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Ms. CLARKE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for
yielding time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Senate amendment to H.R. 2952.
As my ranking member, Mr. Thompson, has said, for the Department of
Homeland Security to be effective in its cybersecurity mission, it must
have a workforce in place to meet this challenge. A longstanding
interest of mine has been how best to help DHS meet its cyber workforce
needs.
To that end, I have authored legislation that the committee
unanimously approved in October to help ensure that DHS has the ``boots
on the ground'' it needs to meet its diverse cybersecurity mission.
I would like to thank Chairman Meehan for the support you have shown
for my efforts and the spirit of collaboration that you have shown.
This legislation requires DHS to develop and issue a comprehensive
workforce strategy for the Department's cybersecurity missions. The
Department is required to develop a 5-year implementation plan for that
strategy and a 10-year projection of the cybersecurity workforce needs
of the Department.
Before developing a strategy and implementation plan, it is important
that DHS conduct a workforce assessment to get a sense of the readiness
and capacity of the Department's cyber workforce.
It is also important that the Department determine where these
positions are located within the Department and whether these positions
are filled by permanent employees, independent contractors, detailees
from other Federal agencies, or are vacant.
The workforce assessment required under this bill requires DHS to do
just that.
Finally, I am glad that it directs DHS to develop a plan to establish
a cybersecurity fellowship program under which talented undergraduates
and doctoral candidates who sign on to work for the Department for an
agreed-upon period would be provided tuition assistance.
Establishment of just such a program could help encourage students to
come to work for the government in this vital arena.
I urge all of my colleagues to vote for the Senate amendment to H.R.
2952.
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