On the recordApril 22, 2015
I thank the gentleman, my colleague, for yielding. Madam Chair, for a large business, a cyber attack can be costly and damaging. For a small business, a cyber attack can be fatal, wiping out a family's dream or a lifetime of work in a few clicks of a mouse. Small businesses and small financial institutions also don't have the large legal shops that are sometimes necessary to keep up with the latest changes or regulations coming from Washington. That is why I am so pleased that my California colleague offered this important amendment. While I don't expect that any sharing mechanism will ultimately be costly to maintain or to access, there will be some costs, especially in the early stages of implementation, and there will be some new procedures to navigate. This amendment will help put the reach and authority of the Small Business Administration in the service of cybersecurity by having the agency assist in the rollout of cyber threat information sharing. It is an important addition to the bill. I thank the gentleman for raising the issue, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
