Bart Gordon

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman, we have no further speakers, so let me just conclude by saying that this is a good series of amendments. This makes a good bill even better. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, today I rise to recognize the contributions Whitney Graves has made while working in my Washington, DC, office. Whitney has been a helpful addition to the office and a great servant to the residents of Tennessee's Sixth Congressional District. On Friday, Whitney will depart my office to pursue her graduate studies full-time in business and international relations. My staff and I are sad to see her leave, but we are proud of her for continuing her education. I've known Whitney and her family for many years and was glad she joined my staff last year. She brought valuable knowledge about the district to my Washington office as a resident of Gallatin, Tennessee, and through her experience working for the Tennessee state government. During her time in Washington, she has played an integral role in assisting me with constituent service. As my staff assistant, she managed the front office responsibilities, scheduled Capitol tours and welcomed visitors to my Washington office. After a promotion to legislative correspondent, she managed thousands of constituent inquiries on legislative matters while supervising my office's congressional intern program. Madam Speaker, my staff and I have enjoyed having Whitney in the office. I have no doubt Whitney can be successful at whatever she chooses to do, and I wish her all the best in the future.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Nelson Smotherman, who is retiring after 60 years as a sports statistician in middle Tennessee. Nelson began keeping statistics for sports broadcasts in 1950. His first broadcast was for a Murfreesboro Central football game for WGNS radio. This March, Nelson worked his 4,000th game. He has been called a legend and a walking encyclopedia, whose remarkable mind for sports statistics and 60 years of experience in the field have made him a pillar of our State's athletic programs. Nelson's institutional memory has been an invaluable asset for the athletes of middle Tennessee. In his time in the booth, Nelson witnessed the integration of high school sports teams. He saw women's basketball shift from a 6-on-6 half-court game to 5-on-5 full-court play. He had a chance to work with some 50 different broadcasters. He maintains basketball records that go back to when the game was new, and has kept stats at State tournaments in four different sports. Nelson has been inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association and has a softball field named in his honor in Murfreesboro. Nelson's impact on the lives of young people in our community reaches well beyond the broadcast booth. He has served as Sunday School Secretary at the First Presbyterian Church in Murfreesboro for more than 50 years, and he continues to help coach the Oakland High School girls' softball team. Nelson, your involvement in middle Tennessee sports will be missed, but I wish you all the best. I hope you enjoy a long and happy retirement.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. I thank my friend from California. I recognize that the health care discussion is personal and felt by a lot of folks that we're getting into an emotional point here and that there is a lot of passion. But we also need to stick with the facts. I was a little shocked earlier to hear that there was an insinuation by a colleague of mine from Utah that I have worked together with on legislation to keep radioactive waste from other countries out of Utah. I just want to set the record straight. There was an insinuation that I had, he used the word, traded my vote for the directorship of NASA. Let me make it very clear. We have an outstanding director of NASA right now in Charlie Bolden. If he were to leave, though, if it was offered to me, I would not accept. So please understand that. My wife has said 26 years of public service is enough. I yield to my friend from Utah.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Then I would ask my friend from Utah, where would he get that type of misinformation? I would yield back to my friend from Utah to explain why he said what he did and where he got that misinformation.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Once again, I yield to my friend to explain where he got that misinformation.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Let me say this to my friend from Utah. If I say to you person to person right here on this floor that that offer was never made and that I would not accept it, would you accept that as true?

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. I ask unanimous consent to allow the gentleman from Utah to have whatever time as he might to respond to that very fair question.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Thank you.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank Subcommittee Chairman David Wu, Subcommittee Ranking Member Adrian Smith, and Ranking Member Ralph Hall for their hard work on this very important legislation that will do so much to help protect our communities from natural disasters. I also want to recognize the work of the Natural Resources Committee as well as the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in arriving at the text we are considering today. Both Chairman Rahall and Chairman Oberstar have been enormously helpful in getting this bill to the floor today. In addition, I want to recognize Jim Costa, who chairs the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources at the Natural Resources Committee, and who has been a leader in working to protect our communities from earthquakes. At this time I would like to insert an exchange of letters between Chairman Rahall and myself into the Record, and once again thank both Chairmen for their support. House of Representatives, Committee on Natural Resources, Washington, DC, February 24, 2010. Hon. Bart Gordon, Chairman, Committee on Science and Technology, Washington,

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor Lauren Alfred, a dedicated member of my legislative staff who is moving to a new position on the Hill. She will soon be joining the staff of my friend and colleague Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and I am confident she will be a great addition there. Lauren started her career on the Hill as an intern to Senator Evan Bayh of her native Indiana before joining my staff as an intern brought in to assist while our staff assistant was ill. She was given an extraordinary amount of responsibility early on, and she rose to every challenge before her, even assisting in appropriations work. Few staffers could have made such a seamless transition. Lauren's hard work and willingness to help with virtually any task quickly earned her a spot as a legislative correspondent, and she has risen to the challenge of being a capable legislative assistant. Her thorough research was of great assistance to me and my staff during the debate on health care, and her passion for energy and environmental issues has been a benefit to our office. The fact that she has been able to juggle a full-time job while studying for a master's degree is a testament to her maturity and dedication to whatever task she undertakes. Madam Speaker, my staff and I have enjoyed having Lauren in the office over the past year. I have no doubt Lauren can be successful at whatever she chooses to do, and I wish her all the best in the future.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee

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

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would like to begin by thanking my colleagues, Dr. Lipinski, Dr. Ehlers, Mr. Wu, Mr. Smith and Mr. Hall for their contributions to the good bipartisan bill we are considering today. I would also like to take a moment to thank the various staffers who worked on this bill: Marcy Gallo, Travis Hite, Dahlia Sokolov and Mike Quear on the majority side; and Dan Byers and Mele Williams on the minority staff. We could not bring a good bill like this together without their help. Last fall, the House passed a resolution recognizing National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The resolution stated that we will need to build strong partnerships between Federal agencies, business and nongovernmental organizations and educational institutions in order to enhance the state of cybersecurity in the United States. H.R. 4061 implements this principle of public-private partnerships in three areas: coordinating and prioritizing the Federal cybersecurity R&D portfolio, improving the transfer of cybersecurity technologies to the marketplace, and training an IT workforce that can meet the growing needs of both public and private sectors. H.R. 4061 strengthens research and innovation partnerships through the requirement for a strategic plan for cybersecurity R&D that is based on an assessment of risk to our Nation and its population. In developing this plan, the Federal Government must solicit input from all stakeholders, including industry and colleges and universities. The plan must also describe how the agencies will support the transfer of promising technologies from our national labs and universities to the private sector. Finally, the Federal agencies must convene a university-industry task force to explore collaborative models of cybersecurity. We need to get the best ideas of our scientists and engineers out of the lab and into the marketplace where they can contribute to our collective security and general economic growth. H.R. 4061 builds educational partnerships to create a well-trained workforce and an informed public. Specifically, H.R. 4061 taps into our colleges and universities by providing scholarships to students pursuing degrees in cybersecurity in exchange for their service in the Federal IT workforce. The legislation also requires NIST to disseminate the cybersecurity best practices to individuals and small businesses in a more user-friendly format. But the Internet doesn't stop at our borders, which means that improving cybersecurity also requires international partnerships. H.R. 4061 addresses this by requiring NIST to develop a comprehensive international cybersecurity strategy that defines what cybersecurity technical standards we need, where they are being developed, and ensures that the United States is represented. Many organizations support this legislation, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Telecommunication Association, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, the Business Software Alliance, the Association for Computing Machinery, the Computing Research Association, Sun Micro Systems, the University of Illinois at Urbana, the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Software and Information Industry Association, Applied Visions, Inc., Verisign, CA, Inc., Symantec Corporation, McAfee, Inc., and TechAmerica, among others. But we have also had the support of our colleagues from New York and the chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Mr. Towns. And at this point, I would like to insert an exchange of letters into the Record between myself and Mr. Towns. House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Washington, DC, February 2, 2010. Hon. Bart Gordon, Chairman, Committee on Science and Technology, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Gordon: I write to you regarding H.R. 4061, the ``Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2009''. H.R. 4061 contains provisions that fall within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, including provisions related to the federal workforce. I recognize and appreciate your desire to bring this legislation before the House in an expeditious manner and, accordingly, I will not seek a sequential referral of the bill. However, agreeing to waive consideration of this bill should not be construed as the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform waiving its jurisdiction over H.R. 4061. Further, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform reserves the right to seek the appointment of conferees during any House-Senate conference convened on this legislation on provisions of the bill that are within the Committee's jurisdiction. I look forward to working with you as we prepare to pass this important legislation. Sincerely, Edolphus Towns, Chairman.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Madam Chair, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois, the primary sponsor of this good bipartisan bill, Dr. Lipinski, who has just gotten back from home and a 78 percent victory in his primary last night. Congratulations.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. First, I want to thank my friend from Texas for both his cosponsorship of this bill, but more importantly, his constructive, productive, bipartisan approach to bringing together this good bill. I want to now yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon, primary sponsor of the bill, the chairman of our Technology and Innovation Subcommittee, Mr. Wu.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Madam Chairman, I want to thank my friend from Savannah for the history lesson there, and let him know that my 8- year-old daughter can be some help to him if he wants to download any of his music.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. She can help me, too.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Madam Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ruppersberger), a member of the important Intelligence Committee.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. I yield the gentleman 20 additional seconds.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Madam Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the co- chair of the House Cybersecurity Caucus, the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin). (Mr. LANGEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. In closing, let me just suggest to my friend from Texas that bipartisanship goes both ways, and I want to thank him for his great input in this bill, as well as Dr. Ehlers, Mr. Hall, Mr. Wu, and Dr. Lipinski. It was a good team effort. And certainly our staffs were integral to having this be a successful bill. I agree with you--hopefully this will pass overwhelmingly and will send a message to the bad guys that we're on alert.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Madam Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Madam Chairman, first of all, let me thank my friend from Florida for his very kind words. But more importantly, I want to thank him for introducing this important legislation. We can have the best technology in the world, but if we don't have the workforce to go with it, then the bad guys win. This will go a long way to improving and expanding our workforce, and I thank the gentleman for this amendment.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Madam Chair, as the designee of the gentleman from Colorado, I rise to offer his amendment.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Madam Chair, one of the best ways for cybersecurity professionals to improve their skills is through meaningful and diverse experiences. This amendment would allow scholarship recipients to seek out internship opportunities in the private sector and then bring those experiences to their service in the Federal Government. I want to thank my friend Mr. Polis for this good amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support it. I yield back the balance of my time.