Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.)
Floor Statement in Opposition to Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA)
April 26, 2012
“This legislation might as well be called the cyber IN-security bill because it fails to address the reality of cyber-threats already facing our nation.
“And if this bill had a privacy policy, it would read: You have no privacy!
“Let’s talk about what this bill does not do.
“Although the bill would allow the government to tell nuclear power plant operators that a new version of the Stuxnet computer worm could cause widespread Fukushima-style meltdowns in this country, would this bill require industry to take even a single step to protect America’s nuclear reactors? NO!
“Would this bill require industry to even tell the government what it was doing to protect against this threat? NO!
“Would this bill require industry to even tell the government when it had experienced an actual cyber-attack? NO! Not even that requirement is contained in this bill.
“Now let’s talk about what this bill would do.
“Could companies share personal information about consumers with other companies, even if that information has nothing to do with cyber security? YES!
“Would companies be free from liability if they share this personal information? YES!
“Could the government use personal information to spy on Americans? YES!
“In the last Congress, Fred Upton and I wrote the GRID Act, which passed by voice vote on the suspension calendar two years ago.
“It would have given the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the authority to set mandatory grid security standards. And why was this bill passed unanimously? Because we learned that industry was, and is, doing next to nothing to combat even known grid security threats.
“But in this Congress, Republicans have refused to bring this bill up, and have acceded to industry’s desire to simply regulate itself.
“We have an all-volunteer army – brave men and women fighting all over the world to protect us. But even our army doesn’t get to decide how it will protect itself all on its own. It follows orders.
“Today there are reports that Iran is assembling a ‘cyber army’ that could retaliate against critical computer networks after strikes on its nuclear facilities or merely email its cyber weapons to Hezbollah or other willing terrorists to take action against us.
“The cyber-threat to our electricity system is the one that keeps every single homeland security expert in this country up at night. Because that threat could cripple our nation, paralyze our economy, and impact every single coal plant, every single nuclear plant, every single natural gas plant, every single transmission line, and every single resident of this country.
“Vote NO on this bill.”
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