Critical Releases in Homeland Security: December 19, 2018

"In today's connected world, where nearly all devices--from the phones in our pockets, to the refrigerators in our kitchens, to the multi-million-dollar equipment that runs our electric grid--are linked together through the Internet, cybersecurity has at once become a household term and one of the most complicated, difficult issues facing society. Once a topic seen mostly as a nuisance, requiring the occasional password reset or new credit card, cybersecurity now regularly makes headlines as the Internet and connected technologies have become not only economic, diplomatic, and military tools, but integral parts of our daily lives. However, even as the Internet has rapidly developed to become a vital part of modern society, it appears that the integration of effective cybersecurity has not kept pace. Recognizing this reality, the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee has spent the past several years analyzing certain cybersecurity issues with impacts across the Energy and Commerce Committee's broad jurisdiction. Several patterns have emerged from the Subcommittee's work. Regardless of industry, size, or sophistication, the cybersecurity challenges organizations face are largely the same. Further, traditional information technology (IT) strategies seem largely ineffective at stemming the growing tide of cybersecurity incidents--which now range from ransomware attacks that can hold an entire company hostage to hackers' exploitation of a security vulnerability in the latest cellphone model."

From the Disclaimer: "The Federal Commission on School Safety was designed to both research and recommend solutions to advance the safety of our schools. The Commission's observations and recommendations are contained in this report. The Commission recognizes that the problem of school violence is long-standing and complex and that there are certain limits to what the federal government can do. This Commission was not established to provide a single solution to this problem, nor did the Commissioners set out to mandate uniform policy to every community. In fact, it is our considered belief that doing so would prove counterproductive. There can be no 'one-size-fits-all' approach for an issue this complex. [...] In the pages that follow, the Commission makes recommendations that address multiple aspects of school safety. It does so based on the insights, experiences, and expertise of a wide range of individuals. The recommendations are predicated on the policies already working in state and local communities. They outline steps we all can take--families, communities, schools, houses of worship, law enforcement, medical professionals, government, and others. Each of us has a role to play in improving the safety of our students and the security of our schools. Only by working together can we help prevent future tragedies and, when those incidents do occur, mitigate their effects and continue to learn from them."

From the Executive Summary: "The National Strategy for Countering WMD [weapons of mass destruction] Terrorism describes the United States Government's approach to countering non-state WMD threats, emphasizing the need for continuous pressure against WMD-capable terrorist groups, enhanced security for dangerous materials throughout the world, and increased burden sharing among our foreign partners. The United States will draw on the full range of our nation's and partner nations' capabilities to place WMD and associated materials and expertise beyond the reach of terrorists. We will also strengthen our defenses at home to ensure the peace and security to which every American is entitled. [...] The National Strategy for Countering WMD Terrorism is designed to achieve a set of strategic objectives whose common purpose is to greatly reduce the probability that extremist groups and individuals will conduct attacks using WMD."

"When federal agencies and programs lack funding after the expiration of full-year or interim appropriations, the agencies and programs experience a funding gap. If funding does not resume in time to continue government operations, then, under the Antideficiency Act, an agency must cease operations, except in certain situations when law authorizes continued activity. Funding gaps are distinct from shutdowns, and the criteria that flow from the Antideficiency Act for determining which activities are affected by a shutdown are complex. Failure of the President and Congress to reach agreement on full-year or interim funding measures occasionally has caused shutdowns of affected federal government activities. The longest such shutdown lasted 21 full days during FY1996, from December 16, 1995, to January 6, 1996. More recently, a relatively long funding gap commenced on October 1, 2013, the first day of FY2014, after funding for the previous fiscal year expired. Because funding did not resume on October 1, affected agencies began to cease operations and furlough personnel that day. A 16-full-day shutdown ensued, the first to occur in over 17 years. Subsequently, two comparatively brief shutdowns occurred during FY2018, in January and February 2018, respectively."