Political Quotes

“I rise to urge adoption of the Peters- Rounds amendment, No. 2464. I first want to thank Chairman Manchin and Ranking Member Barrasso of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee for working with me on this amendment. I would also like to thank Senators Rounds, Portman, and Warner for joining me in offering this amendment. It is very straightforward. It simply would align several cyber security provisions for the Department of Energy in this infrastructure legislation with existing law. It would require the Department of Energy, the sector risk management Agency for the energy sector, to coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security on cyber security efforts. DHS is the lead Federal Agency for cyber security, and they have a central role to play in working across the government to strengthen our cyber defenses. As we have seen from the damaging SolarWinds and Microsoft Exchange attacks, a whole-of-government approach is necessary to protect critical infrastructure. This amendment will ensure that there is a comprehensive approach that effectively coordinates our cyber security protections for critical infrastructure across all sectors. It reduces duplication of efforts and helps protect our Nation from the persistent threat posed by cyber attacks. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to support this straightforward, bipartisan amendment. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Dakota.”