[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 79 (Wednesday, May 18, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E742]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       SUPPORT EN BLOC AMENDMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TERRI A. SEWELL

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 18, 2016

  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the En Bloc 
Amendment package Number 2 offered by Chairman Thornberry. I want to 
thank the Chairman and Ranking Member Smith for including my amendment, 
marked as Sewell Amendment Number 34, in this package.
  My amendment is a very simple one that not only promotes our 
continued efforts to increase training and readiness in the area of 
cybersecurity but also helps encourage and promote the critically 
important pipelines between our senior military colleges, local 
educational agencies and ROTC programs. The need for improvement in the 
area of cybersecurity is increasingly apparent. Over the past several 
years, there has been a sharp increase in the number of cyberattacks 
that threaten our national security and economic stability. This bill 
seeks to address this emerging threat by establishing ROTC cyber 
institutes at our senior military colleges. My amendment simply allows 
for these cyber institutes to place a special emphasis on entering into 
partnerships with local educational agencies that service rural, 
underserved, or underrepresented communities.
  Our nation's ROTC programs around the country help provide students 
with invaluable character education and promote student achievement, 
leadership, and diversity. These cooperative efforts between our 
military branches and local educational institutions help produce 
successful students and citizens. In particular, in rural and 
underserved communities, like the ones I represent in the 7th 
Congressional District of Alabama, ROTC programs not only provide the 
critically important tools to be successful academically and socially, 
but also represent an opportunity to improve their social mobility and 
expand their world beyond their communities.
  The outcomes of these programs are both apparent and convincing. They 
help increase the odds of students graduating high school, finding 
employment, going to college and becoming an even more productive 
member of society. The new ROTC cyber institutes established in this 
legislation are a perfect symbiosis between a program with a proven 
track record and an emerging national security threat that will require 
recruitment and training of the best and brightest from ALL walks of 
life.
  Again I want to thank the Chairman and Ranking Member for supporting 
this common sense yet critically important amendment. This is a win for 
everyone involved.

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