Quigley Statement on Passage of the Intel Cybersecurity Bill

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05), member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) and the Cybersecurity Subcommittee, released the following statement regarding the passage of the Protecting Cyber Networks Act:

"Everyday billions of cyber attacks from cyber criminals and hostile countries threaten American businesses, America's critical infrastructure, and the personal information of American consumers. By enabling voluntary information sharing of cyber threats between and among the private sector and the government, the bipartisan Protecting Cyber Networks Act is an important step forward in providing businesses and the government the tools necessary to better defend the safety and economic security of our nation.

"Through my role on the Intelligence Committee and as a cosponsor of the bill, I worked hard to ensure that this legislation strikes the right balance between protecting our nation's security and the civil liberties of the American people. This bill is a significant improvement on previous efforts by Congress to address cyber threats, requiring multiple scrubs of private personal information to safeguard consumer's privacy. I also pushed for an amendment that offered further privacy improvements and will continue to advocate for enhanced privacy protections as we work together to keep our country and its economy safe from cyber threats."

The Protecting Cyber Networks Act encourages cyber threat sharing with agencies and businesses to mitigate cyber attacks. Private businesses and government scrubs would be performed to circumvent sharing of personal identifying information. The legislation calls for greater public and congressional oversight through biennial reports. Additionally, the public would have the ability to sue the federal government if they believed their civil liberties were violated. The legislation passed with unanimous support in the Intelligence Committee in March and by a bipartisan 307-116 vote in the House of Representatives. More information on the Protecting Cyber Networks Act can be found on the HPSCI website here.

Congressman Quigley was appointed to the influential Intel Committee in January 2015. He serves as Ranking Member on the Emerging Threats Subcommittee and is a member of the Cybersecurity Subcommittee. Serving previously on the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Quigley continues to build a record as an advocate for public safety and national security issues, a guardian of civil liberties, and a champion of government transparency and accountability. He is the co-founder of the Congressional Transparency Caucus, which seeks to enact legislation that will bring openness and accessibility to the federal government.

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