Congressional Hearings – Week of 6-9-13

The summer recess gets a week closer and more attention gets turned to passing money bills. Both the Defense Authorization and Appropriations bills will be the topic of hearings this week. There will also be a counterterrorism hearing, a discussion about DHS communications with the public and a high level cybersecurity hearing.

Defense Department Money

As I mentioned earlier today the House Rules Committee will be holding two hearings on HR 1960. Tuesday there will be a rules hearing and Wednesday there will be the second hearing to consider what amendments will make it to the floor.

Also on Wednesday the House Appropriations Committee will be holding a markup of the FY 2014 DOD spending bill. There are currently no specific cybersecurity provisions in the bill, but we may see some added to the bill or the accompanying committee report.

Counterterrorism

The Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence of the House Homeland Security Committee will be holding a hearing on Wednesday to look at "Protecting the Homeland Against Mumbai-Style Attacks and the Threat from Lashkar-e-Taiba”. The witness list includes:

• Dr. C. Christine Fair, Georgetown University;

• Mr. Joseph W. Pfeifer, New York City Fire Department

• Dr. Stephen Tankel, American University

DHS Communications

The Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency of the House Homeland Security Committee will be holding a hearing on Friday about “Why Can’t DHS Better Communicate with the American People?” The witness list includes:

• Mr. Robert Jensen, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

• Mr. Douglas Pinkham, Public Affairs Council

Cybersecurity

The Senate Appropriations Committee will be holding a public hearing (followed by a classified session) on Wednesday about “Cybersecurity: Preparing for and responding to the enduring threat”. The witness list includes:

• General Keith B. Alexander, U.S. Cyber Command and National Security Agency

• Rand Beers, Department of Homeland Security

• Patrick Gallagher, National Institute of Standards and Technology

• Richard McFeely, Federal Bureau of Investigation

There will certainly be questions asked about the development of the Cybersecurity Framework and its implementation.