By Congressman Michael McCaul
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Democrats voted last week to continue to put families deeper and deeper into debt: $40053 for every American. They have clearly ignored the demands of taxpayers over the past year to cut spending so they can continue to expand government. Raising the debt ceiling by another $1.9 trillion to $14.294 trillion represents the largest one time debt limit increase in our nations history.
The vote came just one week after the Presidents State of the Union where he stressed the importance of fiscal responsibility. The third increase in the past year is expected to allow the Democrats to continue their reckless spending habits until after the November elections.
Also included in H.J. Res. 45 is Statutory PAYGO which states that any legislation that includes spending or tax breaks must also include a permanent tax increase. However there are several exemptions from PAYGO including discretionary and emergency spending.
PAYGO has historically been a cover for increasing taxes and does nothing to address our nations massive debt which currently totals 85 of GDP.
Unfortunately this bill passed.
Cybersecurity Enhancement Act
Last Thursday the House passed H.R.4061 by a vote of 422-5 advancing legislation that is vital to our national security. I am the lead Republican sponsor of the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act. It is an important first step toward securing our federal computer networks from espionage and securing some of our nations critical infrastructure from destruction and major disruptions of service.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Commission on Cybersecurity which I co-chaired presented a report to President Obama detailing recommendations to secure our nations government networks
and critical infrastructure. Several of these recommendations are included in the bill.
H.R. 4061 sets security standards for federal computer systems and develops checklists for agencies to follow. It will improve coordination in and outside of government and improve R&D.
Congressional hearings on Cybersecurity have revealed most federal agencies have been hacked into and that the federal government is under threat of cyber attack on a daily basis.
To see some of the discussion on the House floor about the need for this legislation
please take a minute to view this video.
Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair testified before the House Intelligence Committee last week that the United States is at risk of a crippling cyber attack that could wreak havoc on our critical infrastructure.
Blair: When you look at the technological balance right now it favors those who want to use the Internet for malicious purposes over those who want to use it for legal and lawful purposes.
