[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 199 (Tuesday, November 16, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8272-S8273]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4676. Ms. KLOBUCHAR submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and intended to be proposed
to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2022
for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place in title X, insert the following:
SEC. ___. VETERANS CYBERSECURITY AND DIGITAL LITERACY GRANT
PROGRAM.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Adversaries from Russia, China, and Iran are using
information warfare to influence democracies across the
world, and extremist organizations often use digital
communications to recruit members. Influence campaigns from
foreign adversaries reached tens of millions of voters during
the 2016 and 2018 elections with racially and divisively
targeted messages. The Unites States can fight these
influences by ensuring that citizens of the United States
possess the necessary skills to discern disinformation and
misinformation and protect themselves from foreign influence
campaigns.
(2) Researchers have documented persistent, pervasive, and
coordinated online targeting of members of the Armed Forces,
veterans, and their families by foreign adversaries seeking
to undermine United States democracy in part because of
public trust placed in these communities.
(3) A 2017 report by the University of Oxford's Graphika
Institute, titled ``Social Media Disinformation Campaigns
Against US Military Personnel and Veterans'', concluded that
``The pubic tends to place trust in military personnel and
veterans, making them potentially influential voters and
community leaders. Given this trust and their role in
ensuring national security, these individuals have the
potential to become particular targets for influence
operations and information campaigns conducted on social
media. There are already reports of US service personnel
being confronted by foreign intelligence agencies while
posted abroad, with details of their personal lives gleaned
from social media.''.
(4) The Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate
found in its investigation of the interference in the 2016
election that social media posts by the Internet Research
Agency (IRA) of Russia reached tens of millions of voters in
2016 and were meant to pit the people of the United States
against one another and sow discord. Volume II of the
Committee's investigation found that the Internet Research
Agency's Instagram account with the second largest reach used
the handle ``@american.veterans'' and was ``aimed at
patriotic, conservative audiences, collected 215,680
followers, and generated nearly 18.5 million engagements.''.
(5) A 2019 investigative report by the Vietnam Veterans of
America (VVA) titled ``An Investigation into Foreign Entities
who are Targeting Troops and Veterans Online'', found that
the Internet Research Agency targeted veterans and the
followers of several congressionally chartered veterans
service organizations with at least 113 advertisements during
and following the 2016 election and that ``this represents a
fraction of the Russian activity that targeted this community
with divisive propaganda.''. The report also found that
foreign actors have been impersonating veterans through
social-media accounts and interacting with veterans and
veterans groups on social media to spread propaganda and
disinformation. To counter these acts, Vietnam Veterans of
America recommended that the Department of Veterans Affairs
``immediately develop plans to make the cyber-hygiene of
veterans an urgent priority within the Department of Veterans
Affairs. The VA must educate and train veterans on personal
cybersecurity: how to mitigate vulnerabilities, vigilantly
maintain safe practices, and recognize threats, including how
to identify instances of online manipulation.''.
(6) The Cyberspace Solarium Commission, a bicameral and
bipartisan commission, established by section 1652 of the
John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 2019 (Public Law 115-232), concluded in its finished
report that the ``U.S. government should promote digital
literacy, civics education, and public awareness to build
societal resilience to foreign, malign cyber-enabled
information operations and that the U.S. government must
ensure that individual Americans have both the digital
literacy tools and the civics education they need to secure
their networks and their democracy from cyber-enabled
information operations.''. The report recommended that
Congress authorizing grant programs to do this.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that,
given the threat foreign influence campaigns pose for United
States democracy and the findings and recommendations of
Congress and experts, Congress must immediately act to pass
legislative measures
[[Page S8273]]
to increase digital and media literacy as well as cyber-
hygiene among veterans.
(c) Program Required.--The Secretary shall establish a
program to promote digital citizenship and media literacy,
through which the Secretary shall award grants to eligible
entities to enable those eligible entities to carry out the
activities described in subsection (e).
(d) Application.--An eligible entity seeking a grant under
the program required by subsection (c) shall submit to the
Secretary an application therefor at such time, in such
manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may
require, including, at a minimum the following:
(1) A description of the activities the eligible entity
intends to carry out with the grant funds.
(2) An estimate of the costs associated with such
activities.
(3) Such other information and assurances as the Secretary
may require.
(e) Activities.--An eligible entity shall use the amount of
a grant awarded under the program required by subsection (c)
to carry out one or more of the following activities to
improve cyber-hygiene and increase digital and media literacy
among veterans:
(1) Develop competencies in cyber-hygiene.
(2) Develop media literacy and digital citizenship
competencies by promoting veterans'--
(A) research and information fluency;
(B) critical thinking and problem solving skills;
(C) technology operations and concepts;
(D) information and technological literacy;
(E) concepts of media and digital representation and
stereotyping;
(F) understanding of explicit and implicit media and
digital messages;
(G) understanding of values and points of view that are
included and excluded in media and digital content;
(H) understanding of how media and digital content may
influence ideas and behaviors;
(I) understanding of the importance of obtaining
information from multiple media sources and evaluating
sources for quality;
(J) understanding how information on digital platforms can
be altered through algorithms, editing, and augmented
reality;
(K) ability to create media and digital content in
civically and socially responsible ways; and
(L) understanding of influence campaigns conducted by
foreign adversaries and the tactics employed by foreign
adversaries for conducting influence campaigns.
(f) Reporting.--
(1) Reports by grant recipients.--Each recipient of a grant
under the program required by subsection (c) shall, not later
than one year after the date on which the recipient first
receives funds pursuant to the grant, submit to the Secretary
a report describing the activities the recipient carried out
using grant funds and the effectiveness of those activities.
(2) Report by the secretary.--Not later than 90 days after
the date on which the Secretary receives the last report the
Secretary expects to receive under paragraph (1), the
Secretary shall submit to Congress a report describing the
activities carried out under this section and the
effectiveness of those activities.
(g) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the Secretary should--
(1) establish and maintain a list of eligible entities that
receive a grant under the program required by subsection (c),
and individuals designated by those eligible entities as
participating individuals; and
(2) make that list available to those eligible entities and
participating individuals in order to promote communication
and further exchange of information regarding sound digital
citizenship and media literacy practices among recipients of
grants under the program required by subsection (c).
(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section $20,000,000 for
fiscal year 2022.
(i) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Cyber-hygiene.--The term ``cyber-hygiene'' means
practices and steps that users of computers and other
internet connected devices take to maintain and improve
online security, maintain the proper functioning of computers
devices, and protect computers and devices from cyberattacks
and unauthorized use.
(2) Digital citizenship.--The term ``digital citizenship''
means the ability to--
(A) safely, responsibly, and ethically use communication
technologies and digital information technology tools and
platforms;
(B) create and share media content using principles of
social and civic responsibility and with awareness of the
legal and ethical issues involved; and
(C) participate in the political, economic, social, and
cultural aspects of life related to technology,
communications, and the digital world by consuming and
creating digital content, including media.
(3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
(A) a civil society organization, including community
groups, nongovernmental organizations, nonprofit
organization, labor organizations, indigenous groups,
charitable organizations, professional associations, and
foundations; and
(B) congressionally chartered veterans service
organizations.
(4) Media literacy.--The term ``media literacy'' means the
ability to--
(A) access relevant and accurate information through media
in a variety of forms;
(B) critically analyze media content and the influences of
different forms of media;
(C) evaluate the comprehensiveness, relevance, credibility,
authority, and accuracy of information;
(D) make educated decisions based on information obtained
from media and digital sources;
(E) operate various forms of technology and digital tools;
and
(F) reflect on how the use of media and technology may
affect private and public life.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs.
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