Political Quotes

“Although I am voting against the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 today, I recommend Representative C.A. ``Dutch'' Ruppersberger, the Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee, for his efforts to improve the bill significantly since its passage out of committee. He has been a leader in protecting our Nation against cyber attacks, and he has gone out of his way to make this bill as inclusive and bipartisan as possible. I want to thank him for the time he took to meet with me personally to discuss this legislation and ways to improve it going forward. I oppose this bill in its current form for several reasons. First, the Republicans on the House Rules Committee refused to allow debate on an amendment offered by Representative Bennie Thompson, the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, to expand this legislation to protect our Nation's critical infrastructure. In testimony before the House Intelligence Committee, then-CIA Director Leon Panetta called cybersecurity ``the battleground for the future.'' Our Nation's critical infrastructure--including power distribution, water supply, telecommunications, and emergency services--has become increasingly dependent on computerized information systems to manage their operations and to process, maintain, and report essential information. Any effort to address this national security threat must address our Nation's critical infrastructure.…”