Will Hurd

Mr. HURD of Texas

Mr. HURD of Texas. I thank the chairman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, as a former CIA officer, I completely understand the need for the men and women in our intelligence agencies to have access to timely, vital information as they track down bad guys. As an American citizen, I know how important our civil rights are and that it is the government's job to protect those rights, not infringe upon them. I believe that we, as a nation, as a government, as a people can do both, and that is why I am supporting the USA FREEDOM Act. Because it prioritizes both and strikes the right balance between privacy and security, Americans can rest assured that their private information isn't being subjected to bulk collection by the NSA. They can be confident that there are privacy experts advising the FISA court advocating for our civil liberties, and they can be proud of an intelligence community who works hard every day to make sure that our country is protected. I have seen firsthand the value these programs bring, but I also know that if Americans don't feel they can trust their own government, we are losing the battle right here at home. It is my hope that this bill will increase transparency and accountability to the program so that our hard-working intelligence community can continue their job of defending the country, and American citizens can be confident that they are being protected from enemies both foreign and domestic. Upholding civil liberties are not burdens; they are what make all of us safer and stronger.

Mr. HURD of Texas

Mr. HURD of Texas. I thank my colleague for yielding time. Mr. Chairman, where I am from in Texas, when you make a deal with someone, you look him in the eye and shake his hand, honor the agreement, and keep your word. For years, the United States Army Corps of Engineers has been making deals throughout the country. Yet, in many instances, despite project cooperation agreements, the Corps has failed to honor its end of the bargain. Many State, local, and municipal entities have advanced funding or paid out of their pockets to help better their communities with the understanding that the Federal Government would reimburse them. This is what happened in my hometown of San Antonio. This amendment would limit expenditure on flood and storm damage reduction to $10 million less and would add $10 million to the ``other authorized purposes'' item in the committee report. This is a matter of fairness to our communities, and if we cannot proceed with this bipartisan amendment, I hope the chairman will work with us going forward.

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I claim time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. HURD of Texas

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Chairman, one thing we can all agree on is our veterans deserve better. For far too long, our Nation's veterans have failed to receive the health care they have earned and the health care they have needed. One of the reasons is due to the VA's inability to join the 21st century when it comes to information technology. Something as simple as allowing a veteran's medical records to be available digitally to their health care providers shouldn't be something beyond the capabilities of the greatest Nation in the world. My amendment ensures the Department of Veterans Affairs and their chief information officer will take the appropriate steps and get the VA moving in the right direction. It will create accountability with their acquisition and use of information technology. Let's do what is right and make sure the VA is using the right technology to ensure that our veterans are getting timely, quality care. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I am proud to cosponsor this amendment alongside my colleague from Texas, the honorable John Ratcliffe, and my colleague from New Jersey, the Honorable Tom MacArthur. Government action that both wastes the taxpayer dollars and hurts local economies just doesn't make sense, especially when the same action negatively impacts national security. But that is precisely what another round of base realignment and closures would do. Laughlin Air Force Base, located near Del Rio, Texas, in the 23rd Congressional District of Texas, is responsible for training more Air Force pilots than any other base in the world. It is an integral component of our Nation's military readiness, and they are a vital part of Del Rio's economy and community. Yet every year they wait to see if the powers that be up here have decided in their infinite wisdom to put Laughlin Air Force Base back on the chopping block, devastating Del Rio and endangering our Nation's air superiority. I encourage my colleagues to support this amendment, which will prohibit funds from being used to propose, plan, or execute another round of BRAC closures. Protecting our military readiness in communities such as Del Rio is vital.

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. HURD of Texas

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I have spent almost 9 years, or a little bit over 9 years, as an undercover officer in the CIA. I chased al Qaeda, Taliban. Towards the end of my career, we started spending a lot more time focusing on cyber criminals, Russian organized crime, state sponsors of terror like Iran. What this bill does is it helps in the protection of our digital infrastructure, both public and private, against this increasing threat. I had the opportunity to help build a cybersecurity company, and seeing the threats to our infrastructure is great. This bill, which I rise in support of, is going to create that framework in order for the public and the private sector to work together against these threats. When I was doing this for a living, you give me enough time, I am going to get in your network. We have to change our mindset and begin with the presumption of breach. How do we stop someone? How do we detect someone getting in our system? How do we corral them? And how do we kick them off? H.R. 1731 is a great start in doing this and making sure that we have the right protections. We also are helping small- and medium-sized businesses with this bill, making sure that a lot of them have the resources that some larger businesses do and making sure that the Department of Homeland Security is providing as much information to them so that they can keep their company and their customers safe. I would like to commend everyone on both sides of the aisle that is working to make this bill happen, and I look forward to seeing this get past this House and our colleagues in the Senate.

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for his work in making this amendment happen. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment to H.R. 1731. Cybersecurity is not just a buzzword. Oftentimes, large governments and governments have plans in place to mitigate and respond to cyber threats, but many smaller State and local entities do not. This is why I cosponsored and stand in support of Representative Castro's amendment to H.R. 1731. Five leading universities across the Nation have teamed up to face these cyber issues head on, including the University of Texas at San Antonio and my alma mater, Texas A&M University. The proposed consortium would provide valuable training to local and first responders in the event of a catastrophic cyber attack. It would also provide technical assistance services to build and sustain capabilities in support of cybersecurity preparedness and response, and it would coordinate with other crucial entities, such as the Multi- State Information Sharing and Analysis Center and NCCIC. It is clear that we must focus on cyber preparedness not only at the Federal level, but the local level as well. Again, this is why I urge my colleagues to support this.

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Chairman, every day and every hour, hacktivists and state actors are attempting to breach U.S. Government systems. This is an ongoing problem I dealt with during my time at the CIA, and, since I have left, it has only gotten worse. They are attempting to steal valuable information that could be used against us. The EINSTEIN Program is a valuable tool that the U.S. Government can deploy to respond to and mitigate cyber threats. The EINSTEIN Program was intended to provide DHS a situational awareness snapshot of the health of the Federal Government's cyberspace. Based upon agreements with participating Federal agencies, DHS installed systems at their Internet access points to collect network flow data. EINSTEIN 3A is the third and newest version of the program. This groundbreaking technology uses classified and unclassified information to block cyber espionage and attacks. E3A is allowing the Department of Homeland Security to paint a wider and more intelligent picture of the overall cyber threat landscape within the Federal Government, enabling strong correlation of events and the ability to provide early warning and greater context about emerging risks. Cutting-edge programs such as EINSTEIN can serve as a groundbreaking tool to stop criminals, hacktivists, and nation-states from harming the American public and government. I urge my colleagues to support codifying the E3A program and vote in favor of this amendment.

Mr. HURD of Texas. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HURD of Texas

Mr. HURD of Texas. I thank my colleague for yielding. Madam Speaker, I want to share a story of Bobby McKnight, a seventh- generation cattleman from my district in Fort Davis, Texas. Bobby says many farm and ranch farmers like his may be asset rich but they are cash poor. Most of the value of their estate is attributed to the value of the land they use to raise cattle and grow food for consumers around the world. In fact, a lot of that food, my colleagues are going to enjoy today. Bobby shares that when times have been lean, he has had to make sacrifices to keep his family business above water. But as any small- businessowner can tell you, sometimes you run out of places to cut. That is what happened to his family during hard times brought on by the death tax. He had to let go of seasoned employees that had families of their own, losing the skilled labor he needed to run their operation. And now, as land values continue to increase, many farm and ranch families are concerned that this may trigger the estate tax. As Bobby and others can attest to, the death tax is devastating to the family farms, ranches, and small businesses in my district and throughout the Nation. Come on, y'all. Let's stop punishing families for achieving the American Dream. I support this bill to repeal the death tax and encourage my colleagues to support it as well.

Mr. HURD of Texas

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman. I had the honor of serving my country for almost a decade as an undercover officer in the CIA. I was in the back alleys and bazaars of South Asia and the Middle East. I was the guy recruiting spies and stealing secrets and collecting intelligence on threats to our homeland, so I know a little something about dealing with bad guys. I looked our enemies in their eyes and I know what they were capable of. Those who are committed to spreading terror, murdering and destroying the lives of the innocent, such as Boko Haram, cannot be reasoned with because they are not reasonable. They cannot be bargained with because they do not value the lives of others. They have nothing to lose. Only their destruction will stop their reign of terror over the men, women, and children of northeastern Nigeria. So I encourage the United States to help. Let's help Nigeria and other nations, such as Chad, Niger, and Cameroon, to help their citizens. When terrorists such as Boko Haram are allowed to operate unchecked, our world is less safe and less free. As the greatest and the freest Nation in the world, let's extend a hand to our friends in Nigeria and let them know that we stand with them in this war on terror. I want to thank the chairman for this resolution. And I want to thank my colleague from Illinois, Congressman Robin Kelly, for her hard work and leadership on this resolution. I encourage all of my colleagues to support it.

Mr. HURD of Texas

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Chair, on rollcall No. 122 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.'' Amendment No. 2 Offered by Mr. Kennedy

Mr. HURD of Texas

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Chairman, our children are our most precious resource, so protecting their personally identifiable information is incredibly important. As a former undercover officer in the CIA, I have seen the damage that can be done when personal data falls into the wrong hands. Bad actors can not only use this information for their own gain, they can also use it to target America's children. It is up to us to protect our children and ensure their information is secure. Students' personal information should never be shared with anyone who is not authorized to view it or use it, period. I support the final passage of H.R. 5 and hope this amendment will spur Congress to help protect the personally identifiable information of our Nation's students. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HURD of Texas

Mr. HURD of Texas. 820 miles of the border, from San Antonio to El Paso. I would like to thank the gentlewoman for the time today and also for taking me to your district and seeing that part of the border. Our trip a few weeks ago was great, enlightening to me. I have spent a lot of time crisscrossing those 820 miles of the border, and it was great to see how the San Diego sector and Tucson and my fellow Texans in McAllen are doing the same thing. As the gentlewoman knows, I spent 9 years as an undercover officer in the CIA. I chased groups like al Qaeda and the Taliban. I have chased narcotraffickers all over the world, and the threat is increasing, and the threat is sophisticated. The drug trafficking organizations in Mexico are making $50 billion a year in the United States. That is a big number. Their tactics, techniques, and procedures are sophisticated, and we need to keep up. It is about moves and countermoves. What I like about this bill is it empowers our members of Border Patrol to do their job. A lot of people talk about border security. I like to refine it a little bit. Part of it is interdiction, stopping people before they get to the border. It is grabbing them, it is having them in custody, and then it is removal. This bill is focused on this first piece of border security which is interdiction. We need to make sure that our men and women that are on the border every single day have the tools that they need in order to do their job. It is different in Tucson. It is different in Eagle Pass. It is different in San Diego. What I like about this bill that was developed under the leadership of Chairman McCaul is that it gives them that freedom and flexibility. Having spent a lot of time overseas, I know the disconnect between the field and headquarters, and that is going on right here on our border. We need to make sure that the guys and gals that are on the border have the tools that they need. This is a sophisticated threat, as you alluded to, using ultralight aircraft to deliver their payload. They are using tactics that intelligence organizations have used all across the world to do denial and deception. We need to make sure we have all the resources--things like the aerostats, things like radar technology, things like UAVs--in order to have that combined picture of the border. This is something that for 19 months, I talked to folks in the district. I know, like you, this was a very important issue. The American people sent us up here to do our job, and our job is to protect our citizens and to protect our homeland. This bill does it. It is a strong bill, and I look forward to working over these next few days and weeks in order to make this happen.

Mr. HURD of Texas

Mr. HURD of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I have taken an oath of office to uphold our Constitution twice: the first time as an undercover officer in the CIA and, just last week, I took that oath again as I was sworn in as a Member of this body. This bill is about upholding our Constitution and protecting it from executive overreach, but we can't forget that immigration and legal immigrants are an asset to our Nation, not a liability. Everyone knows that our immigration system is broken and that executive action that incentivizes illegal immigration just makes it worse. We need a long-term solution that protects American workers and fosters economic growth. Our Nation has, for many decades, benefited from the ``brain drain'' from other countries, and we need to make sure that continues. I also want our Nation to benefit from a ``hardworking drain,'' too. If you are going to be a productive member of our society, let's keep you here or get you here, but we must do it legally. There is a long-term solution to our immigration problems. I am ready to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and with the President to find it.

Mr. HURD of Texas

Mr. HURD of Texas. ``Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty- one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two- thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.''