[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 31, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H798-H800]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 UNITED STATES-ISRAEL CYBERSECURITY COOPERATION ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2017

  Mr. RATCLIFFE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 612) to establish a grant program at the Department of 
Homeland Security to promote cooperative research and development 
between the United States and Israel on cybersecurity.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 612

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``United States-Israel 
     Cybersecurity Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2017''.

     SEC. 2. UNITED STATES-ISRAEL CYBERSECURITY COOPERATION.

       (a) Grant Program.--
       (1) Establishment.--The Secretary, in accordance with the 
     agreement entitled the ``Agreement between the Government of 
     the United States of America and the Government of the State 
     of Israel on Cooperation in Science and Technology for 
     Homeland Security Matters'', dated May 29, 2008 (or successor 
     agreement), and the requirements specified in paragraph (2), 
     shall establish a grant program at the Department to 
     support--
       (A) cybersecurity research and development; and
       (B) demonstration and commercialization of cybersecurity 
     technology.
       (2) Requirements.--
       (A) Applicability.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, in carrying out a research, development, demonstration, 
     or commercial application program or activity that is 
     authorized under this section, the Secretary shall require 
     cost sharing in accordance with this paragraph.
       (B) Research and development.--
       (i) In general.--Except as provided in clause (ii), the 
     Secretary shall require not less than 50 percent of the cost 
     of a research, development, demonstration, or commercial 
     application program or activity described in subparagraph (A) 
     to be provided by a non-Federal source.
       (ii) Reduction.--The Secretary may reduce or eliminate, on 
     a case-by-case basis, the percentage requirement specified in 
     clause (i) if the Secretary determines that such reduction or 
     elimination is necessary and appropriate.
       (C) Merit review.--In carrying out a research, development, 
     demonstration, or commercial application program or activity 
     that is authorized under this section, awards shall be made 
     only after an impartial review of the scientific and 
     technical merit of the proposals for such awards has been 
     carried out by or for the Department.
       (D) Review processes.--In carrying out a review under 
     subparagraph (C), the Secretary may use merit review 
     processes developed under section 302(14) of the Homeland 
     Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 182(14)).
       (3) Eligible applicants.--An applicant shall be eligible to 
     receive a grant under this subsection if the project of such 
     applicant--
       (A) addresses a requirement in the area of cybersecurity 
     research or cybersecurity technology, as determined by the 
     Secretary; and
       (B) is a joint venture between--
       (i)(I) a for-profit business entity, academic institution, 
     National Laboratory (as defined in section 2 of the Energy 
     Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801)), or nonprofit entity in 
     the United States; and
       (II) a for-profit business entity, academic institution, or 
     nonprofit entity in Israel; or
       (ii)(I) the Federal Government; and
       (II) the Government of Israel.
       (4) Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
     this subsection, an applicant shall submit to the Secretary 
     an application for such grant in accordance with procedures 
     established by the Secretary, in consultation with the 
     advisory board established under paragraph (5).
       (5) Advisory board.--
       (A) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish an 
     advisory board to--
       (i) monitor the method by which grants are awarded under 
     this subsection; and
       (ii) provide to the Secretary periodic performance reviews 
     of actions taken to carry out this subsection.
       (B) Composition.--The advisory board established under 
     subparagraph (A) shall be composed of three members, to be 
     appointed by the Secretary, of whom--
       (i) one shall be a representative of the Federal 
     Government;
       (ii) one shall be selected from a list of nominees provided 
     by the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation; 
     and
       (iii) one shall be selected from a list of nominees 
     provided by the United States-Israel Binational Industrial 
     Research and Development Foundation.
       (6) Contributed funds.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
     of law, the Secretary may accept or retain funds contributed 
     by any person, government entity, or organization for 
     purposes of carrying out this subsection. Such funds shall be 
     available, subject to appropriation, without fiscal year 
     limitation.
       (7) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     completion of a project for which a grant is provided under 
     this subsection, the

[[Page H799]]

     grant recipient shall submit to the Secretary a report that 
     contains--
       (A) a description of how the grant funds were used by the 
     recipient; and
       (B) an evaluation of the level of success of each project 
     funded by the grant.
       (8) Classification.--Grants shall be awarded under this 
     subsection only for projects that are considered to be 
     unclassified by both the United States and Israel.
       (b) Termination.--The grant program and the advisory board 
     established under this section terminate on the date that is 
     seven years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
       (c) No Additional Funds Authorized.--No additional funds 
     are authorized to carry out the requirements of this Act. 
     Such requirements shall be carried out using amounts 
     otherwise authorized.
       (d) Definitions.--In this section--
       (1) the term ``cybersecurity research'' means research, 
     including social science research, into ways to identify, 
     protect against, detect, respond to, and recover from 
     cybersecurity threats;
       (2) the term ``cybersecurity technology'' means technology 
     intended to identify, protect against, detect, respond to, 
     and recover from cybersecurity threats;
       (3) the term ``cybersecurity threat'' has the meaning given 
     such term in section 102 of the Cybersecurity Information 
     Sharing Act of 2015 (enacted as title I of the Cybersecurity 
     Act of 2015 (division N of the Consolidated Appropriations 
     Act, 2016 (Public Law 114-113)));
       (4) the term ``Department'' means the Department of 
     Homeland Security; and
       (5) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Homeland 
     Security.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Ratcliffe) and the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. 
Langevin) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. RATCLIFFE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include any extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. RATCLIFFE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 612, the United States-
Israel Cybersecurity Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2017.
  I was grateful for the opportunity to work closely with my colleague, 
Mr. Langevin from Rhode Island, on this vitally important legislation 
that will build upon the existing collaboration between the United 
States and the State of Israel on critical cybersecurity issues.
  Following our successful congressional delegation to Israel in May of 
last year to discuss homeland security and cybersecurity issues, Mr. 
Langevin and I worked closely to champion two important pieces of 
legislation.
  Last year, I introduced H.R. 5877, the United States-Israeli Advanced 
Partnership Act of 2016, which was signed into law on December 16 with 
Mr. Langevin's help and support. That legislation expanded a current 
cooperative research program between the two countries by adding 
cybersecurity to a program that had previously focused only on border 
security, explosives detection, and emergency services.
  Today, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have H.R. 612, the United States-
Israel Cybersecurity Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2017 come before 
the House. This bill would expand the memorandum of agreement already 
in place between our Department of Homeland Security and the State of 
Israel by authorizing the Secretary to carry out a grant program at DHS 
to support cybersecurity research and development as well as the 
demonstration and commercialization of cybersecurity technologies.
  During our congressional delegation, Mr. Langevin and I were able to 
meet with top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin 
Netanyahu, to discuss how the United States and Israel can better 
cooperate in these vital areas. We also had the opportunity to meet 
with many of Israel's cybersecurity companies and technology startups.
  Over the past several years, Israel has become a leader in 
cybersecurity and has developed a deep and talented cyber workforce, 
something we need greater focus on here in the United States. To that 
end, much of our discussion with Israeli officials and private 
companies revolved around how the United States and Israel can work 
more closely together and learn from each other as we combat growing 
cybersecurity threats. This legislation is a product of those 
successful discussions.
  Mr. Speaker, the United States and Israel are both under constant 
threat from nation-state and other actors that wish to do our countries 
harm, so it is vitally important that the United States and Israel work 
hand-in-hand to build our cyber defenses to combat these cyber threats 
together.
  Mr. Speaker, it is also vital that in the House both parties work 
hand-in-hand on America's national security vulnerabilities. Given the 
current political environment, I would like to commend and thank my 
colleague, Mr. Langevin, for his willingness to do just that, as 
demonstrated by his partnership on this issue. I very much look forward 
to continuing to work with him on more cybersecurity issues during the 
115th Congress.
  I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in strong support of H.R. 612, the United States-Israel 
Cybersecurity Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2017.
  Mr. Speaker, let me start by thanking Chairman Ratcliffe for his 
leadership on the subcommittee and, in particular, on the issue of 
cybersecurity. I have greatly enjoyed our partnership on this and many 
issues. I appreciate his due diligence and his hard work on many 
national security issues.
  Let me also start by expressing my deep gratitude to Chairman McCaul 
and Ranking Member Thompson in acting so quickly to bring this bill to 
the floor. Both the chairman and ranking member led a very productive 
committee last Congress, and I am very pleased that their commitment to 
protect our national security has extended to swift action this year as 
well. That urgency is particularly relevant to this bill, the United 
States-Israel Cybersecurity Cooperation Enhancement Act.
  As Chairman Ratcliffe mentioned, last May, he and I traveled to 
Israel to meet with public and private cybersecurity officials. I think 
I can speak for my friend when I say that we were very impressed by the 
Israeli's efforts in this space. Israel was one of the first countries 
to recognize the potential threat posed by interconnected computer 
systems, and they have been leaders in cybersecurity now for decades.
  For instance, the first stateful firewall technology was first 
developed by an Israeli firm. Today, these firewalls are ubiquitous 
across the information security landscape. In fact, despite its size, 
Israel is the second largest exporter of cybersecurity goods and 
services, behind only the United States. U.S. companies have certainly 
taken notice. Mr. Ratcliffe and I, as he mentioned, met with some of 
their representatives during our trip.
  Just last week, Reuters reported that one of the components of 
Microsoft's $1 billion per year cybersecurity strategy is acquisition 
of three Israeli corporations.
  Collaboration with our closest Middle East ally only makes sense from 
a national security perspective. Preserving Israeli security is 
essential to stability in the region.

  We clearly have a lot to learn from each other as well, which is why 
I have championed government-to-government interaction on 
cybersecurity, such as the recent letter of intent for more 
information-sharing between DHS and Israel that was championed by 
former Deputy Secretary Mayorkas.
  Beyond our governments working together, Chairman Ratcliffe and I 
also believe the government can do more to encourage collaboration 
between our private sector and nonprofit entities on issues directly 
relevant to homeland security. That is why, upon our return, we worked 
in close collaboration to develop two bills to enhance these 
cooperative relationships.
  I could not have asked for a better partnership in this effort. I was 
thrilled that our first bill, the United States-Israel Advanced 
Research Partnership Act, was signed into law last month. It is our 
second bill, which passed the House in November, but failed to make

[[Page H800]]

it through the Senate before Congress adjourned last year, that we are 
discussing today.
  Specifically, this bill creates a cybersecurity grant program for 
joint research and development ventures between Israeli and American 
entities. Projects would be selected after a merit review process and 
would have to address requirements in cybersecurity determined by the 
Secretary of Homeland Security. The grants would also be subject to a 
cost-sharing requirement, with at least 50 percent of project funds 
coming from a non-Federal source.
  Importantly, H.R. 612 leverages existing United States-Israel R&D 
infrastructure, specifically the Binational Industrial Research and 
Development, or BIRD Foundation, and the Binational Science Foundation, 
or BSF. Both organizations have a proven track record of encouraging 
joint research ventures.

                              {time}  1645

  BIRD, for instance, has financed R&D and commercialization projects 
that have led to a cumulative $8 billion in commercial sales since its 
founding, while BSF regularly funds collaborations between the top 
scientists in our respective countries as 45 Nobel laureates have 
received support from the Foundation.
  Now, using the existing infrastructure, as was done in 2007 when 
Congress passed the Energy Independence and Security Act that led to 
the creation of BIRD Energy, also allows us to capitalize on both 
foundations' robust networks of United States and Israeli entities to 
help seed these joint ventures. All of these factors are particularly 
critical in the fast-moving cybersecurity domain where offensive and 
defensive tactics and techniques change on a monthly or even weekly 
basis.
  As such, advances in the discipline require a near constant 
reexamining of assumptions, and having people from different 
backgrounds and security cultures working together engenders an 
environment where such reexamination is encouraged. While both the U.S. 
and Israel have robust cybersecurity communities, further collaboration 
will spur more advances to combat the threats that we face.
  Although some of these advances are technological in nature, basic 
cybersecurity research, such as investigations into the psychology of 
secure interface design and social engineering, is also supported by 
the bill. All told, the programs authorized in H.R. 612 will both 
address urgent homeland security needs and build capacity for further 
transnational collaboration on cybersecurity, all while matching 
Federal investment with private sector dollars and funds from the 
Israeli Government.
  Mr. Speaker, I normally preface my remarks on cybersecurity with an 
explanation of the threat our country faces. I would hope that, given 
recent events, I don't have to remind my colleagues of the dangers that 
we face in this sphere which, as I see it, is one of the key national 
security challenges of the 21st century.
  I would hope that incidents like the recent attack on the Ukrainian 
power grid demonstrate the power of a computer keyboard to affect our 
critical infrastructure. I would hope that the breach of hundreds of 
millions of accounts at Yahoo, which affected around 10 percent of the 
world's population, demonstrates how pervasive data collection is and 
its vulnerabilities. I would certainly hope that the Russian 
information warfare operations targeting the very foundations of our 
democracy, our elections, demonstrate the stakes that we face.
  In the face of these threats, we must join together with our allies 
to protect a free and open internet and ensure that the amazing 
benefits of technology are not overshadowed by the new vulnerabilities 
that they open up. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 612 is an important step to 
driving the innovation we need in the security space to meet these two 
goals.
  As with any bills that make it to the floor, this bill owes much to 
the dedicated staff on both sides of the aisle who spent countless 
hours behind the scenes reviewing this legislation. I thank them for 
their extraordinary and exceptional work.
  I am also very grateful, again, to Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member 
Thompson, and Subcommittee Ranking Member Richmond for their continued 
leadership on cybersecurity and, in particular, Chairman Ratcliffe for 
his work and for their assistance in quickly actualizing the lessons 
that we have learned on our trip to Israel.
  Finally, in closing, I owe, once again, a debt of gratitude to my 
friend across the aisle, Chairman Ratcliffe, who, in his first term, 
immediately had a substantial impact on our Nation's cybersecurity and 
with whom it has been a great pleasure to work. I look forward to our 
continued work in this Congress and beyond.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 612 does three things: it encourages innovative 
approaches to address top priorities in homeland security R&D it 
strengthens ties with Israel, one of our closest allies; and it does so 
in a public-private partnership that matches Federal investment.
  Mr. Speaker, if you indulge me for a moment, I would like to read 
something the Saudi Arabian Computer Emergency Response Team put out 
last week: ``Following a recent cyberattack which targeted several 
national organizations, this is an urgent call for your cybersecurity 
team to be on the alert for Shamoon 2 and ransomware attacks that could 
possibly cripple your organization's systems.''
  For those of my colleagues who are not aware, the Shamoon attacks of 
2012 took down tens of thousands of computers at the Saudi state oil 
company, Saudi Aramco. The Shamoon 2 variant has been targeting Saudi 
Government agencies and private industry since November.
  I bring this up, Mr. Speaker, because open source intelligence 
reports point to Iran as being responsible for the original Shamoon 
attack. I believe there is a good chance that Iranian-aligned actors 
are behind the recent incidents as well. Our Israeli partners live 
under this threat every day, and, to be frank, so do we.
  Last year, the Justice Department indicted seven Iranian hackers for 
attacks on the U.S. financial sector and for probing the networks of a 
New York dam. The same threats that leave me unable to sleep keep my 
friend Dr. Matania, head of the Israel National Cyber Bureau, up at 
night as well.
  Closing our aperture of vulnerability will be difficult, Mr. Speaker, 
but it is possible if we work together to bring our countries' unique 
perspectives to bear on the problem. I know my colleagues in the Senate 
share these sentiments, and I hope they will move quickly to take this 
bill up and start fostering further collaboration as soon as possible.
  Let me again thank Chairman Ratcliffe for his leadership and his 
outstanding work on this bill. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 
612.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. RATCLIFFE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Rhode Island 
for his kind words. I also thank him and commend him for his leadership 
on cybersecurity issues for many years in this House. I look forward to 
working with him for many years, hopefully, to come. I thank him for 
his friendship and collaboration in helping to make America safer.
  Mr. Speaker, I again urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 612.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Ratcliffe) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 612.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________