Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my amendment included in this en bloc package. My amendment would create a cyberattack exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act to remove the immunity of foreign states-- including foreign officials, employees, or agents--with regard to money damages sought by a national of the United States for personal injury, harm to reputation, or damage to or loss of property resulting from cyberattacks. The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act was passed in the seventies before anyone could fathom what our technology capabilities would be today, and under that law, if a foreign national commits a cyberattack against a U.S. citizen, our citizen has no legal recourse here in the U.S. to defend themselves. With this blanket immunity, our adversaries in North Korea, Russia, and China have a free hand to attack Americans from the comfort of their own homes without consequence. For decades, foreign governments have been using cyberattacks to influence politics and policy in our country. Now, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, we have this hacking activity ramp up against U.S. medical institutions and vaccine development. We can't sit back and do nothing. It is time for Congress to update its laws to reflect modern technology and modern national security threats. {time} 1645”