[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 130 (Monday, July 26, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H3881-H3883]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      AUTHORITY FOR NATIONAL CYBER DIRECTOR TO ACCEPT DETAILS ON 
                         NONREIMBURSABLE BASIS

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 2382) to authorize the National Cyber Director to accept 
details from other elements of the Federal Government on 
nonreimbursable basis, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 2382

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

     SECTION 1. AUTHORITY FOR NATIONAL CYBER DIRECTOR TO ACCEPT 
                   DETAILS ON NONREIMBURSABLE BASIS.

       Section 1752(e) of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National 
     Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 
     116-283) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (8) as 
     subparagraphs (A) through (H), respectively, and indenting 
     such subparagraphs two ems to the right;
       (2) in the matter before subparagraph (A), as redesignated 
     by paragraph (1), by striking ``The Director may'' and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(1) In general.--The Director may'';
       (3) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) as redesignated by paragraph (2), by redesignating 
     subparagraphs (C) through (H) as subparagraphs (D) through 
     (I), respectively; and
       (B) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following new 
     subparagraph (C):
       ``(C) accept officers or employees of the United States or 
     member of the Armed Forces on a detail from an element of the 
     intelligence community or from another element of the Federal 
     Government on a nonreimbursable basis, as jointly agreed to 
     by the

[[Page H3882]]

     heads of the receiving and detailing elements, for a period 
     not to exceed three years;''; and
       (4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(2) Rules of construction regarding details.--Paragraph 
     (1)(C) shall not be construed to impose any limitation on any 
     other authority for reimbursable or nonreimbursable details. 
     A nonreimbursable detail made under such paragraph shall not 
     be considered an augmentation of the appropriations of the 
     receiving element of the Office of the National Cyber 
     Director.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Keller) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia.


                             General Leave

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
insert extraneous materials on S. 2382.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of S. 2382, which would allow the National Cyber 
Director to accept details from other elements of the Federal 
Government as on a nonreimbursable basis.
  Last year the Committee on Oversight and Reform helped advance 
legislation to establish the Office of the National Cyber Director in 
the Executive Office of the President. The bipartisan effort fulfilled 
a key recommendation of the U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission, which 
was established by the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act to 
review the condition of our Nation's cybersecurity posture and to 
develop solutions to defend against cyber threats.

                              {time}  1700

  The National Cyber Director Act was signed into law through last 
year's National Defense Authorization Act, creating a centralized 
cybersecurity position in the White House to assist in the development 
and streamlining of the Federal Government's strategy, coordination, 
and response to cyber threats.
  We were thrilled to see President Biden nominate and the Senate 
confirm Chris Inglis, a widely-respected member of the Solarium 
Commission, as the Nation's first National Cyber Director. Now, Mr. 
Inglis needs a team to get to work immediately to address 
cybersecurity, which remains one of the most urgent threats on the 
Government Accountability Office's high-risk list.
  Indeed, the State and non-state actors from Russia, China, Iran, 
North Korea, and all corners of the globe are waging a silent war 
capable of shutting down our critical infrastructure, breaching our 
sensitive information system, and jeopardizing critical sectors in 
America and globally.
  Until Congress acts to provide the Office of the National Cyber 
Director its first appropriation, the Office requires the ability to 
bring in details on a nonreimbursable basis. This bill would grant that 
authority.
  Cyberattacks are critical, widespread, complex, and escalating as a 
threat to our national and economic security. A challenge as grave and 
pervasive as cybersecurity requires that our government be strategic, 
organized, and ready. It is imperative that we pass this bill 
immediately to allow the Office of the National Cyber Director to get 
up running as it awaits its full appropriation.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this bill, and I urge my colleagues 
to do the same. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the National Cyber Director, or NCD, is a recently 
congressionally authorized position for coordinating our Nation's cyber 
infrastructure and activities located within the Executive Office of 
the President. According to the Biden administration's statutory 
interpretation of the NCD's authorizing statute, Chris Inglis, the 
newly designated National Cyber Director, cannot staff his office with 
qualified talent on loan from other Federal agencies.
  The administration has determined that the NCD's authorizing statute 
does not provide the necessary authority to accept nonreimbursable 
detailees from other Federal agencies. Congress intended the NCD to be 
able to use details to staff his office.
  The NCD's authorizing statute gives power to the Director to utilize, 
with their consent, the services, personnel, and facilities of other 
Federal agencies, even voluntary and uncompensated services. But the 
administration is preventing the NCD from accepting Federal details 
while congressional appropriations are also pending.
  S. 2382 will help clarify the NCD's authority to accept Federal 
details for a period not to exceed 3 years, and will help this new 
office properly staff itself in the immediate months ahead.
  We recognize the importance of helping this new office stand up its 
operations during a time when the Nation deals with cyberattacks. I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to the 
gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin).
  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 2382. As the author of 
the National Cyber Director Act, I commend Senators Portman and Peters 
for offering this important legislation to clarify the authorities of 
this new office.
  I said it before and I will say it again: Cybersecurity is the 
national and economic security challenge of the 21st century. For 30 
years we have been increasing the number of connected devices, 
processes, and services connected to the internet at an exponential 
rate. We can now instantly communicate with people half a world away 
and use data repositories to drive advances in medicine, clean energy, 
and commerce. With this connectivity comes vulnerability.
  For these three decades, the United States has struggled to develop a 
coherent cybersecurity strategy and to implement it to better protect 
the country and cyberspace. While we have seen the results of this 
failure in breaches ranging from the devastating, the tens of billions 
of dollars in damage caused by, for example, NotPetya, to the mundane, 
as companies fend off daily cyber probes.
  Just in the last half century we have witnessed the Russian 
Government target us through ransomware attacks through SolarWinds; the 
Chinese Government break into instances of the Microsoft Exchange 
Server, and criminals wreak havoc on the Colonial Pipeline, JBS, and 
customers of Kaseya through ransomware attacks, so we are not where we 
need to be.
  Congress recognized this fact in 2018 when it created the Cyberspace 
Solarium Commission, a distinguished body that I had the privilege of 
being appointed to by Speaker Pelosi. Through a year of deliberation, 
we developed a strategy of layered cyber deterrence, and had more than 
80 recommendations to make that strategy a reality. Those 
recommendations run the gamut from changes to our military to 
regulations on private companies. But underlying all of them is the 
recognition that the U.S. Government itself is still not organized for 
success.

  Now enter the National Cyber Director. This key recommendation called 
for a Senate-confirmed leader within the Executive Office of the 
President with the policy and budgetary authority to develop a national 
strategy, oversee its implementation, and coordinate response to 
significant cyber incidents.
  With the help of Congressman Gallagher, the Solarium Commission's co-
chair, and through the leadership of Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney and her 
staff, my National Cyber Director Act made it into last year's NDAA. 
Earlier this month, the President had appointed and the Senate 
confirmed our inaugural National Cyber Director, my fellow Solarium 
Commission member, Chris Inglis, to take office as the first Director.
  Chris' confirmation represents nothing less than a sea change in how 
the government will coordinate cyberspace policy. Once this office is 
fully staffed up, there will be a well of expertise within the White 
House to ensure that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security 
Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, sector risk management 
agencies, the United States Cyber

[[Page H3883]]

Command, the intelligence community, and all of the other disparate 
elements of the government are working in concert to improve our 
cybersecurity. However, the Office of the National Cyber Director is 
very much a startup at the moment.
  While we will be voting on a full budget for this office later this 
week, including, I hope, an amendment to provide the full $25 million 
yearlong appropriation recommended by the Solarium Commission, we can't 
wait until the full fiscal year 2022 budget is passed to get Director 
Inglis on his feet and up and running.
  After all, our adversaries certainly aren't constrained by our 
budgetary calendar. In drafting the bill, we anticipated that the NCD 
might need to call upon the personnel, facilities, or services of 
Federal departments and agencies, with their permission, of course. 
However, there seems to be some ambiguity within the White House about 
whether this includes the ability of the Office to accept the services 
of nonreimbursable detailees.
  While I think the language and the congressional intent of the 
original statute are quite clear, this bill should clear up any 
misunderstanding once and for all by explicitly authorizing 
nonreimbursable detailees. This legislation will help Director Inglis 
get a staff vanguard in place and ensure he and his successors can take 
advantage of the expertise resident at the various agencies that 
contribute to our success in cyberspace.
  Mr. Speaker, let me again thank Senators Portman and Peters and 
Chairwoman Maloney for moving so quickly to address this urgent issue. 
Congress has already shown tremendous support for this Office, and I 
think the speed at which this bill moves is a testament to our 
commitment to its success.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support S. 2382.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this bill and urge my 
colleagues to do the same. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, S. 2382.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mrs. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion 
are postponed.

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