[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 105 (Monday, July 29, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1466]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     H.R. 5005 MANAGER'S AMENDMENT

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                       HON. SHERWOOD L. BOEHLERT

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 26, 2002

  Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Manager's 
Amendment. I want to thank the Majority Leader and his staff, Margaret 
Peterlin, Steve Rademaker and Hugh Halpern, for working so 
cooperatively with us on these items.
  The Manager's Amendment includes language making clear the 
Department's responsibilities to work with states, localities and the 
private sector to help them improve the security of their computer 
systems. The Amendment also establishes a volunteer corps of computer 
experts, who, upon request, could help localities recover from cyber 
attacks.
  The Amendment also includes two important provisions we worked out 
with the Energy and Commerce and Government Reform Committees, and I 
want to thank Chairman Tauzin and Chairman Davis and their staffs for 
their work on these issues.
  The first provision, based on Chairman Davis's Federal Information 
Systems Management Act, will help improve the security of federal 
computer systems.
  The second provision will ensure that the government can take 
advantage of unsolicited ideas from entrepreneurs and inventors who are 
working on ways to enhance homeland security. After the anthrax 
attacks, Americans came forward with an avalanche of ideas to counter 
bioterrorism, and found that the government had no way to avoid simply 
being buried by the incoming information. That has to change, and the 
Department of Homeland Security has to be the instrument to change it.
  The Department must have a way to receive unsolicited suggestions, 
evaluate them, and either move with them, refer them to other 
appropriate federal agencies, or reject them. The language will require 
the Department to do just that.
  This is such a clear need for the Department to do this--advocated by 
the National Academy of Science, among others--that the Science 
Committee, the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Government Reform 
Committee each reported out a version of language to meet this need.
  In our Committee, Congresswoman Lynn Rivers offered helpful language 
to expand on the ideas in our base bill, and particularly, to promote 
coordination with the Technical Support Working Group, an inter-agency 
group that currently tries to shift through unsolicited ideas.
  I'm pleased that our three Committees were able to merge our 
approaches, and that Chairman Armey included that agreement in the 
Manager's Amendment.
  I urge support of this Amendment, which clearly improves the bill.




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