On the recordSeptember 6, 2017
Mr. Chairman, I rise to join the chairman in opposition. The amendment would decimate the salaries and expense accounts at the Department of Transportation, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies. There are broad consequences for this, but I want to focus on one consequence: cybersecurity. The inspectors general of both departments have indicated that both agencies have a lot of work to do in addressing cyber threats. The CIOs at DOT and HUD have been working to address these challenges. They have had issues in hiring and staffing cybersecurity professionals in what is a very competitive labor market. The bill would make these challenges even more difficult by reducing the salaries and expenses of the CIO offices by 10 percent. We owe it to our constituents to have a safe and secure transportation system and to safeguard personally identifiable information. This amendment would make it harder for these departments to do this, and I urge its defeat.
