Chairwoman Roybal-Allard Statement at DHS Appropriations Hearing on CISA Budget Request

Statement

House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40) led the subcommittee's hearing today about the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) fiscal year 2020 budget request. The witness was CISA Director Chris Krebs.

The chairwoman's opening statement as prepared is below.

Today, we welcome Chris Krebs, the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

Mr. Krebs, thank you for being here this morning to discuss CISA's fiscal year 2020 budget request.

I also thank the relatively small, but mighty, cadre of professionals you are leading. Many have high-demand skill sets, with higher compensation in the private sector, yet they are choosing to serve the American people. I greatly appreciate what they do every day to fulfill their mission on behalf of our nation.

In the fiscal year 2019 bill, I was pleased we were able to provide a strong investment in protecting the federal civilian networks. This included increases to the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program, and improvements to the security of our nation's critical infrastructure, such as our election infrastructure, and soft targets, such as schools.

Even with these investments, I remain concerned about the threat outlook.

In March, at a time when then-Secretary Nielsen was focused on managing a surge of migrants at our southern border, the secretary cited cyberthreats as her top priority. She said, "The cyberdomain is a target, a weapon, and a threat vector all at the same time."

I share her concerns --- not only for federal networks, but also for the nation's critical infrastructure, because our adversaries are moving and adapting at a pace that far exceeds our own.

Yet the FY 2020 request, once again, proposes a reduction to these missions.

For Operations and Support, the request is a reduction of 5 percent compared to the current year.

For Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (PC&I), it is a reduction of 7.4 percent.

If we are to outpace adversaries who seek to do us harm, this reduction appears counter to what we need to be doing.

During this hearing, I hope we will get some clarity on this and other aspects of your fiscal year 2020 request, and whether it provides the resources you need to accomplish your missions in our ever-evolving threat landscape.

Source