Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chairman, I am grateful for Chairman Nunes and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for their leadership on this important legislation.

I am particularly grateful that I was here to hear the presentation by Congressman Joe Crowley relative to promoting a better relationship with the world's largest democracy, India, by the world's oldest democracy, the United States.

He and I have served as the past co-chairs of the Caucus of India and Indian Americans, and I know of his commitment to promoting a better relationship between India and the United States.

Last week, the Office of Personnel Management revealed they were the targets of an extended cyber attack on Federal employee personnel records. These attacks stole personal data, such as Social Security numbers, financial information, and security clearance documents, putting the personal and financial security of our citizens at risk.

This cyber attack was not a novelty. Recently, we have seen a growing number of cyber attacks on government Web sites, national retailers, and small businesses. Indeed, according to Symantec, most businesses reported a completed or an attempted cyber attack in the last year, and 60 percent of those facing an attack were small- or medium-sized businesses. These cyber attacks are a sober reminder to Congress that all government agencies need to work together to better protect their public and private networks.

After each of these attacks, we have had a number of questions: Who is behind it? Is it an agent of a foreign government or a nonstate actor? How many records were affected? What kind of information was accessed?

As of now, we gather this information through various government agencies, and each uses a different measure to assess and quantify the damage of the attack, so we waste valuable time and resources when trying to piece together a response.

We need a clear, unified system of measurement for cyber attacks that can be used across all government agencies and military branches. By putting government agencies and branches of the military on the same page, we can have an effective and rapid response.

This amendment directs the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of the FBI, and the Secretary of Defense, to conduct a study to define a method of measuring a cyber incident so we can determine an appropriate response.

As chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, it is apparent that cyber is a new domain of warfare. This amendment is a critical first step in building a more comprehensive cyber defense system.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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