In light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and last year’s
successful foreign-led cyberattacks against critical American infrastructure, the legislation provides timely clarity to bolster protections against future
attacks.
The Congressman’s Legislation boosts
Cybersecurity & supports Remote Bases
August
2022__ Washington D.C.__ Two pieces of legislation authored by U.S.
Congressman Jay Obernolte (R-Hesperia) passed the U.S. House of Representatives
on July 15, 2022, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2023.
Representative
Obernolte’s legislations improve the Department of Defense’s ability to defend
their computer systems from cyberattacks and provide needed support for rural
military installations struggling to hire and retain civilian workers,
including all six installations in California’s 8th District.
“It is critical that
we take steps to address the issues that we’re facing here at our bases in the
High Desert and Eastern Sierra and to ensure our overall military readiness
amidst a shifting defense landscape,” said Rep. Obernolte.
“My amendment that was adopted into the
House-passed NDAA addresses the critical civilian staffing shortage at our
local remote bases and directs the Department of Defense to find solutions to
this critical issue. This will help ensure high standards in quality of life
are maintained at our bases to support our servicemembers and their families
while they call our community home. Additionally, I’m proud to have my AI
for National Security Act included in the base text of the bill to help
ensure our military has the best possible artificial intelligence capabilities
to defend against those who seek to do our country harm.”
Representative
Obernolte’s amendment Bill #272 was adopted into the NDAA on
the House floor on July 14th, Wednesday evening and addresses
critical staffing shortages at remote military installations, including: Fort
Irwin National Training Center, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center
Twentynine Palms, Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Marine Corps Mountain
Warfare Training Center, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake and Edwards Air
Force Base.
The
legislation requires the Government Accountability Office to assess
vacancies at remote and isolated installations and to make recommendations to the
Department of Defense on ways it can incentivize workers to fill those
roles in a timely manner. These jobs range from food preparers to contractors
to teachers and are critical to supporting servicemembers and their families at
military installations.
Representative
Obernolte’s Artificial Intelligence for National Security Act,
originally introduced as H.R. 7811, ensures the Department of Defense is able
to leverage, A-I cybersecurity applications to stop and prevent attacks against
U.S. digital defense systems and infrastructure. In light of Russia’s invasion
of Ukraine and last year’s successful foreign-led cyberattacks against critical
American infrastructure, the legislation provides timely clarity to bolster
protections against future attacks.
Obernolte.house.gov