[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 22 (Monday, February 5, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H757-H760]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             UKRAINE CYBERSECURITY COOPERATION ACT OF 2017

  Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 1997) to encourage United States-Ukraine 
cybersecurity cooperation and require a report regarding such 
cooperation, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1997

       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 ``Ukraine Cybersecurity 
     Cooperation Act of 2017''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) The United States established diplomatic relations with 
     Ukraine in 1992, following Ukraine's independence from the 
     Soviet Union.
       (2) The United States attaches great importance to the 
     success of Ukraine's transition to a modern democratic 
     country with a flourishing market economy.
       (3) In an effort to undermine democracy in Ukraine, hackers 
     targeted the country's voting infrastructure just days before 
     its 2014 presidential election.
       (4) In December 2015, a malicious cyber intrusion into 
     Ukrainian electric utility companies resulted in widespread 
     power outages.
       (5) As a result of the December 2015 cyber incident, the 
     United States sent an interagency team to Ukraine, including 
     representatives from the Department of Energy, the Federal 
     Bureau of Investigation, and the North American Electric 
     Reliability Corporation, to help with the investigation and 
     to assess the vulnerability of Ukraine's infrastructure to 
     cyber intrusion. The visit was followed up by another 
     interagency delegation to Ukraine in March 2016 and a May 
     2016 United States-Ukrainian tabletop exercise on mitigating 
     attacks against Ukraine's infrastructure.
       (6) In response to an escalating series of cyber attacks on 
     the country's critical infrastructure - including its 
     national railway system, its major stock exchanges, and its 
     busiest airport - President Petro Poroshenko declared that 
     ``Cyberspace has turned into another battlefield for state 
     independence.''.
       (7) In May 2017, Ukraine cited activities on Russian social 
     media platforms, including pro-Russian propaganda and 
     offensive cyber operations, as threats to Ukrainian national 
     security.
       (8) Following the June 2017 Petya malware event - a global 
     cyber incident that primarily affected Ukraine - the 
     Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 
     (NATO) said ``the cyber attacks we have seen. . . very much 
     highlight the importance of the support, the help NATO 
     provides . . . gives . . . or provides to Ukraine to 
     strengthen its cyber defenses, technical and other kinds of 
     support. We will continue to do that and it's an important 
     part of our cooperation with Ukraine.''.
       (9) In September 2017, the United States and Ukraine 
     conducted the first United States-Ukraine Bilateral Cyber 
     Dialogue in Kyiv, during which both sides affirmed their 
     commitment to an internet that is open, interoperable, 
     reliable, and secure, and the United States announced $5 
     million in new cyber assistance to strengthen Ukraine's 
     ability to prevent, mitigate, and respond to cyber attacks.

     SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

       It is the policy of the United States to--
       (1) reaffirm the United States-Ukraine Charter on Strategic 
     Partnership, which highlights the importance of the bilateral 
     relationship and outlines enhanced cooperation in the areas 
     of defense, security, economics and trade, energy security, 
     democracy, and cultural exchanges;
       (2) support continued cooperation between NATO and Ukraine;
       (3) support Ukraine's political and economic reforms;
       (4) reaffirm the commitment of the United States to the 
     Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances;
       (5) assist Ukraine's efforts to enhance its cybersecurity 
     capabilities; and
       (6) improve Ukraine's ability to respond to Russian-
     supported disinformation and propaganda efforts in 
     cyberspace, including through social media and other outlets.

     SEC. 4. UNITED STATES CYBERSECURITY COOPERATION WITH UKRAINE.

       (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     the Secretary of State should take the following actions, 
     commensurate with United States interests, to assist Ukraine 
     to improve its cybersecurity:
       (1) Provide Ukraine such support as may be necessary to 
     secure government computer networks from malicious cyber 
     intrusions, particularly such networks that defend the 
     critical infrastructure of Ukraine.
       (2) Provide Ukraine support in reducing reliance on Russian 
     information and communications technology.
       (3) Assist Ukraine to build its capacity, expand 
     cybersecurity information sharing, and cooperate on 
     international cyberspace efforts.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to 
     the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
     Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
     Senate a report on United States cybersecurity cooperation 
     with Ukraine. Such report shall also include information 
     relating to the following:
       (1) United States efforts to strengthen Ukraine's ability 
     to prevent, mitigate, and respond to cyber incidents, 
     including through training, education, technical assistance, 
     capacity building, and cybersecurity risk management 
     strategies.

[[Page H758]]

       (2) The potential for new areas of collaboration and mutual 
     assistance between the United States and Ukraine in 
     addressing shared cyber challenges, including cybercrime, 
     critical infrastructure protection, and resilience against 
     botnets and other automated, distributed threats.
       (3) NATO's efforts to help Ukraine develop technical 
     capabilities to counter cyber threats.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Brendan 
F. Boyle) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             general leave

  Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks, 
and to include any extraneous material in the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, we are here to talk about Ukraine and the U.S.-Ukraine 
cyber cooperation. Ukraine, of course, is on the front lines of digital 
combat as we have learned. Few countries have endured as great a level 
of cyber invasion and aggression as has Ukraine at the hands of Russia 
and at the hands of other malicious actors as well.
  I led a delegation of four Democrats and four Republicans into the 
east, into Dnipropetrovsk in the Donbass region, and we had an 
opportunity to hear about what is being done to try to tear that 
country apart.
  This is in addition to the invasion in the east, the occupation of 
the east. This is the farthest east one can go in Ukraine today, and 
you can see the struggle that everyday people are having with the 
disinformation campaign launched against them relentlessly. As 
President Poroshenko said, ``Cyberspace has turned into another 
battlefield for state independence,'' and that is so true for Ukraine.
  Their struggle to defend their independence and their territorial 
integrity from Russian aggression extends far beyond the armed conflict 
of the occupation of its territory. In 2014, hackers targeted Ukraine's 
electoral infrastructure just days before its presidential election. 
The following year, a malicious cyber intrusion shut down the country's 
electric grid, turning off the lights and turning off the heat in the 
dead of winter.
  Ukraine's critical infrastructure, including its national railway 
system, its major stock exchanges, and its busiest airport, have been 
repeatedly targeted by sophisticated cyber attacks.
  Most of these continuing assaults have been identified by experts as 
Russian in origin. By working with the government in Kiev, we can 
better prepare ourselves as well as our friends in partner countries 
against similar aggression, including combating Russian disinformation 
efforts that rely heavily on disseminating propaganda. That propaganda 
poses as legitimate news.
  So this bill will enhance our cooperation with Ukraine in addressing 
shared cyber challenges, including cybercrime and the protection of 
critical infrastructure.
  Modern society requires an internet worldwide that is open, that is 
reliable, that is secure, which can only be ensured if all those who 
seek to preserve it join forces to defeat those who wish to destroy it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 
such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for bringing up my bipartisan 
bill, and I especially want to thank the chairman of our committee, Mr. 
Royce of California, for his action and moving on our bipartisan piece 
of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe cybersecurity is the national security 
challenge of our time. Cyber warfare is inexpensive to carry out and 
easy for adversaries to hide behind, making it especially damaging, 
difficult to detect, and impossible for the victim to quickly respond.
  In January, the CIA attributed to Russian military hackers a cyber 
attack that crippled computers in Ukraine last year. This attack wiped 
data from the computers of banks, energy firms, senior government 
officials, and an airport. The virus went on to affect computer systems 
in Denmark, India, and even here in the United States.
  For years, Putin has been using Ukraine as a field test for these 
cyber attacks. Ukraine, after all, is on the front line for these 
nation self-directed cyber attacks, and they are potential harbingers 
of attacks on the United States.
  By assisting Ukraine, we can learn best practices to best defend 
ourselves. For these reasons, I introduced H.R. 1997 with my Republican 
colleague from Pennsylvania, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, which 
encourages cooperation between the United States and our ally Ukraine 
on matters of cybersecurity and requires a report from the State 
Department on best practices to protect ourselves--to the benefit of 
both nations.

                              {time}  1730

  In Ukraine, it is no coincidence that cyber attacks against itself 
increased when the Ukrainian people self-organized to demand an open 
and democratic society in 2014 contrary to Putin's interests.
  Days before the 2014 Presidential election, hackers infiltrated 
Ukraine's Central Election Commission with a series of attacks that 
disabled the website in an attempt to sow distrust in the outcome of 
the election of President Poroshenko.
  In December of 2015, hackers remotely shut down power at three 
regional electricity distribution companies, creating a power outage 
affecting more than 200,000 people. We can only imagine what it must 
feel like to lose electricity and heat during the winter in Ukraine.
  Cyber attacks, unfortunately, have only continued since. Ukraine's 
next Presidential election is just next year. Our own elections are 
right around the corner later this year, and, of course, the 
Presidential election is in 2020.
  Both the United States and Ukraine have clear interests in 
strengthening our cyber defenses. Moreover, our cooperation toward this 
goal will send a strong and important signal of Western support for 
Ukraine at a time when it is literally fighting to protect its own 
democracy.
  We must stand strong with the people of Ukraine and our NATO allies 
and come together in furtherance of our cybersecurity defenses. This 
bill is a reasonable first step to do just that, and it is obviously 
very timely.
  I thank Chairman Royce again, as well as Ranking Member Engel for 
their hard work and support for this bill, and I urge all of my 
colleagues to support it. It is time we address this vital issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick), who is an esteemed 
member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. And besides Brendan Boyle 
here, he is another big Philly Eagles fan.
  Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman so much for all 
the work he does on the committee and for bringing the bill to the 
floor. I thank my colleague from Pennsylvania (Mr. Brendan F. Boyle) 
for all of his work on this piece of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my full support for H.R. 1997, the 
U.S.-Ukraine Cybersecurity Cooperation Act.
  During my career as an FBI agent, I was assigned to the U.S. Embassy 
in Kiev, Ukraine, where I worked closely with our Ukrainian 
counterparts on a whole host of issues to include cybersecurity.
  Mr. Speaker, one thing is clear: we must strengthen our relationship 
with Ukraine wherever possible and by whatever means possible. They 
have acted as a steadfast ally to the United States against a hostile 
Russia.
  Further, there should be no doubt that cybersecurity and cyber 
warfare are the rising threats of our time. We have seen plenty of 
occasions where bad actors--state-sponsored or otherwise--have executed 
cyber attacks against private companies, government entities, and the 
very institutions upon which our Nation was founded. These attacks will 
only continue to increase both in sophistication and frequency as we 
continue into the 21st century.

[[Page H759]]

  Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues, Democratic and Republican 
alike, to support this crucial and necessary piece of legislation both 
for the United States and Ukraine, and for all our allies.
  Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes 
to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutch), who is someone who grew up 
a strong Philadelphia sports fan.
  Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from the Philadelphia area 
who has introduced this important piece of legislation with Mr. 
Fitzpatrick, another fine Representative from the Philadelphia sports-
loving area, which gives me the opportunity on the House floor to claim 
my Pennsylvania roots and to congratulate the Philadelphia Eagles.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the U.S.-Ukraine Cybersecurity 
Cooperation Act introduced by Mr. Boyle and Mr. Fitzpatrick. I thank 
Chairman Royce for his ongoing leadership on this issue.
  The director of the CIA, Mike Pompeo, said last week that he has 
every expectation that Russia will again try to meddle in our 
elections. That should concern us. It should also concern us that the 
President has decided to ignore Congress and not impose sanctions 
against Russia.
  But Russia's attacks on the United States follow a playbook that they 
have used in their own region, most recently against Ukraine.
  In addition to rampant disinformation campaigns and political 
interference, Russia has launched numerous cyber attacks against 
Ukraine, including knocking out large swaths of its electrical grid in 
massive attacks. Those capabilities could one day be used against us 
here at home.
  That is why the U.S.-Ukraine Cybersecurity Cooperation Act is so 
important. The United States has an interest both in defending Ukraine 
from Russian aggression and in securing our own defenses. Helping 
Ukraine actually teaches us best practices for hardening our own 
defenses against potential Russian attacks on our critical 
infrastructure.
  That is why I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1997, the U.S.-
Ukraine Cybersecurity Cooperation Act.
  Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the 
balance of my time to close.
  Let me say one thing that strikes me and saddens me. When I hold 
townhalls or meetings with constituent groups, usually some variation 
of this comment will be made: Why don't you guys get along? Why don't 
you do something?
  Actually, I then tell them about our work on the Foreign Affairs 
Committee. I tell them that, under the leadership of Ed Royce and Eliot 
Engel as well as the other members of the committee from both sides of 
the aisle, a lot of work does get done and a real spirit of cooperation 
prevails in our committee meetings. I think that this piece of 
legislation is an example of that.

  This is an important issue. We are standing up for Ukraine, but as I 
mentioned earlier, we are also doing what is clearly in the best 
interests of the United States.
  Mr. Speaker, at the risk of sounding immodest, I urge passage of my 
legislation, legislation that I have worked on very hard with Brian 
Fitzpatrick.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to also recognize and thank my 
colleagues, especially Mr. Boyle and Mr. Fitzpatrick, one Democratic 
and one Republican, both from Philadelphia, the sponsors of this 
bipartisan legislation. I want to thank Mr. Boyle for his work on this 
important bill because I think the threat to Ukraine and cyberspace is 
not isolated. It shouldn't be ignored. I think that when we talk to the 
researchers, they have warned that the attacks on Ukraine by state and 
by nonstate actors might be a test run for even larger additional 
attacks in the future on the United States and on our NATO allies.
  While we must bolster our own capabilities, we should also cooperate 
with our friends and partners such as Ukraine because we have got to be 
sharing best practices; we have got to improve joint capabilities; and 
we have got to provide that mutual assistance to prevent, mitigate, and 
respond to those international cyber attacks.
  This legislation is going to enhance that effort. And in so doing, it 
is going to strengthen our ability to protect our own country from 
those who seek to do us harm.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the bipartisan 
Ukraine Cybersecurity Cooperation Act of 2017. Let me first thank the 
hard work of Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, fellow Ukraine Caucus 
chair and Representative Brendan Boyle, as well as Chairman Ed Royce 
and the Ranking Member Eliot Engel for their support.
  As we know all too well, Russian aggression towards Ukraine is not a 
new threat. Russia's hostile behavior continues to threaten Ukraine's 
freedom and destabilize its critical infrastructure and institutions. 
Since Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, over 10,000 people 
have been killed and two million people have been uprooted, internally 
displaced. Ukraine finds herself on the front lines of hybrid war and 
an assault on her sovereignty--this time in the form of cyber warfare.
  We as Americans have also been attacked by this insidious form of 
hybrid warfare. It is our duty to help other nations resist threat to 
liberty. To this day, the fallout of Russian interference in our sacred 
electoral process continues to plague our political landscape. At least 
21 states, including Ohio, reported Russian hacking attempts in the 
2016 election. Experts in the intelligence and defense communities have 
all warned that this threat is not going away. In fact, cybersecurity 
threats tested in Ukraine will likely be turned on the U.S. in 
elections this year.
  By supporting this bill, we provide Ukraine with critical upgraded 
safeguards she needs to protect herself, her institutions, and her 
liberty. Upgrading Ukraine's current technological infrastructure 
grants her freedom from Russian technology. It gives her the ability to 
share sensitive information on an international level. And, we will 
strengthen our own cybersecurity through lessons learned from increased 
cooperation with Ukraine.
  Ukraine and her people have every right to sovereignty and self-
determination as they seek a more democratic future. It is paramount 
that the United States uphold our longstanding commitments to our 
allies, as hybrid threats loom. This measure will provide the citizens 
of Ukraine with the support they need to defend themselves. That's why 
I strongly support this measure, and I urge my colleagues to do the 
same.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1997--the 
Ukraine Cybersecurity Cooperation Act--offered by our Foreign Affairs 
Committee colleague from Pennsylvania, Brenden Boyle.
  This bill focuses on how the U.S. and Ukraine can work together to 
address cyber threats and how the U.S. can help improve Ukraine's 
domestic cybersecurity capabilities.
  But it also serves as a reminder to this body, and especially to this 
administration, that we need to work to improve our own cybersecurity 
defenses and we need to hold those who target us accountable.
  Mr. Speaker, the events in Ukraine that spurred the necessity for Mr. 
Boyle's bill were a harbinger of things to come for the United States.
  Ahead of the 2014 Presidential elections in Ukraine, Russian or pro-
Russian elements hacked into Ukraine's Central Election Commission in a 
series of attacks in an attempt to undermine the results and stir up 
unrest throughout the country.
  Then in December 2015, Putin-backed hackers attacked Ukraine's 
infrastructure, compromising three energy distribution companies, 
leaving nearly a quarter of a million people without electricity for 
several hours.
  Imagine being without electricity during this period, when the daily 
average high temperature in Ukraine in December is below freezing.
  Those were not the last of the attacks against Ukraine orchestrated 
by Putin.
  But they were, perhaps, practice runs for what Putin had planned for 
the U.S. and others.
  Because true to form, Putin then targeted the U.S. electoral system 
in 2016 the same way he targeted Ukraine's in 2014.
  This is not in dispute--yet for whatever reason, we were ill prepared 
to prevent it, and the administration has been deficient in our 
response to hold this meddling accountable.
  So while I fully support this measure and I urge my colleagues to do 
the same, I also urge my colleagues and the administration to take 
action against the totality of Russia's illicit activity aimed at us 
and our like-minded allies.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) that the House suspend the

[[Page H760]]

rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1997, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the 
ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a 
quorum is not present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

                          ____________________