intended our government to work. Today's legislation takes a giant step forward in fixing how Washington works. I have already spoken to President-elect Trump about partnering together to make this the law of the land and to give the American people back the government that our Founders intended, a government that works for them, not the other way around.

Mr. Chairman, we owe them nothing less.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 239) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide for innovative research and development, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to bring two important bills to the floor today that strengthen the government's ability to effectively leverage cutting-edge cyber technologies. Last year, the House passed both of these provisions as part of Majority Leader McCarthy's Innovation Initiative, and I am excited that we are able to bring them to the floor here so early in the 115th Congress.

Mr. Speaker, over the past 2 years, my colleagues and I have been working diligently with technology innovators and tech startups to find solutions that will spur innovation and break down the bureaucratic barriers that prevent the government from effectively leveraging the private sector's emerging technologies.

H.R. 239, the Support for Rapid Innovation Act of 2017, addresses this problem by requiring the science and technology directorate, or S&T, to more effectively coordinate with industry and academia to support the research and development of cybersecurity technologies.

H.R. 239 does so because it requires S&T to support the full life cycle of cyber research and development projects and identify mature technologies to address cybersecurity gaps. In doing so, S&T will be required to target federally funded cybersecurity research that demonstrates a high probability of successful transition to the commercial market within 2 years.

This bill will also extend the use of other transactional authority, or OTA, until the year 2021, a move that will improve DHS's ability to engage with tech startups that are developing these cutting-edge technologies. H.R. 239 also includes additional accountability requirements to ensure that there is proper oversight of the authority.

Mr. Speaker, our digital borders are constantly being barraged by cybercriminals, by nation-states, and by terrorists seeking to exploit and harm innocent Americans. Almost daily, we read news stories on how these hackers are intruding into our networks and doing so with increased sophistication. One thing is for certain, we have seen that cyber intrusions and their impact on victims quickly morph and increase both in frequency and in their severity.

In 2017, these hackers will unfortunately continue to pose a great threat to the U.S. homeland and to our critical infrastructure. The Federal Government, therefore, needs to keep pace with these evolving threats by more actively working with the private sector to find effective solutions.

DHS's Directorate of Science and Technology is the primary research and development arm of the Department. The directorate manages basic and applied research and development, including cybersecurity R&D, for the Department's operational components and for our first responders.

Ensuring there are mechanisms in place, like S&T's cybersecurity R&D programs and the OTA, to support the dynamic nature of cybersecurity research and development is essential for addressing homeland security capability gaps.

Thank you again, Mr. Speaker, for calling up this important bill today. I believe it will have an incredibly positive impact on encouraging technology innovation across the Nation to address our vital homeland security needs.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to join me in supporting this very important bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives, Committee on Science, Space,

and Technology,

Washington, DC, January 9, 2017.

Hon. Michael McCaul,

Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security, House of

Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing concerning H.R. 239, the

``Support for Rapid Innovation Act of 2017,'' which was

introduced on January 4, 2017.

H.R. 239 contains provisions within the Committee on

Science, Space, and Technology's Rule X jurisdiction. In

order to expedite this bill for floor consideration, the

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology will forego

action on the bill. This is being done on the basis of our

mutual understanding that doing so will in no way diminish or

alter the jurisdiction of the Committee on Science, Space,

and Technology with respect to the appointment of conferees,

or to any future jurisdictional claim over the subject

matters contained in the bill or similar legislation.

I would appreciate your response to this letter confirming

this understanding, and would request that you include a copy

of this letter and your response in the Congressional Record

during the floor consideration of this bill. Thank you in

advance for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Lamar Smith,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Thompson for his leadership on the committee, and I want to thank the Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies Subcommittee staff for their hard work.

Once again, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 239.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 240) to encourage engagement between the Department of Homeland Security and technology innovators, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, again, I am pleased that the House is today considering H.R. 240, the Leveraging Emerging Technologies Act of 2017.

H.R. 240 encourages engagement between the Department of Homeland Security and technology innovators, including startups. This bill requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to proactively engage with innovative and emerging technology developers and firms to address our vital Homeland Security needs.

Additionally, H.R. 240 provides the Secretary with the authority to identify geographic areas in the United States where high concentrations of these innovative and emerging technology developers and firms exist and to establish personnel and office space in these areas to more effectively collaborate with these technology hubs. The Federal Government certainly needs to do a better job working with the private sector, and H.R. 240 will help to address that.

Mr. Speaker, this bill also requires the Secretary to develop and to implement a targeted strategy to proactively engage innovative and emerging technology developers and firms.

Under this bill, the Secretary must use the strategic plan to address existing barriers to leveraging innovative and emerging technologies, and the small businesses and startup ventures that create those technologies, and to incorporate them into the Department's acquisition process.

For example, in order to keep pace, the Department of Homeland Security has established an office in Silicon Valley to encourage engagement and communication with the innovative technology developers in that area. Although it is a vital technology hub, Silicon Valley certainly is not the only technology hub in the United States. The Department should not be limited to a single geographic area from which to identify these emerging and innovative technologies.

Mr. Speaker, all Americans are learning that cybersecurity is national security. The impacts of cyber intrusions are being felt everywhere, from boardroom tables to kitchen tables. We have seen them undermine consumer confidence and damage a company's hard-earned reputation in just a couple of seconds. Cybersecurity is a complex and serious issue that our Nation will have to address for decades to come. So it only makes sense for us to require the Department to consider strategically just how it will engage these technology developers to strengthen the Department's ability to access innovative and emerging technologies to better combat evolving cyber threats.

I am happy to support this measure today because I believe it will move us forward, further addressing our homeland security needs by supporting technology innovation. I urge Members to join me in supporting this important bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) for his support of this bill and for his leadership in keeping this issue at the forefront of our cybersecurity discussion. This is an incredibly important bill, and I, once again, urge my colleagues to support H.R. 240.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, congratulations to Ms. Brittany Seymore on her well-deserved recognition as the 2014 Outstanding Teaching Award winner.

Ms. Seymore has proven herself a leader and a role model for her 3rd grade class in the Rockwall ISD.

As a son of two public school teachers and a graduate of public school myself, I know the critical role that educators play in preparing our children to be the leaders of tomorrow.

Rockwall ISD and the surrounding areas are fortunate to have such a passionate and dedicated teacher to call its own. Her own principal has said that Ms. Seymore has built a reputation throughout the district as a leader and a top level teacher.

Ms. Seymore's ability to differentiate utilizing stations and homework according to student need is a feat that all teachers strive to reach, and one that Ms. Seymore has mastered.

Her involvement on her campus also goes above and beyond the duties of a teacher. Her part in the district's ``Launch Pad Cadre'' leadership team fosters innovated and meaningful classroom projects.

Not only is Ms. Seymore valued in her school but also in the Rockwall community. Just this past year, her ability to collect supplies for a young student that was being treated for leukemia shows a great level of compassion and intertwines life lessons into what she teachers her students.

Recognizing the role that education plays in enabling opportunity for all, the United States was the first country in the world to develop a public education system free for anyone to attend. In my job as your Congressman, I'm engaged in many policy debates about education in this country. But let me tell you, nothing that legislators do in Washington or Austin can change this undeniable fact--good education starts with great teachers. And we need more dedicated and passionate teachers like Ms. Seymore. That's why I'm so happy to be here to present this award. Congratulations.

Mr. Speaker, one of the most rewarding parts of my job is seeing the extraordinary work that constituents do giving back to their communities every single day.

They don't do it for fame, and they don't do it for glory. They do it because they want to make a difference. No one person embodies this spirit of service better than Margo Nielsen.

During her 25 years at the helm of Helping Hands, the organization has seen tremendous growth and helped tens of thousands of people by ensuring that essential health and emergency services are available to everyone in Rockwall County.

Margo--congratulations on your remarkable career. Your leadership will be missed, but your legacy not soon forgotten. Thank you all for joining me in honoring Margo and supporting Helping Hands. God Bless.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for yielding me this time.

This week, I was honored and grateful to be able to vote for and help pass several bills that will improve the lives of so many hardworking Americans.

Earlier today, I was proud to be an original cosponsor of H.R. 3, the Keystone XL Pipeline Act. I am grateful to be pushing this bill across the finish line because the Keystone runs through the Fourth Congressional District that I am privileged to represent. It is a long overdue, commonsense piece of legislation which will create good-paying jobs, will grow our economy, and will support more manufacturing and trade in this country.

During its construction, it is estimated that 42,000 jobs will be created by the Keystone, and it will put more than $2 billion in the pockets of American workers.

To put this impact in perspective, those 42,000 jobs are 12,000 more than the unemployed population in the Fourth Congressional District of Texas.

Unfortunately, President Obama has indicated that he will veto the Keystone if it passes both Houses. I hope that this is just an idle political threat because, if it is not, then the President is intentionally harming the middle class Americans that this great job creation bill is going to help.

I hope and pray that our President won't play politics with legislation that will provide opportunities to create jobs for tens of thousands of Americans to support their families.

This week, I was also proud to be able to support H.R. 30, which changes the definition of a full-time employee from 30 hours a week to 40 hours a week under the perversely named Affordable Care Act.

ObamaCare's 30-hour rule places an impossible burden on individuals and small businesses in my district and across this country, and I am glad to be able to help pass a bill which repeals a terrible provision from a terrible law.

But I say we haven't gone far enough. I know the people that I represent in east and north Texas won't be satisfied until we repeal every provision of the Affordable Care Act.

I was sent here to Washington to deliver results for the hardworking people of north and east Texas, and these bills show that I am doing that, and it is what I intend to keep doing because, while these are great bills and I am proud that we passed them this week, it is just a start.

We need more good bills to combat the President's executive overreach; to restore fiscal sanity; to secure our borders; to repeal all of ObamaCare; and, most importantly, to defend our great Constitution.