FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Hearing Statement of Cybersecurity Infrastructure Protection and Innovation Subcommittee Chairman Cedric Richmond D-LA Resourcing DHS’ Cybersecurity and Innovation Missions A Review of the Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Request for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Science and Technology Directorate April 30 2019 I would like to thank the witnesses for being here today to discuss an important priority for this Committee funding the cybersecurity infrastructure security and innovation missions at the Department of Homeland Security But before I begin I would like to send my condolences to the victims and families of the recent synagogue shooting in California We are keeping the Poway community in our thoughts this week But thoughts and prayers aren’t enough We also need to demand more of the President and his Administration in the face of the rising threat of white nationalism and anti-Semitism seriously Returning to the topic of today’s hearing I want to begin by thanking Full Committee Ranking Member Rogers and Subcommittee Ranking Member Katko for joining Committee Democrats in writing to appropriators to seek additional funding for CISA’s cybersecurity mission From election security to supply chain security we ask more of DHS’ cybersecurity arm every year Despite CISA’s growing mission its budget has remained stagnant Since taking office the President and those around him have paid a lot of lip service to issues related to cybersecurity and innovation but there hasn’t been much follow through In February for example the President touted his innovation agenda but his FY 2020 budget slashes funding for S T by nearly one-third In September former Secretary Nielsen stated that “cyber-attacks now exceed the risk of physical attacks ” Yet the President’s FY 2020 budget would cut CISA’s cybersecurity funding Last fall the White House released the National Cyber Strategy which among other things promised to “further enable the Department of Homeland Security DHS to secure Federal department and agency networks ” But the FY 2020 budget failed to request additional funds or additional authorities for CISA’s Federal network security mission And although officials throughout the Administration have declared that election security is a priority no one in the White House has been directed to coordinate a Federal response and it has never been a budget priority Instead this national security issue seems to be viewed as a “hot potato” in the President’s inner circle not worthy of a “whole-of-government” approach To complicate matters all of this is happening in the absence of a White House Cybersecurity Coordinator which the White House eliminated last year The Mueller Report makes clear that our adversaries will continue to meddle in our elections And DHS and FBI have issued numerous warnings about threats our adversaries – from Russia and China to Iran and North Korea – pose to our critical infrastructure The threats we face are constantly evolving Our technology must do the same In short the time has come for less talk and more action If the White House won’t lead then Congress will I am hopeful that our bipartisan efforts to secure the additional funding for CISA’s cybersecurity activities will be successful and I urge appropriators to reject the drastic cuts proposed to S T’s budget As the Chairman of this Subcommittee I take my oversight responsibility of CISA and S T seriously That said it’s hard to do effective oversight when Congress has given an agency a mission that the President’s budget doesn’t fully support In the meantime I look forward to understanding how this Committee can help CISA clarify its cybersecurity responsibilities among its interagency partners particularly in the absence of a permanent Secretary And I will be interested to know how we can support S T’s efforts to equip DHS components and first responders across the country with the technology they need to do their jobs better and safer # # # Media contact Adam Comis at 202 225-9978