A bipartisan group of senators introduced an amendment on Wednesday to the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2017 (S.2943) directing the president to elevate U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) to a Combatant Command, matching a similar move in the House version.
Sens. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct.), and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) co-sponsored the amendment that requires the president to establish the new unified combatant command with the advice and assistance of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and through the Secretary of Defense. The command would have the principal function “to prepare cyber operations forces to carry out assigned missions,” the amendment said, The Senate is likely to take up this amendment and many others when it resumes consideration of the NDAA on June 6.
“As ISIS is recruiting more and more followers online, CYBERCOM needs the ability to react quickly and engage the enemy effectively. Elevating Cyber Command will ensure that our military is always one step ahead of our adversaries in light of the increased global threats today,” Daines said in a statement.
The co-sponsors compared this elevation to how Congress established U.S. Special Operations Command to address a new need, strengthen the warfighter, and unify forces.
Warner highlighted the testimony of Adm. Mike Rogers, head of CYBERCOM and the National Security Agency (NSA), in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last month admitting the command is ready to evolve into a combatant command and it falls under the parameters for elevating such an organization.
“I agree with Adm. Rogers that elevating CYBERCOM to a Combatant Command will improve mission outcomes, and allow us to respond more nimbly to defend against 21st century threats,” Warner said in a statement.
Cardin and Mikulski highlighted how the CYBERCOM and NSA headquarters in Ft. Meade proves Maryland is the center of national cybersecurity efforts.
“Elevating CYBERCOM to a Combatant Command will give those charged with the defense of our nation more of the tools they need to protect .mil. It also means more cyber jobs at Fort Meade making the nation safer and Maryland’s economy stronger,” Mikulski said.
The White House previously opposed the House version of NDAA, which includes a similar provision, objecting to a statutory requirement because it said the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff should retain the flexibility to recommend changes to the unified command to the president (Defense Daily, May 17).