On the recordApril 26, 2012
I thank the gentleman for yielding. Anytime the government gets involved in data sharing and data storage, there is going to be the possibility for abuse. I hear from my constituents in Texas and U.S. companies that they continue to lose information to cyberattacks from abroad. Most of these attacks come from none other than the organized crime syndicate of China, as I call it. They steal our intellectual property, and then they use the stolen information to compete against the United States. We need a commonsense information-sharing system to combat the growing threat to this way of life that we have in America. However, we have to do it in such a way that protects our privacy and constitutional rights of citizens. While I believe the intent of the base bill was never to allow the government to use information it obtained for any other purposes than cybersecurity, I believe that the clear and simple language in Mr. Goodlatte's amendment is necessary to make it 100 percent clear that this is strictly prohibited. As we remember from the 2012 NDAA debate, it's important, especially when dealing with legislation that affects civil liberties and constitutional rights, Congress needs to be perfectly 100 percent clear. I believe the Goodlatte amendment does this. I urge all Members to support it.
