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The Honorable Richard Shelby
Chairman
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Jeanne Shaheen
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable John Culberson
Chairman
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable José Serrano
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Chairmen Shelby and Culberson and Ranking Members Shaheen and Serrano:
Our organizations, which represent nearly every sector of the U.S. economy, write to express strong support for increasing the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST’s) funding for fiscal 2018. We are concerned that the administration’s proposed budget would cut $237.2 million from NIST financing, which represents a substantial (25%) decrease from fiscal 2017. Especially troubling, $88.7 million of the overall reduction would come from NIST’s Scientific and Technical Research and Services (STRS) account. The budget also contemplates eliminating 337 (14%) of STRS personnel.
Lawmakers should understand that the resources NIST needs to undertake industry- government efforts on cybersecurity, including the voluntary Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, come from the STRS account. Our groups recognize that policymakers need to spend taxpayers’ monies wisely, but the framework has been a remarkable success. Cyber stakeholders may not agree with NIST on every information security standard, guideline, or practice that it develops, yet pound for pound and dollar for dollar, few government entities have done as much as NIST to help businesses strengthen their cybersecurity in collaborative ways.
Instead of cutting NIST’s resources, we believe that Congress should boost the agency’s funding given the critical tasks it undertakes with the private sector on cybersecurity, such as protecting the Internet of Things.
Our associations appreciate the subcommittees’ attention to improving U.S. cybersecurity capabilities. We urge the subcommittees to support increasing NIST’s funding and look forward to continuing our work together to advance the security and resilience of the business community and the nation.
Sincerely,
ACT | The App Association
American Bankers Association (ABA) American Gas Association (AGA)
American Public Power Association (APPA)
Association for Executives in Healthcare Information Security (AEHIS) Automation Federation
BSA | The Software Alliance
The Coalition for Cybersecurity Policy and Law
College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) CompTIA
Edison Electric Institute (EEI)
Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council (FSSCC)
Financial Services Roundtable–BITS
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Information Technology Industry Council (ITI)
Internet Security Alliance
National Council for Advanced Manufacturing (NACFAM) National Restaurant Association
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA)
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
cc: Members of the Senate and House Subcommittees on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies