March 20, 2003 – Delegate Donna M. Christensen, appointed last month to the newly formed U.S. House Select Committee on Homeland Security, was named on Thursday to serve on its Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness and Response and also its Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Science, Research and Development.
Christensen said in a release that the emergency preparedness panel was her first choice for assignment, as it "oversees areas critical to the Virgin Islands in the homeland security landscape." The delegate, who is a physician, added that the subcommittee "covers public health, physical infrastructure and industrial assets, and disaster preparedness, all areas that relate directly to the issues facing the territory."
That subcommittee, the release stated, has jurisdiction over:
– Preparation for and response to chemical, biological, radiological and other attacks on civilian populations.
– Protection of physical infrastructure and industrial assets against terrorist attack.
– Issues related to liability arising from terrorist attack.
– Public health issues related to such attacks.
– Disaster preparedness.
– Emergency response coordination with and among state and local governments and the private sector.
– Homeland security technology and other relevant oversight.
The cybersecurity and science subcommittee's jurisdiction covers the security of computer, telecommunication, information technology, industrial control, electric infrastructure and data systems, including science, research and development, the release stated. Also, it has jurisdiction for protecting government and private networks and computer systems from domestic and foreign attack and for preventing injury to civilian populations and damage to physical infrastructure caused by cyber-attack.
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