Darrell Issa

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. I thank the gentleman. And yes, we did. Your leadership on cybersecurity matters, including FISMA reform, have been essential. When you and I served on the Select Intelligence Committee, I recognized that you put more time and effort into the behind-the-door work than any of us. And, in fact, you and I share some of the challenges that we faced with the DNI and other earlier organizations. But I share with you that your suggestions on how we can, in fact, find single-point accountability in future legislation, in concert with this administration, is essential. I look forward to working with you on exactly that. I know of no other partner I could have on the other side of the aisle that is more prepared to do it, and I thank the gentleman.

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, at this time I have no other speakers, and I'm prepared to close.

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Thornberry) who coordinated so much of the work that we're doing today from multiple committees.

Mr. ISSA. I couldn't agree with the gentleman more. Your work with our staff has been essential. I look forward to doing exactly that, and I think we have to have that ongoing effort to get to there. I saw the ranking member's head also shaking. I know that we will both look forward to working with you on a bipartisan basis.

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4257) to amend chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, to revise requirements relating to Federal information security, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, we have a speaker on the other side for a colloquy, so I'd reserve at this time to allow him to go next.

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, cybersecurity threats represent one of the most serious national security and economic challenges we face as a Nation. Whether it's criminal hackers, organized crime, terrorist networks or national states, our Nation is under siege from dangerous cybersecurity threats that grow daily in frequency and sophistication. It is critical that the Federal Government address cybersecurity threats in a manner that keeps pace with the Nation's growing dependence on technology. The President himself recently stated: ``Cybersecurity is a challenge that we as a government or as a country are not adequately prepared to counter.'' Madam Speaker, it is essential that we, in fact, change that here today. Current law does not adequately address the nature of today's cybersecurity threats. Since the enactment in 2002 of the Federal Information Security Management Act, or FISMA, it has become a check-the-box compliance activity that all too often has little to do with minimizing security threats, and yet the Government Accountability Office recently found that security incidents among 24 key agencies increased more than 650 percent during the last 5 years. To address the rising challenge posed by cyberthreats, Ranking Member Cummings and I introduced H.R. 4257, the Federal Information Security Amendments Act of 2012. The bill aims to harness the last decade of technological innovation in securing the Federal information systems. It amends FISMA to move beyond the check-the-box compliance mentality. It enhances the current framework for securing Federal information technology systems. Our bill calls for automated and continuous monitoring of government information systems. And it ensures that control monitoring finally incorporates regular threat assessment and--Madam Speaker, this is the most important part of what we do--continuous monitoring and constant threat assessments so that never again will we find that the incidents are going up double digits every month in some cases. The bill also reaffirms the role of the Office of Management and Budget, or OMB, with respect to FISMA, recognizing that the budgetary leverage of the Executive Office of the President is necessary to ensure agencies are focused on effective security of its IT systems. While our bill does not include new requirements, restrictions, or mandates on private or non-Federal computer systems, H.R. 4257 does highlight the need for stronger public-private partnerships. Through our Web site, keepthewebopen.com, our bill has been vetted by the American people. It has also received strong support from cybersecurity experts and industry, including the Information Technology Industry Council and the Business Software Alliance. I'd like to thank my ranking member, Mr. Cummings, for a one-on-one equal partnership with me in the efforts to address the growing threat for cybersecurity. He has led the way on his side of the aisle, and I have been honored to serve on my side. We have encouraged all Members to support this timely legislation. We recognize that some things are too important to be partisan. This certainly is one of them. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ISSA. I thank the gentleman. I do share those concerns and appreciate the gentleman's work on this. Proper organization of the executive branch is essential to the successful long-term management of technology, and particularly cybersecurity. This policy is going to require additional work. FISMA is not the end but, in fact, a starting point; and I look forward to working with the gentleman to make sure that as we work with the executive branch, including OMB, that we get it right and we keep the focus where it needs to be on all the agencies and bringing them together.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Hopefully there will be time left over also for Mr. Chaffetz, who has worked hard on this amendment. I want to thank the chairman for working with our committee on this amendment that clarifies in the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act that FOIA, the Freedom of Information Access Act, is in fact clearly in effect for the vast majority of this information. We understand that companies--I will just take an example--such as electric utility companies may share their very vulnerabilities as a part of a process to reduce or eliminate these vulnerabilities. We certainly understand that that's not FOIAable. National security is not FOIAable. However, we, in this amendment, ensure that everything is at least possibly FOIAable whenever it would be appropriate, and then the only question is does it stand for one of the exclusions. So by making it narrow, we tell the American people that the Freedom of Information Act is in effect on cybersecurity and will not be unreasonably withheld. I think this is critical at a time when greater transparency is the promise and there is a great deal of concern about cybersecurity somehow being something that would take away America's freedoms. Just the opposite is true. Our freedom of the Internet, our freedom to have an effective and efficient system on which to build our infrastructure both for electricity and other utilities, but also for our everyday life, essentially requires the kind of cooperation that we anticipate.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, the expression we often hear about success and failure is that success has many fathers, while, in fact, failure is an orphan. This bill will not be an orphan. In fact, the work of Ranking Member Cummings, along with Representative Maloney, Representative Sherman, Representative Collin Peterson, and the former chairman of the full committee, Ed Towns, on just one side, have been critical in getting this done. The support of Jason Chaffetz, Dan Burton, Blake Farenthold, the gentleman who spoke a minute ago, James Lankford, Mike Kelly, Tom Latham, Patrick McHenry, and Dennis Ross all have been critical in this process. But perhaps less often heard, as the ranking member referred, former Inspector General and chairman of the Recovery Board, Earl Devaney, has been critical to shepherding the process that has gone over two Congresses, and I want to thank him personally while he's enjoying his well-earned retirement. Along with him was Vice President Joe Biden, who has been supportive and helped us in this process and held numerous meetings at the White House on behalf of it. In the Senate, Mark Warner of Virginia has championed and introduced the companion product, making it bipartisan in both Houses. Additionally, as I think the ranking member alluded to, the Sunlight Foundation, the Project on Government Oversight, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Americans for Tax Reform, the Data Transparency Coalition, and XPRL US have all been critical. The last one I mentioned is particularly critical because the need for standards that ultimately are set that allow for this transparency are going to come not from us in government but from organizations who have open and transparent capability that we will leverage. All of these and more are to be thanked today. I want to close by saying the winners of this effort will be the American people. It will be the American people because when this is fully implemented, the American people, who are used to Googling for information outside of government, will find it possible to get meaningful information on where their hard-earned tax dollars are being spent just as quickly. And that's the goal of our committee: to recognize that the hundred-or-so staff and members on both sides of the aisle of the Oversight Committee cannot protect the American people alone. The 12,000-or-so members of the Inspector General's staff throughout government cannot protect the American people alone. But with data transparency and more access and sunlight available more broadly, we believe that these organizations can, in fact, have the kind of whistle-blowers and information providers that will allow us to scrub the balance sheet to wrench out waste, fraud, and abuse in our government at any level. So I join with the ranking member in urging its unanimous support and yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2146) to amend title 31, United States Code, to require accountability and transparency in Federal spending, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The American people have a right to know that taxpayer dollars are well spent. We have a responsibility to stay up with the times. As government has grown, waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement have increased. Today, however, the technology is before us, if we simply embrace it, to do a far better job of accounting for every dollar spent on behalf of the American people. That's not just the American dollars that are spent by the Federal Government, but dollars passed on to the private sector, to the States, to public entities, and to nonprofits. Today, as those trillions of dollars are put out, we find that we don't know where they're spent. At best, we know the first place they went to. Under the Recovery Act, often called the ``stimulus,'' we can all disagree or agree on how the money was spent; but unlike previous appropriations, under that act, we found a way to do a better job of tracing the dollars, of tracing the dollars through recipient reporting--a system that, although costing a little bit to do, ultimately once set up saves money. The DATA Act before us today will literally track those trillions of dollars in a way not done outside of the Recovery Act. Quite frankly, we owe a debt of gratitude to the Recovery Board for showing us an effective system on which we could build. Just a few days ago, our committee, on a very bipartisan basis, evaluated the GSA's lavish spending. They explained to us that part of the way they spent $830,000-plus was, in fact, to cobble together, as they put it, multiple baskets of money--meaning, if you didn't know or couldn't trace how they'd spent their money, you wouldn't know that it was spent on a mind reader and a clown. You wouldn't know that those 10 trips, essentially, were publicly funded trips so that key executives could have family vacations. With the DATA Act, we expect that and many other wasteful practices to be brought to an end. Some of them will be brought to an end by the ranking member and our work on the committee, but a great many of them will be brought to bear by the American people being able to search online and learn what they currently cannot learn. The DATA Act has been a bill that has been, unlike many, completely bipartisan. The minority and the majority have worked hand in hand. We come to you today with a bill that has been agreed to and that will save--I repeat, save--billions of dollars. Additionally, we do, in fact, amend some of the abuses under the GSA scandal and do so based on the good work of Representative Dennis Ross of Florida, who introduced strong language to do exactly what we're doing today. Before we go on, let me just say that I want to thank the ranking member, because the work on this bill and the reason this bill is before us on suspension is that we've been able to work hand in hand with members of the majority and minority and with key staff on both sides to make sure that we have a bill that will pass the House, hopefully, on a unanimous basis, and clearly, we'll see the Senate send a message that it's time for accountability generated from bipartisan work in the House. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I would now like to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lankford).

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Ross), the author of many of the reforms in this bill.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to take note of something that occurred in this body, the other body, and on June 16 will occur in Arizona. Brian Terry died more than a year ago as a border patrol agent serving his country on the Arizona border. He was shot and killed by smugglers with weapons that ultimately came from the United States and went across the border under the Operation Fast and Furious program. That's controversial. But there is no controversy that Brian Terry lived and exemplified the American spirit in serving his country in the military and then as a border patrol agent. On June 16, that border patrol station will open. On June 16, thanks to action here in the House weeks ago and in the Senate today, we will in fact name it after Brian Terry.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the military service of Colonel Nicholas F. Marano on the occasion of his retirement from the United States Marine Corps. I commend Colonel Marano's career and offer my sincerest thanks for his 32 years of dedicated service in protecting our nation. Colonel Marano enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in March of 1980 and served as a rifleman in the 2nd Battalion, the 25th Marines prior to graduation from St. Joseph's University. In January 1985, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and designated an infantry officer assigned to 3d Battalion, 9th Marines on board Camp Pendleton, California. There he served as a Platoon Commander, Company Executive Officer, and Company Commander. In September 1988, he transferred to 1st Reconnaissance (Recon) Battalion where he served as a Reconnaissance Marine and graduated as an Officer Honor Graduate at the U.S. Army Ranger School (Class 10 89). Throughout his career he has been deployed to Germany, Republic of Georgia, Kosovo, Albania, Italy, and several times to Iraq in support of combat operations. Colonel Marano retires from his post of Commanding Officer of Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Pendleton California. As Commanding Officer of MCB CamPen, Colonel Marano was in charge of overseeing the operational and logistical responsibility of supporting more than 72,067 scheduled training events in the mobilization and deployment of numerous Camp Pendleton based operating force units to include the 1st Marine Division, the 1st Marine Logistics Group, and the 3rd Marine Air Wing occupying over 125,000 acres of land. Colonel Marano's hard work and dedication aided the Corps in providing continuous, uninterrupted support, in a time of war, to Marines and Sailors of the First Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF). The legacy that Colonel Marano has left behind is a true testament to his commitment to the United States Marine Corps and to our country and will have lasting impact on MCB CamPen. I offer Colonel Marano my warmest congratulations and hope that he enjoys a rich and rewarding retirement knowing that his years of service will not be forgotten by those he led.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the military service of Colonel Michael G. Naylor on the occasion of his retirement from the United States Marine Corps. I commend Colonel Naylor's career and offer my sincerest thanks for his 30 years of dedicated service in protecting our nation. Beginning his military career in 1982, Colonel Naylor entered Officer Candidate School where he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and designated a Naval Aviator in September 1983. This was just the start to a long and commendable career in the United States Marine Corps. Colonel Naylor retires from his post as the Deputy Commander of Marine Corps Installations West (MCIWEST), located at Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton. As Deputy Commander, Colonel Naylor helped oversee seven bases with stations occupying over 160,000 acres throughout California, Nevada, and Arizona. Colonel Naylor's hard work and dedication aided Corps in providing continuous, uninterrupted service support, in a time of war, to Marines and Sailors of the First Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF). As a Naval Aviator he has accumulated over 4900 total flight hours in various rotary wing, tilt-rotor, and fixed wing aircraft to include the first two operational tests of the V 22. He was also tasked with flying the President, Vice President, and dignitaries while assigned to Marine One (HMX 1). Colonel Naylor commanded the Marine Medium Helicopter Training Squadron 164 (HMMT 164) where his leadership and commitment provided well trained, organized, and combat ready expeditionary aviation forces capable of short notice world wide deployment to Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF), fleet and unified commanders. His personal decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with Gold Star, Meritorious Service Medal with Gold Star, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Presidential Service badge as well as numerous campaign medals and unit awards. These recognitions are a testament of Colonel Naylor's strong leadership and unwavering commitment to our country. I offer Colonel Naylor my congratulations and hope that he enjoys rewarding retirement knowing that his years of service will not be forgotten by those he led.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I'll be brief. Today we're doing a small and technical change to everyone except the people of the District of Columbia, who consistently have to live under a rule that costs the voters and the residents of the District of Columbia to expend enormous additional dollars to have special elections rather than having the ordinary flexibility to try to combine their votes at a time in which it would be less expensive. The bill, which is, if you will, an omission under the Home Rule Act, provides for the District of Columbia to fill vacancies on the first Tuesday 114 days after the date of such vacancy occurring. Unfortunately, this does not provide the flexibility necessary to time special elections concurrently with other general and primary elections. Therefore, this small--and yet not small to the District of Columbia--change will allow them to place the election on a Tuesday occurring between 70 and 174 days of the vacancy. Understand, Mr. Speaker, if there is an ordinary election occurring within that process, this will cause us to have the election on that date. The bill has been carefully considered and passed unanimously by the committee. Additionally, it's supported by the entire city council-- we'll soon hear from the delegate from the District of Columbia--by the Mayor and his administration. I want to take just a quick moment to thank the gentlelady from the District of Columbia. It has been, in fact, her work with the committee that made this technical change one that we can all live with for the benefit of the people who host us in the Federal city. With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I urge immediate support for this important reform for the District of Columbia, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ISSA. I reserve the balance of my time, but I am prepared to close.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, seeing that there are no further speakers, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3902) to amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to revise the timing of special elections for local office in the District of Columbia, as amended.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer the following statement along with my colleague from New York and the original cosponsor of H.R. 3699, Representative Carolyn B. Maloney: The introduction of H.R. 3699 has spurred a robust, expansive debate on the topics of scientific and scholarly publishing, intellectual property protection, and public access to federally funded research. Since its introduction, we have heard from numerous stakeholders and interested parties on both sides of this important issue. As the costs of publishing continue to be driven down by new technology, we will continue to see a growth in open access publishers. This new and innovative model appears to be the wave of the future. The transition must be collaborative, and must respect copyright law and the principles of open access. The American people deserve to have access to research for which they have paid. This conversation needs to continue and we have come to the conclusion that the Research Works Act has exhausted the useful role it can play in the debate. As such, we want Americans concerned about access to research and other participants in this debate to know we will not be taking legislative action on H.R. 3699, the Research Works Act. We do intend to remain involved in efforts to examine and study the protection of intellectual property rights and open access to publicly funded research.