PROTECTING CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AGAINST DRONES AND EMERGING THREATS ACT; Congressional Record Vol. 166, No. 28
(Extensions of Remarks - February 11, 2020)
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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E168-E169]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROTECTING CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AGAINST DRONES AND EMERGING THREATS
ACT
______
speech of
HON. CEDRIC L. RICHMOND
of louisiana
in the house of representatives
Monday, February 10, 2020
Mr. RICHMOND. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4432, the
``Protecting Critical Infrastructure Against Drones and Emerging
Threats Act.''
As Chairman of the Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and
Innovation Subcommittee, I have made it a priority to understand the
security challenges facing our critical infrastructure and to figure
out solutions.
My district in Louisiana has one of the nation's highest
concentrations of critical infrastructure--including pipelines,
refineries, ports, and stadiums.
I have talked with owners and operators of critical infrastructure in
my district and across the nation about the security issues they're
facing, and there is always one common theme: Drones.
Drones are hardly a new technology, but they do present policymakers
at every level of government with serious challenges.
It's a challenging issue because drone technology is an important
tool in infrastructure security, providing situational awareness over
critical infrastructure.
At the same time, we know bad actors can use drones to move
explosives, conduct surveillance and mapping activities, and carry out
cyber attacks.
[[Page E169]]
The weaponization of drones is not just a potential concern--we have
seen it happen.
Late last summer, drones were used to strike oil installations in
Saudi Arabia, halting half of the country's oil production. And, in
late 2018, reports of drone activity near the runway at Gatwick Airport
outside London grounded hundreds of flights.
The Federal government is aware of the security threats posed by
drones, but we don't have a full picture of where and how often
unauthorized drone activity is happening near our critical
infrastructure.
Owners and operators of chemical facilities regulated under the
Chemical Facilities Antiterrorism Standards program have complained
that no one in the Federal government collects information about
unauthorized drone activity over their facilities.
Our operators want to share important threat information that can
inform our antiterrorism efforts but there's no one to collect it.
We must do better.
H.R. 4432 would require DHS to establish a way for owners and
operators to voluntarily report information about unauthorized drone
activity over their facilities. DHS would then use that information to
develop a threat assessment on unmanned aerial systems and other
emerging threats.
H.R. 4432 marks an important step forward for DHS in its partnership
with the private sector and in gaining full situational awareness about
the threats posed by drones in the U.S.
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
I want to note my concerns with the President's FY 2021 budget
request for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
(CISA).
Despite bipartisan agreement that CISA needs more resources to deal
with more frequent and sophisticated cyber attacks, the budget slashes
DHS' cybersecurity arm by $250 million. Inexplicably, it calls for a
$10 million cut for cybersecurity support for State and local
governments, at a time when they are increasingly targeted by foreign
adversaries and criminal hackers.
Worse still, it would eliminate funding for DHS' chemical
antiterrorism security program that was established under the
leadership of former Secretary Chertoff in response to intelligence
suggesting chemical facilities would be a ripe target for terrorists.
Chemical facilities remain a target for terrorists, and I am
disturbed by the Administration's poor judgment related to this
important antiterrorism program.
With that, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4432.
____________________