[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 184 (Thursday, December 17, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8795-S8796]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. REED (for himself and Ms. Collins):
  S. 2410. A bill to promote transparency in the oversight of 
cybersecurity risks at publicly traded companies; to the Committee on 
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, today I am pleased to be introducing the 
Cybersecurity Disclosure Act of 2015 with Senator Collins. In response 
to data breaches by various companies, which exposed the personal 
information of millions of customers, this bill asks each publicly 
traded company to include, in Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, 
disclosures to investors, information on whether any member of the 
Board of Directors is a cybersecurity expert, and if not, why having 
this expertise on the Board of Directors is not necessary because of 
other cybersecurity steps taken by the publicly traded company. The 
legislation does not require companies to take any actions other than 
to provide this disclosure to its investors.
  Many investors may be surprised to learn that board directors who 
participated in National Association of Corporate Directors roundtable 
discussions on cybersecurity late in 2013 admitted that ``the lack of 
adequate knowledge of information technology risk has made it 
challenging for them to `effectively oversee management's cybersecurity 
activities.' Participating board members also suggested that `without 
sound knowledge of--or adequate sensitivity to--the topic, directors 
cannot easily draw the line between oversight and management,' and that 
once in the technical `weeds,' directors `find it difficult to assess 
the appropriate level of [the board's] involvement in risk management.' 
''
  Investors and customers deserve a clear understanding of whether 
publicly traded companies are not only prioritizing cybersecurity, but 
also have the capacity to protect investors and customers from cyber 
related attacks. This bill aims to provide a better understanding of 
these issues through improved SEC disclosure.
  While this legislation is a matter for consideration by the Banking 
Committee, of which I am a member, this bill is also informed by my 
service on the Armed Services Committee. It is through this dual 
Banking-Armed Services perspective that I see that our economic 
security is indeed a matter of our national security, and this is 
particularly the case as our economy becomes increasingly reliant on 
technology and the Internet.
  For example, James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, 
recently appeared before the Armed Services Committee on September 29, 
2015, and testified that ``cyber threats to the U.S. national and 
economic security are increasing in frequency, scale, sophistication 
and severity of impact.'' He further said that ``[b]ecause of our heavy 
dependence on the Internet, nearly all information communication 
technologies and I.T. networks and systems will be perpetually at 
risk.''
  With mounting cyber threats and concerns over the capabilities of 
corporate directors, we all need to be more proactive in ensuring our 
Nation's cybersecurity before there are additional serious breaches. 
This legislation seeks to take one step towards that goal by 
encouraging publicly traded companies to be more transparent to its 
investors and customers on whether and how their Boards of Directors 
are prioritizing cybersecurity.
  I thank Harvard Law School Professor John Coates, MIT Professor Simon 
Johnson, Columbia Law School Professor John Coffee, and the Consumer 
Federation of America for their support, and I urge my colleagues to 
join Senator Collins and me in supporting this legislation.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. REED (for himself and Mr. Casey):
  S. 2419. A bill to improve quality and accountability for educator 
preparation programs; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, we know that the quality of teachers and 
principals are two of the most important in-school factors related to 
student achievement. If we want to improve our schools, it is essential 
that teachers, principals, and other educators have a comprehensive 
system that supports their professional growth and development, 
starting on day one and continuing throughout their careers. Senator 
Casey and I introduced the Better Education Support and Training Act to 
create such a system, and many key provisions of this legislation were 
included in the Every Student Succeeds Act that passed the Senate with 
an overwhelming bipartisan vote and was signed into law last week.
  However, our work is not done. We need to make sure that educator 
preparation programs help teachers, principals, librarians, and other 
school leaders develop the skills and knowledge to be profession-ready. 
There is a looming shortage of fully-prepared teachers. Earlier this 
month, the Washington Post reported that many high poverty schools 
struggle to fill their teaching positions and rely on a ``rotating cast 
of substitutes.'' We must do better by our students and our schools.
  Today, I am reintroducing the Educator Preparation Reform Act and am 
pleased to be joined by Senator Casey in offering this approach to 
improving how we prepare teachers, principals, and other educators so 
that they can be effective right from the start.
  The Educator Preparation Reform Act builds on the success of the 
Teacher Quality Partnership Program, which I helped author in the 1998 
reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.
  Among the key changes this new bill makes is specific attention and 
emphasis on principals, with the addition of a residency program for 
new principals. Improving instruction is a team effort, with principals 
at the helm. This bill better connects teacher preparation with 
principal preparation. The Educator Preparation Reform Act will also 
allow partnerships to develop preparation programs for other areas of 
instructional need, such as for school librarians, counselors, or other 
academic support professionals.
  The bill streamlines the accountability and reporting requirements 
for teacher preparation programs to provide greater transparency on key 
quality measures such as admissions standards, requirements for 
clinical practice, placement of graduates, retention in the field of 
teaching, and teacher performance, including student learning outcomes. 
All programs--whether traditional or alternative routes to 
certification--will be asked to report on the same measures.
  Under our legislation, states will be required to identify at-risk 
and low-performing programs and provide them with technical assistance 
and a timeline for improvement. States would be encouraged to close 
programs that do not improve.
  We have been fortunate to work with many stakeholders on this 
legislation. Organizations that have endorsed the Educator Preparation 
Reform Act include: the Alliance for Excellent Education, American 
Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, American

[[Page S8796]]

Association of State Colleges and Universities, American Council on 
Education, Association of American Universities, Association of Jesuit 
Colleges and Universities, Association of Public and Land-grant 
Universities, Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, First 
Focus Campaign for Children, Higher Education Consortium for Special 
Education, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, National 
Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of 
Independent Colleges and Universities, National Association of 
Secondary School Principals, National Association of State Directors of 
Special Education, National Center for Learning Disabilities, National 
Education Association, National Disabilities Rights Network, Public 
Advocacy for Kids, Rural School and Community Trust, and the Teacher 
Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children.
  I look forward to working to incorporate this legislation into the 
upcoming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. I urge my 
colleagues to join us in this effort and support this legislation.

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