WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) emphasized the importance of improving America’s cybersecurity during an Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to consider the nomination of Ret. General Lloyd Austin, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee to serve as the Secretary of Defense. During the hearing, Senator King highlighted the work and recommendations of the bipartisan Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC), a bipartisan group co-chaired by Senator King that convenes Congressional, executive, and private sector leaders to improve America’s cyber defense posture. During the hearing, Senator King underscored that cybersecurity is a “current area of conflict” that must be addressed imminently. Earlier this month, Senator King applauded that 27 provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) directly draw from 25 CSC recommendations for improving U.S. cybersecurity posture have been codified into law.

“Two years ago, this committee led the creation in the National Defense Authorization Act of something called the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, which I was honored to serve on along with a bipartisan group from congress and the private sector and executive [branch],” said Senator King. “I would commend to you our report released last March and talks a lot about the issues we have talked about today. As you know and as Senator Rounds mentioned, the area of cyber is not a potential area of conflict, it is a current area of conflict, and I will be sure we get a copy of the report to you and you can take a look at it, because part of it is structure but also part of it is policy, deterrence, resilience, and I think this is something that obviously we need to attend to…and I look forward to working with you on those issues. 

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In addition, Senator King pressed Ret. Gen. Austin on importance of international coalitions and alliances to U.S. national security, and Ret. Gen. Austin expressed his intent to rebuild alliances and partnerships that are critical to national security:

KING: In 2018, you gave an interview where you discussed the importance of coalitions as being one of the key elements of modern conflict. Churchill once said the only thing worse than fighting with allies is fighting without allies. Can you expand a bit on your views about coalitions and how and what we need to do to shore up our relationships with our allies?

AUSTIN: I truly believe, and I believe this in my heart, that we perform better when we are operating as part of a team. In all of the operations I have participated in that are major operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the counter-ISIS campaign, and so many other things, our allies brought valuable capability and capacity to the fight. I truly believe that you can't just show up and fight and be effective. I think these relationships have to be developed, you have to train, work and live together in a lot of cases in order to have an effective, incredible fighting force. I think that, you know, fighting as part of the team, as part of a coalition, is absolutely part of who we are, something we treasure and if confirmed, I will look forward to reestablishing some of the critical partnerships and alliances we have had, working with our allies to make sure we keep them on board as we move forward fast. 

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During his testimony, Senator King raised also concerns about the frequent turnover for the DOD’s top position in the last 10 years – 10 Secretaries or Acting Secretaries in 10 years – and stated that stability is key to ensure the Department runs smoothly and maintains the proper relationship between the civilian leadership and the uniformed military. He also pressed Austin for his thoughts on U.S. relations with China.

As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator King is recognized as a thoughtful voice on national security and foreign policy issues in the Senate. He voted in favor of the Senate’s passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021, which includes several funding and policy priorities advocated for by Senator King to support military facilities and communities in Maine and advance the national defense. The legislation – containing 25 bipartisan cybersecurity recommendations from the Cyberspace Solarium Commission – became law earlier this year after Senator King and the overwhelming majority of his colleagues voted to override President Trump’s veto. In addition to his committee work, Senator King serves on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, the Senate North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Observer Group, and is Co-Chair of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission.

The CSC was established by statute in the 2019 NDAA, and officially launched in April 2019. The Commissioners convened nearly every Monday that Congress was in session for a year, and its staff conducted more than 400 engagements, drawing upon the expertise of corporate leaders, federal, state and local officials, academics, and cybersecurity experts. The meetings and the ensuing report sought to understand America’s posture in cyberspace and identify opportunities to improve our national preparedness to defend ourselves against cyberattacks.