Press Releases

Congressman Don Beyer, Ranking Member on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology’s (SST) Subcommittee on Oversight, questioned witnesses today at a joint Subcommittee hearing on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) federal employee data breach.

“The personal and professional impact of the OPM breach on our already underpaid, underappreciated, and overworked federal employees cannot be overstated. We must do whatever is necessary to protect our civil servants and the work they are committed to,” said Rep. Beyer. “After today’s hearing, I feel more confident that OPM officials know the steps they must take to fix weaknesses in our cyber infrastructure and address the multitude of online threats lurking in cyberspace – a critical issue for both the federal government and the private sector.”

Witnesses at the “Is the OPM Data Breach the Tip of the Iceberg?” hearing included Michael Esser, Assistant Inspector General for Audits at OPM, Gregory Wilshusen, Director of Information Security Issues at U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), and Dr. Charles Romine, Director of Information Technology Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Rep. Beyer’s Northern Virginia Congressional District is home to nearly 77,000 federal employees. Rep. Beyer called for this hearing last month following news of the OPM attack. His SST Oversight Subcommittee oversees the National Institutes on Standards and Technology (NIST), the Commerce Department agency responsible for setting information security standards for civilian agencies. 

The letter Rep. Beyer sent to SST Chairman Lamar Smith requesting the hearing can be found here.