On the recordApril 26, 2012
I thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Chair, I rise in support of the Thompson-Eshoo-Quayle-Broun amendment to this bill. The threat of a devastating cyberattack is real and cannot be understated. I believe the Federal Government and private companies need to work together to protect our national and economic security. But in doing so, we still have a responsibility to protect the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens. I'm concerned that the underlying bill is drafted in a way where consumer information could be shared too broadly and used in ways unrelated to combating cybersecurity threats. The Thompson-Eshoo- Quayle-Broun amendment will tighten the bill's limitation on the Federal Government's use of cyberthreat information shared under this legislation. Specifically, our amendment will limit the Federal Government's use of shared information only for cybersecurity purposes, for the investigation and prosecution of cybersecurity crimes, to protect against the threat of imminent harm, and protect our country's national security. This bill, even with our amendment, isn't perfect. As this legislation moves forward, I expect the word of the chairman to be honored when he says that our committee will work together to further protect personal information and limit its use. For example, further narrowing terms in this bill, such as ``to protect the national security of the United States,'' will be necessary, I believe, to fully protect our civil liberties.
