WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services Committees, released the following statement today in response to an announcement by the Obama Administration that the President’s forthcoming budget request will increase funding for cyber-security by 35 percent to bolster national defense:

            “A frontline of warfare in the 21^st century is computer code – where one person with bad intentions halfway around the world can inflict massive damage through the simple stroke of a key,” Senator King said. “The United States must be prepared to meet those threats, which is why it’s imperative that we take immediate steps to transform the nation’s outdated cyber-security infrastructure and work more closely with the private-sector to increase information sharing. As a member of several key committees with jurisdiction for cyber-security, I look forward to closely reviewing the President’s proposal and I hope Congress will recognize the severity of these threats by dedicating an appropriate amount of funding to counter them.”

Today, the Obama Administration announced that as part of its forthcoming Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Request it will request from Congress more than $19 billion in federal funding for cyber-security investments, which represents a more than 35 percent increase from FY 2016 in overall federal resources for cybersecurity.

Senator King has long raised concerns about the potential harm that a serious cyber-attack could have on national infrastructure, such as the electric grid or financial markets. That’s why he has been a strong proponent of strengthening and improving the federal government’s ability to meet and deter cyber-threats. Last year, he joined Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) in calling on Congress to lift spending caps to ensure agencies in dire need of cyber-security upgrades are fully funded to ensure these upgrades can be made.

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