Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2017

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank the chairman and the ranking member for adding this amendment to the en bloc package, and to staff for their coordination and effort.

My amendment would increase funding for the Information Assurance Scholarship Program by $5 million and decrease the operation and maintenance defense-wide Office of the Secretary of Defense administrative account by the same amount.

The IASP is a DOD program designed to address our cyber personnel demands through the recruitment and retention of top IT and cybersecurity talent. It allows the Secretary of Defense to provide financial assistance to individuals pursuing studies in computer and network security in exchange for their obligation to either serve in the Armed Forces or fulfill a DOD civilian service commitment postgraduation.

Using 2014 numbers, the DOD has employed over 500 IASP/CAE--Centers for Academic Excellence--graduates, and has seen a 97 percent completion rate since the program was started in 2001.

It is imperative that we give the Department of Defense the tools necessary to recruit those personnel charged with protecting our critical infrastructure, fortifying DOD networks, and conducting computer network operations.

We must make sure that we have the right people with the proper training in the right positions, and this amendment would aid in that effort.

Mr. Chairman, I once again thank the chairman and the ranking member.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source