OPENING REMARKS OF CHAIRWOMAN STEFANIK

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Chairwoman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, made the following remarks, as prepared for delivery, on the Subcommittee's hearing titled “A Review and Assessment of The Department of Defense Budget, Strategy, Policy, and Programs for Cyber Operations and U.S. Cyber Command for Fiscal Year 2019.” For testimony and to watch the hearing click here.  

"Welcome everyone to today’s hearing of the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee on the posture of Cyber Operations and U.S. Cyber Command for Fiscal Year 2019. 

This hearing is the second of three cyber events today. This morning we heard from former Secretaries of Homeland Security Chertoff and Johnson, as well as former CYBERCOM Commander Keith Alexander.
 
Adversaries such as China and Russia aggressively leverage and integrate cyber, information, and communications technologies for geopolitical and economic gain; and they do so in a seamless way. Dictatorships have those advantages, and their control over these technologies and information is as much about exerting control over their own populations, as it is confronting free societies such as ours.

As discussed in the World Wide Threat Assessment for 2018 from the Director of National Intelligence, Iran and North Korea also continue to increase their offensive cyber capabilities and techniques. Over the last few years, both of these nations are believed to be behind cyber attacks that demonstrate not only a capability to deploy a variety of techniques and tools, but also a willingness to use cyber attacks as a means to achieve their national objectives.

Needless to say, cyber threats today from state and non-state adversaries are real, pervasive, and growing. Cyberspace and the information domain writ large remains contested and under continual stress.

We are no longer peerless, and cyber superiority is not assured.  

Yet while these adversaries continue to use cyber as a means to achieve strategic objectives, I remain concerned that we – as a government – do not yet have a strategy in place to mitigate, deter or oppose their advances.

It is safe to say that we have improved our military cyberspace and cyber warfare capabilities, and also improved our resiliency in many areas.

But I am not sure the same can be said about the rest of our government, most notably the protection of our critical infrastructure that preserves our economic security and ensures our way of life. Further work is needed to build interagency partnerships to ensure a whole of government approach to countering the growing cyber threat.

The Department of Defense plays an important role in this area – certainly when considering a significant cyber incident that may require their expertise during a time sensitive emergency.

From where I stand, a great deal of work remains to be done, to improve our ability to defend, fight, and win in this critical domain. 

And also, to improve and align our decision-making processes and operational authorities so that we are fast, agile, and relevant. 

Only then will our Nation be prepared for the 21st century challenges we face. 

Our witnesses today are very well qualified to help us navigate these multidimensional problems.

Appearing before our subcommittee we have:

Admiral Mike Rogers, 
Commander of U.S. Cyber Command and 
Director of the National Security Agency

And 

The Honorable Kenneth Rapuano
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Global Security
and Principal Cyber Advisor for the Secretary of Defense 

Thank you both for being here today. 

Admiral Rogers – as this will be your last appearance before the subcommittee I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation for your decades of service to our country. We wish you continued success as you move into this next phase of your career and life out of uniform. Thank you for your service and the professional working relationship you have always had with this committee."