As Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee my top priorities are to address the al Qaeda-Hezbollah terrorist threat, border security, cyber security and fixing the Department of Homeland Security to ensure it is capable of carrying out its core mission of protecting the homeland.  In addition, I am working to make the nation’s airport security system smarter and more efficient.

Being a Texan, border security is of the utmost importance to me.  In November 2012, I authored the second edition of his report “A Line in the Sand: Confronting Crime, Violence and Terror at the Southwest Border”, which revealed the increased presence of Iran and Hezbollah in Latin America and their relationships with drug cartels that control smuggling routes into the United States.

I have also helped secure three Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Texas to provide law enforcement with better border surveillance and have worked towards identifying existing Department of Defense technologies that have proven successful in Iraq and Afghanistan, for use along the Southwest border without duplicating research and development, ultimately saving taxpayers money and making the equipment operational more quickly.

Cybersecurity is a critical element to protect both our national and personal security.   Nation-states are using cyber tools to steal our country’s secrets and intellectual property.  Hackers snatch our financial data and lock down access to our healthcare records and other sensitive information. It is clear that cyber-attacks are becoming incredibly personal, and the phones in our pockets are now the battlespace.  This is why continued efforts on cybersecurity are imperative. 

Over the years, I have championed a number of bills in Congress to strengthen federal cybersecurity efforts.  In 2014, several cybersecurity bills became law, including one that authorized the cyber scholarship for service program and others that reinforced the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity roles and responsibilities.  In 2015, the Cybersecurity Act of 2015 was signed into law, which improved cyber threat information sharing. 

In addition, another bill I authored and helped pass the through House is the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2017. This bill elevates DHS’s cybersecurity and infrastructure protection missions and establish a stand-alone operational agency to conduct this important work.

I continue to co-chair the Cybersecurity Caucus in the House to facilitate the cyber conversation among a broad range of stakeholders, and push for these important reforms. I also served as co-chair of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th and 45th Presidents.

Lastly, with a high concentration of high tech companies in the 10th Congressional district, I maintain a close working relationship with tech companies from Austin to Washington to Silicon Valley and have worked to include industry in shaping cyber security policy in order to promote information sharing and protect critical infrastructure to ensure our innovators are protected.