Ratcliffe statement on committee passage of CDM codification bill

So Mr. Ratcliffe is recognized. Thank you, Chairman. As you well know, over my time as the Chairman of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Subcommittee, the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation Program, or CDM, has been one of DHS's top priorities because it has the potential to dramatically increase our visibility across federal networks. Many of us believe the program has the ability to provide the information necessary to make better decisions. Not only to combat our enemies in cyberspace, but also to help federal CIOs manage information technology. This bill, H.R. 6443, will codify the CDM program at DHS to ensure that NPPD will have the necessary authorities to offer those essential cybersecurity tools and capabilities to our civilian agencies. Our goal in bringing this legislation is to boost the long-term success of the CDM program by ensuring that it keeps pace with the cutting-edge technologies and capabilities being developed in the private sector, and to avoid being locked into technology that will soon become outdated or unsupported by vendors, a complaint that many of us have heard far too often. The security data that CDM capabilities and tools collect will help federal CIOs and DHS to make smarter choices about where taxpayer dollars are going, and to better understand some of the most basic questions every cybersecurity official faces, including the most basic question, what are the devices on our network? There may be no better argument for H.R. 6443 and the CDM program than the findings and recommendations of OMB and DHS's federal cybersecurity risk determination that was released just last month. OMB found that almost 75% of federal agencies are vulnerable to cyber threats, in large part due to their inability to understand cyber risks, and therefore, their inability to prioritize their resources. DHS's CDM program is the best solution to that problem. It's the best way to help federal agencies and the whole of the federal government to understand the threats they face and the risks that vulnerabilities pose in real time. Codifying the CDM program will further DHS's role in the cybersecurity mission throughout the government, and give the newly confirmed undersecretary of NPPD, Chris Krebs, the kind of ammunition that he needs to keep growing this vitally important program. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back.