NEWS RELEASE
Committee on Energy and Commerce

Tauzin, Dingell Release Report
On Nation’s Critical Infrastructure

WASHINGTON (April 2) -- House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-LA) and Ranking Member John Dingell (D-MI) today issued the following joint statement:

“Today we are releasing a General Accounting Office (GAO) Report on the pace of critical infrastructure protection efforts by selected Federal agencies and private industry sectors.

“The report examined the protection efforts of the Departments of Energy, Health and Human Services, and Commerce, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency. GAO found that none of these agencies has even completed the fundamental processes of identifying critical agency assets and assessing their vulnerabilities.

“It was disappointing to learn in an April 2001 oversight hearing by our Committee that, three years after the issuance of a presidential directive in 1998, most Federal agencies had failed to even identify their own critical assets. However, the events of September 11th have made the task of protecting vital assets even more urgent. Today's GAO report reveals that, while progress has been made since that time, the current situation remains unacceptable – and that much more work is necessary just to assess all of our critical asset dependencies and vulnerabilities, the basic preconditions for adequate protection.

“It has now been five years since these agencies were instructed to determine where their own critical systems were vulnerable and to develop the countermeasures necessary to assure that the most important functions of government would continue in the face of a terrorist attack. These agencies should have completed these tasks long ago. GAO's findings confirm the need for all Federal agencies to re-double their efforts in this area. The Administration must move quickly to heed GAO's recommendation to establish firm deadlines and resource plans to carry out these crucial activities. We must move with all deliberate speed to ensure that the assets necessary to the effective functioning of our government and economic systems are protected to the extent reasonably possible.

“The GAO report also surveyed the efforts of the telecommunications, information technology, energy, electricity, and drinking water industries to implement the voluntary initiatives outlined in the 1998 presidential directive. GAO found that progress across these sectors has been mixed, and recommended that the respective Federal lead agencies evaluate public policies to spur increased private sector efforts in these areas.

“We note that the President's proposed 2004 budget for critical infrastructure protection efforts by the new Department of Homeland Security represents a substantial increase, from roughly $177 million in 2003 to more than $800 million next year. We urge Congress to fully support this request.” 

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