February 14, 2017

Ranking Member Johnson’s Response to Majority Criticism of Minority’s Cybersecurity Oversight Request

(Washington, DC) – Today, during the Research and Technology Subcommittee hearing, “Strengthening U.S. Cybersecurity Capabilities”, Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) made the following statement in response to statements made by Majority staff in an article in The Hill yesterday and submitted the documents below for the record. The statements were made in response to a letter sent by Ranking Member Johnson, Congressman Beyer, and Congressman Lipinski regarding President Trump’s cybersecurity vulnerabilities and practices.

“Chairwoman Comstock, I have been in Congress and on this Committee a long time. There are many times I have disagreed with my Republican colleagues. Sometimes we have had harsh criticisms of each other’s political positions. That comes with the job description of being a Member of Congress. I accept that.

“What I will not accept is when Members or staff provide clearly misleading information about me or my colleagues to the press, the public or anyone else. Yesterday, a story in The Hill newspaper regarding a letter that I sent along with Mr. Lipinski and Mr. Beyer to you, Chairman Smith and Chairman LaHood about President Trump’s cybersecurity practices, quoted an unnamed “GOP committee aide.” That aide suggested that last Congress Committee Democrats opposed the cybersecurity hearings that were held on this Committee regarding the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) because we believed they were political and illegitimate. I won’t speak for my colleagues, but I did believe many of the hearings that were held on this Committee were politically motivated. But none of them included any of the hearings mentioned by this Committee aide. If this aide had attended any of those hearings or read any of the statements by me or Ranking Members Beyer and Lipinski they would have understood that.

“Since I believe in ensuring there is an honest record of events I would like unanimous consent to enter into the record all of the Ranking Member statements and press releases issued by the Democrats for each of the hearings referenced by this Republican staffer in order to set the record straight.”

The Hill article - https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/319303-house-science-aides-rebuff-democrats-snark-on-trump-cybersecurity

Documents Submitted for the Record

Joint Subcommittee Hearing Examines the OPM Data Breach

Ranking Member Lipinski Opening Statement – July 8, 2015

Ranking Member Beyer Opening Statement – July 8, 2015

Ranking Member Johnson Opening Statement – July 8, 2015

Subcommittee Discusses Cybersecurity at the IRS

Ranking Member Lipinski Opening Statement – April 14, 2016

Ranking Member Johnson Opening Statement – April 14, 2016

Subcommittee Examines FDIC Data Breaches

Ranking Member Beyer Opening Statement – May 12, 2016

Ranking Member Johnson Opening Statement – May 12, 2016