[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 100 (Thursday, July 27, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1355-E1357]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       INTRODUCTION OF THE FEDERAL INFORMATION POLICY ACT OF 2000

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. THOMAS M. DAVIS

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 27, 2000

  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce 
legislation that will endow the Federal Government with the ability to 
better coordinate and manage information technology policies 
governmentwide and transform the Federal Government into a national 
model for information resources management and information security 
practices. The Federal Information Policy Act [FIPA] of 2000 
establishes an Office of Information Policy with a Chief Information 
Officer [CIO] for the United States and creates within that body, an 
Office of Information Security and Technical Protection [IN STEP]. This 
legislation harmonizes existing information resources management 
responsibilities now held by OMB and provides IN STEP with the 
responsibility for facilitating the development of a comprehensive, 
federal framework for devising and implementing effective, mandatory 
controls over government information security. In this latter respect, 
the Act is the logical complement to legislation I introduced in April, 
the Cyber Security Information Act of 2000, which seeks to encourage 
private sector information sharing with government in order to protect 
our national critical infrastructure. The Federal Information Policy 
Act will force the Federal Government to put its house in order and 
become a reliable public partner for protecting America's information 
highways.
  For nearly four decades, information technology has been an integral 
component of information resources management [IRM] by the Federal 
Government. The Government's role as the single largest procurer of IT 
products and services in the 1960s and 1970s spurred the development of 
the U.S. computer industries that now form the backbone of our nation's 
New Economy. A decade ago, technology stood as one of many factors 
important to the mission and performance objectives of the Federal 
Government. Now both our economy and our society have become 
information-driven, such that IT plays the critical role in 
facilitating the Federal Government's ability to be effective and 
efficient in managing federal programs and spending, communicating with 
and providing services to citizens, and protecting America's critical 
infrastructure.
  Five years ago, Congress recognized the crucial role played by 
technology when we called on the Administration to appoint a top-level 
officer to focus exclusively on the Year 2000 computer problem that 
threatened to undermine national commerce and government. This 
determination--that a single individual was needed to coordinate 
national and local cooperation to remediate computer systems and 
develop contingency plans--was based in part on an understanding of the 
interconnectivity of information systems within government, between 
government and the private sector, and within the private sector. The 
President heeded our
  Moreover, the Year 2000 computer problem highlighted two important 
deficiencies in the current Federal IRM structure. First, the Y2K 
scenario presented an important reminder that technology does not fill 
some amorphous role within the Federal Government. It is the ubiquitous 
thread that binds the operations of the Federal Government, and its 
efficient or inefficient use will make or break the ability of 
government to perform everything from the most mundane of governmental 
functions to the most critical national security measures. Second, the 
high degree of interdepence between information systems, both 
internally and externally, exposes the vulnerability of the Federal 
Government's computer networks to both benign and destructive 
disruptions. This factor is tremendously important to understanding how 
we devise a comprehensive and flexible strategy for coordinating, 
implementing and maintaining federal information security practices 
throughout the Federal Government as the rising threat of electronic 
terrorism emerges.
  In following the lessons learned from the Y2K problem as well as the 
recent Love Bug viruses that affected many federal computer systems, 
the Federal Information Policy Act accomplishes four main purposes: (1) 
to revise chapter 35 of title 44 of the U.S. Code to establish a 
Federal Chief Information Officer to head the Office of Information 
Policy (OIP) within the Executive Office of the President; (2) to 
consolidate and centralize IRM powers currently allotted to the Office 
of Management and Budget [OMB] within the OIP; (3) to establish within 
the OIP the Office of Information Security and Technical Protection [IN 
STEP]; and (4) to establish a comprehensive framework implementing 
mandatory information security standards, and annual independent 
evaluations of agency practices in order to provide effective controls 
over Federal information resources. The Act creates a new chapter 36 to 
retain OMB's paperwork clearance functions that are currently contained 
in chapter 35 and are performed by the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs.
  This past May, at the Center for Innovative Technology in my 
congressional district, the House Government Reform Subcommittee on 
Government Management, Information, and Technology held a hearing in 
which we explored the strategies and challenges facing government in 
implementing electronic government initiatives. We learned that while 
electronic government initiatives promise to provide faster, more 
efficient, and convenient services, the Internet sets forth a wide 
array of challenges that must be addressed in order for the lower costs 
and improved customer service associated with electronic government to 
be realized. These include theft, fraud, consumer privacy protection, 
and the destruction

[[Page E1356]]

of assets. To meet those challenges, the General Accounting Office 
[GAO] testified that ``effective top management leadership, 
involvement, and ownership are a cornerstone of any information 
technology investment strategy.''
  The Paperwork Reduction Act [PRA] established the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs [OIRA] within OMB and gave the 
Office the authority to reduce unnecessary
  I am deeply concerned that current federal IRM policies are suffering 
from the lack of a focused, coordinating body. The Clinger-Cohen Act, 
passed in the 104th Congress, made an important contribution to Federal 
IT policy by mandating that federal agencies appoint Chief Information 
Officers and by recognizing the need to coordinate and facilitate 
interagency IT communication and policies, a role given to OMB. But 
having each agency develop IT policies independently of one another 
poses the potential risk of having a government unable to communicate 
and function and function amongst its own parts. A central IT 
management process is essential if government is going to be able to 
successfully achieve cost benefits similar to those experienced in the 
private sector and improve its responsiveness to the public through e-
government initiatives and better-performing Federal operations. And 
that coordinating entity must be capable of deploying comprehensive 
policies that reflect the interdependence of federal information 
systems.
  With its many management responsibilities, OMB is simply unable to 
devote the attention need for effective IRM. FIPA creates a CIO of the 
United States to fulfill that coordinating role, acting as the 
principal adviser to the President on the development, application and 
management of information technology government-wide. He or she will be 
able to encourage innovation in technology uses, coordinate inter-
agency IRM initiatives and communication, and promote cost-effective 
investments in information technologies. The Act also formalizes the 
establishment of the Chief Information Officers Council, which 
currently exists by virtue of a 1996 Executive Order. Made up of the 
CIOs from the major Federal agencies, the CIO Council provides an 
important forum for interagency communication and for improving IT 
management policies, procedures, and standards. The Federal CIO will 
chair the Council, a position now held by the Deputy Director for 
Management at OMB, and must submit an annual report to the President 
and Congress on its achievements and recommendations for future 
initiatives.
  A Federal CIO will allow OIRA to concentrate and improve on the 
critical function of paperwork reduction that is so important to our 
continued efforts to minimize bureaucratic burdens on individuals, 
small businesses, and others resulting from the collection of 
information by or for the Federal Government. It is for this reason 
that the paperwork clearance functions are maintained in FIPA.
  Equally critical is the ability of the Federal Government to 
anticipate, monitor, and recover from intrusions into Federal computer 
networks. This important objective was detailed in the President's 
National Plan for Information Systems Protection, Version 1.0, issued 
in January 2000. Many sectors of the government have experienced, at 
one time or another, cyber security breaches. Under current law, rules 
and regulations governing the security of federal computer
  Certainly, each Federal agency must bear the responsibility for 
assessing risk, detecting and responding to security incidents, and 
protecting its own operations and assets. It is for this reason that 
this legislation also adapts many of the provisions contained in the 
Government Information Security Act championed by Senate Governmental 
Affairs Committee Chairman Fred Thompson. It requires every Federal 
agency to develop and implement security policies that include risk 
assessment, risk-based policies, security awareness training, and 
periodic reviews.
  However, in a March 2000 Senate hearing on the Government Information 
Security Act, the GAO pointed to compelling reasons for establishing 
strong central leadership for coordinating information security-related 
activities across government. Foremost is the inadequacy of 
information-sharing among agencies regarding vulnerabilities and 
solutions to those weaknesses, as well as the lack of a clear mandate 
for handling and reporting security incidents affecting federal 
information systems.
  For instance, in a March 29, 2000 hearing, the House Government 
Reform Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and 
Technology examined the state of information security practices 
throughout the Federal Government. GAO shared its most recent review at 
that time of the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA]. Its tests found 
``numerous security weaknesses associated with the computer operating 
systems and the agencywide computer network that support most of EPA's 
mission-related and financial operations.'' Indeed, the EPA had 
recorded several serious computer incidents within the last two years 
but the GAO indicated that EPA's subsequent methods for strengthening 
its security procedures were inadequate. In an earlier report, the GAO 
stated that ``resolving EPA's information security problems will 
require substantial ongoing management attention since security program 
planning and management to date have largely been a paper exercise 
doing little to substantively identify, evaluate, and mitigate risks to 
the agency's data and systems.''
  As part of its testimony, the GAO referred to earlier findings that 
22 of the largest federal agencies were providing inadequate protection 
for critical federal operations and assets from computer-based attacks. 
GAO reported that within the past year, it was able to identify 
systemic weaknesses in the information security practices of the 
Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration, the Department of State, and the Department of Veterans 
Affairs. In each instance, sensitive data and/or mission-critical 
systems were penetrable by unauthorized users.
  These results reflect government-wide systemic weaknesses and follow 
numerous GAO audits which have repeatedly identified serious failures 
in the most basic access controls for Federal information systems. In 
its May 1999 tests of NASA's computer-based controls, GAO was able to 
successfully gain access to several mission-critical systems, and could 
have easily disrupted command and control operations conducted through 
orbiting spacecraft. An independent auditor found last August that the 
State Department's mainframe computer was extremely vulnerable to 
unauthorized access that could expose, in turn, other computer 
operations connected to those mainframe computers. These are just a few 
examples of the many troubling indicators that currently plague Federal 
agency information security practices.
  Another key challenge to making the Federal Government more secure 
lies in the mind set of many federal agencies vis-a-vis the importance 
of information security to their operations and assets. For many, 
implementing best practices for controlling and protecting information 
resources is a low priority. A centralized leader would be able to make 
information security one of the top priority missions of the Federal 
Government. It is this overarching responsibility that is given to the 
United States CIO in the Act, and is subsequently delegated to the 
Director of IN STEP. In establishing government-wide policies, the IN 
STEP Director will direct the implementation of a continuing risk 
management cycle within each Federal agency, implement effective 
controls on information to address identified risks, promote awareness 
of information security risks among users, and act as a continual 
monitor and evaluator of policy and control effectiveness of 
information security practices.
  In addition, the Federal Information Policy Act tightens the 
responsibilities of each Federal agency for implementing security 
procedures and policies that ensure the protection of its information 
systems. The CIO, in consultation with the Director of IN STEP, will 
have enforcement authority over individual agencies through his or her 
ability to make recommendations to the Director of OMB with respect to 
funding for information resources. This provision is necessary to 
ensuring that IN STEP can ensure accountability within each agency for 
information security management.
  And finally, two other important features are included that are vital 
for the long-term development of flexible and responsive information 
security controls. The first is investing authority in the Director of 
IN STEP, through the CIO, to require Federal agencies to identify and 
classify the security risks associated with each of their information 
operations, and to calculate the risk and magnitude of harm that would 
result from an intrusion. IN STEP will have simultaneous authority to 
oversee the development and implementation of mandatory minimum control 
standards developed by NIST, that would be required for each 
classification. For this purpose, final authority is

[[Page E1357]]

given to the CIO, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, to 
decide and officially issue the standards. And the Act requires the 
Inspector General or an independent evaluator to conduct an independent 
evaluation of the information security program and practices of each 
agency on an annual basis, which will subsequently be reported to the 
U.S. CIO.
  At the time when the growth and success of our competitive national 
economy is clearly demonstrating a correlation to the Information 
Revolution, the Federal Information Policy Act will secure the ability 
of our Federal Government to fully utilize information technology in 
order to better serve American citizens. And in a time when any entity-
including government-that is connected to a computer needs to make 
information security a priority, we are finding that the Federal 
Government is dangerously behind the curve. We are losing time. FIPA 
will spur the actions needed to achieve readiness against future cyber 
security threats in a uniform and coordinated process. It is my hope 
that Congress will act on this measure as soon as possible so that the 
Federal Government will move forward and become a leader in the 
management and protection of governmental information systems.

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