(WASHINGTON, DC) -- Sen. Maria Cantwell, the former top
Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, observed
Thursday that as much urgency is needed in protecting the energy system from
foreign hackers and bad actors as is being shown in the debate over the border
wall.
“We should be spending enough time on this, believe me, as
we are on this wall discussion,” Cantwell said, fearing that both Congress and
the administration have not sufficiently addressed threats from cyber attacks.
Republican chairwoman Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said
she didn’t want to be put in a position where 20 years from now, people look
back and ask “what were they thinking?” in not taking steps to address the
threat against the nation’s energy system.
“There is simply too much on the line,” she said, chairing a
hearing on cyber security on Thursday.
