[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 183 (Tuesday, October 19, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H5657-H5659]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMUNICATIONS SECURITY, RELIABILITY, AND INTEROPERABILITY COUNCIL ACT

  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4067) to direct the Federal Communications Commission to 
establish a council to make recommendations on ways to increase the 
security, reliability, and interoperability of communications networks, 
and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4067

       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 ``Communications Security, 
     Reliability, and Interoperability Council Act''.

     SEC. 2. COUNCIL ON COMMUNICATIONS SECURITY, RELIABILITY, AND 
                   INTEROPERABILITY.

       (a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act, the

[[Page H5658]]

     Commission shall establish a council, to advise the 
     Commission on issues including the security, reliability, and 
     interoperability of communications networks.
       (b) Membership.--
       (1) Appointment.--The members of the council shall be 
     appointed by the Chair.
       (2) Composition.--To the extent practicable, the membership 
     of the council shall be composed of the following:
       (A) Representatives of companies in the communications 
     industry, except companies that are determined by the Chair 
     to be not trusted.
       (B) Representatives of public interest organizations or 
     academic institutions, except public interest organizations 
     or academic institutions that are determined by the Chair to 
     be not trusted.
       (C) Representatives of the Federal Government, State 
     governments, local governments, or Tribal Governments, with 
     at least one member representing each such type of 
     government.
       (3) Knowledge and experience.--Each member of the council 
     shall have knowledge and experience relevant to the purpose 
     and goals of the council.
       (4) Terms.--
       (A) In general.--Each member of the council shall be 
     appointed for a term of 2 years, except as provided in 
     subparagraph (B).
       (B) Vacancies.--Any member appointed to fill a vacancy 
     occurring before the expiration of the term for which the 
     member's predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only 
     for the remainder of that term. A member may serve after the 
     expiration of that member's term until a successor has taken 
     office.
       (c) Reports.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date on 
     which the council is established under subsection (a), and 
     every 2 years thereafter, the council shall submit to the 
     Chair each report adopted by the council during the preceding 
     2-year period, and any report adopted by any working group of 
     the council during such period, including any such report of 
     the council or a working group containing recommendations on 
     ways to increase the security, reliability, and 
     interoperability of communications networks, and on other 
     relevant issues as appropriate.
       (2) Availability on commission website.--The Commission 
     shall make each report submitted under paragraph (1) publicly 
     available on the website of the Commission.
       (d) Duration.--Section 14(a)(2)(B) of the Federal Advisory 
     Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.; relating to the termination of 
     advisory committees) shall not apply to the council.
       (e) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Chair.--The term ``Chair'' means the Chair of the 
     Commission.
       (2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
     Communications Commission.
       (3) Council.--The term ``council'' means the council 
     established under subsection (a).
       (4) Not trusted.--
       (A) In general.--The term ``not trusted'' means, with 
     respect to an entity, that--
       (i) the Chair has made a public determination that such 
     entity is owned by, controlled by, or subject to the 
     influence of a foreign adversary; or
       (ii) the Chair otherwise determines that such entity poses 
     a threat to the national security of the United States.
       (B) Criteria for determination.--In making a determination 
     under subparagraph (A)(ii), the Chair shall use the criteria 
     described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 2(c) of 
     the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019 
     (47 U.S.C. 1601(c)), as appropriate.
       (5) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given such 
     term in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
     U.S.C. 153).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on H.R. 4067.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4067, the 
Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council Act.
  As we have seen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our Nation's 
communications networks play an important role in our daily lives. 
Indeed, these networks have helped us remain connected when we were not 
able to see family and friends in person. It is vital that we continue 
to do all we can to protect this critical infrastructure and ensure it 
is reliable and available to all Americans.
  The Federal Communications Commission's Communications Security, 
Reliability, and Interoperability Council, or CSRIC, is meant to do 
just that. It is made up of government leaders at the Federal, State, 
and local levels, and includes thought leaders from industry and public 
interest organizations. The council provides the FCC with 
recommendations on the best practices and actions the agency could take 
so that our communications networks are secure, reliable, and 
compatible with each other.
  CSRIC has been in existence since 2009 and was recently rechartered 
by acting FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel for another 5 years.
  CSRIC has served the FCC well by operating in a collaborative manner 
with representatives from private industry, government, and other key 
stakeholders. This year the council will be cochaired by the 
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and will include even 
greater participation from the public interest community.
  But given the important objectives of CSRIC, we should not leave it 
to the FCC's discretion on whether to recharter this council or not 
every 2 years. Instead, CSRIC must become a permanent fixture at the 
FCC.
  H.R. 4067 requires the Federal Communications Commission to do just 
that. Under this bill, the FCC would be required to establish a 
permanent council to advise the agency on the security, reliability, 
and interoperability of communications networks within 90 days. This 
council would include representatives from trusted communications 
companies, public interest organizations, academic institutions, as 
well as Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments for a term of 2 
years.
  This bill also requires the council and its working groups to submit 
reports offering their recommendations to the chair of the FCC every 2 
years. In turn, the FCC must make these reports publicly available on 
its website.
  I want to thank Representatives Schrader and Slotkin for their 
leadership on this bill, as well as Representative Walberg for working 
with us to move this bill through the Energy and Commerce Committee. 
This bill is an important step in protecting our communications 
networks from bad actors and foreign adversaries.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure, I look 
forward to its consideration by the Senate, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4067, the 
Communications Security Advisory Act of 2021, which was introduced by 
Representatives Walberg, Slotkin, and Schrader.
  This bill takes an important step in preserving and strengthening the 
FCC's existing Communications Security, Reliability, and 
Interoperability Council, or CSRIC, which plays an important role 
facilitating collaboration between the private sector and the FCC.
  CSRIC maintains an important role that ensures our emergency alerting 
system and 911 systems remain reliable in times of emergency. CSRIC has 
also adopted voluntary recommendations to improve wireless security. 
These efforts have focused on how best to plan for and address 
vulnerabilities in 5G networks.
  Together, technical experts from across different parts of the 
communications industry leverage their decades of experience to help 
advance continued U.S. technological leadership and sound policymaking. 
CSRIC's support of these important FCC missions will only become more 
important as we continue to deploy 5G, next-generation television, and 
other wireless technologies.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Walberg).
  Mr. WALBERG. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Ohio for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4067, the 
Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council Act. 
I would like to thank my colleagues, Representatives Slotkin and 
Schrader, for joining me in leading on this important legislation.
  Though we don't agree on every issue, I am proud of our bipartisan 
record when it comes to securing our Nation's communications networks

[[Page H5659]]

and maintaining our leadership in next-generation wireless technology.
  H.R. 4067 codifies an existing FCC council advisory council, the 
Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council, 
better known as CSRIC.
  First established in 1992 under its previous name as the Network 
Reliability Council, CSRIC makes key recommendations to the FCC on a 
range of public safety and national security issues--everything from 
deploying next-generation 911 systems to emergency alerting during 
storms and disasters, to addressing threats from foreign adversaries.

  At a legislative hearing earlier this year, we heard from 
cybersecurity experts who said that CSRIC is one of the ``crown 
jewels'' of our Government and that there would be tremendous, long-
term value in backing it up statutorily while retaining its flexibility 
to tackle the new challenges of the day.
  Another former CSRIC panel member spoke to how other countries around 
the world look to this body to implement best communications and 
security practices. He said--and I agree with him--that CSRIC is one of 
the unique platforms which enables the U.S. to lead the rest of the 
world in 5G, 6G, and beyond.
  As the world becomes increasingly digital and our communications 
systems advance toward open-source software platforms, cyberattacks and 
threats are only going to increase. We have to be prepared as a nation 
to meet this moment, and CSRIC helps us do that.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4067.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I ask the 
gentleman from Ohio if he has any additional speakers.
  Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, that was my last speaker.
  Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.
  Madam Speaker, I think what we are seeing today, we have a theme, 
especially coming from the Energy and Commerce Committee's 
Communications and Technology Subcommittee that we are talking about 
security, reliability, and interoperability of our systems out there 
and the importance of it.
  As we look back over the last year and a half, where would we have 
been if we didn't have the systems that we had to make sure as we went 
through COVID for everything from telehealth to education to 
manufacturing to business and people just communicating back and forth 
with one another, but we have to make sure these systems are secure.
  Madam Speaker, this legislation will help that. I urge support of the 
House on the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, again, I ask Members to support this bill 
as another step in helping us with our communications security as well 
as reliability.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4067, 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. BISHOP of North Carolina. Madam 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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