In his newsletter this week, Congressman Paul Cook, R-Yucca Valley, commented on his recent Twitter Town Hall event, while also announcing his cosponsorship of a bill to safeguard Americans’ Internet privacy.
Excerpts from his Jan. 21 newsletter follow:
Said Cook, “One of the highlights of serving in Congress is the opportunity to communicate directly with constituents. With such a large and unique district, I’ve got to be creative to find ways to keep in touch with them. Outlets such as Twitter provide me the opportunity to connect even when I’m in Washington. I look forward to holding another Twitter town hall in February.”
Below is a sampling of some of the questions that Congressman Cook answered:
Question: Cameron Mckain @cmckainGOP .@RepPaulCook Do you support limiting or even ending the NSA spying programs? #AskCook
Answer: Rep. Paul Cook @RepPaulCook .@cmckainGOP I’m extremely concerned about spying on Americans, I voted to defund the NSA’s ability to do so. #AskCook
Question: Karen Borja @kborja01 #AskCook the CBO clearly says MORE THAT A TRILLION $$ in a decade after immigration reform. @RepPaulCook do you support imm and US economy?
Answer: Rep. Paul Cook @RepPaulCook .@kborja01 Immigration starts with border security, controlling our borders has to be the priority. #AskCook
Question: Katie Savant @NMFAKatie #ASKCook concerned about #budgetcuts. How are you protecting CA #milfams? #KeepYourPromise CC@@RepPaulCook
Answer: Rep. Paul Cook @RepPaulCook Thanks for the question @NMFAKatie, I’m a cosponsor of HR 3790 which would eliminate COLA reductions for all military retirees. #AskCook
Question: Heather Hampton @6LambsMom @RepPaulCook What are the chances of #HRes36 happening and Hillary being held accountable now that new info is available?
Answer: Rep. Paul Cook @RepPaulCook @6LambsMom I’m going to work with my colleagues on @HouseForeign to get to the bottom of the #Benghazi attack #AskCook
Question: AdventureCORPS @adventurecorps@RepPaulCook DeathVlly NPS banned sporting events in 2014 w/out cause. Huge impact on local economy with no consideration. U help? #askcook
Answer: Thanks for the question @adventurecorps, I will definitely look into it, our public lands need to be open to the public. #AskCook
Question: Billy Fleig @muuzilla @RepPaulCook do you think voters will finally research & vote in candidates that will represent their constituents & not their lobbyists?
Answer: Rep. Paul Cook @RepPaulCook .@muuzilla It’s my job in Congress to represent my constituents and no one else. Honored to represent the people of #CA08 #AskCook
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SAFEGUARDING INTERNET PRIVACY
Congressman Paul Cook has signed on as a cosponsor to the “Safe and Secure Federal Websites Act” introduced by Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-Michigan).
This bill ensures Healthcare.gov and other federal websites that collect personally identifiable information be reviewed by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The agency’s Chief Information Officer must certify any website as secure before the public can enter personal information. Additionally, it requires any federal website published after July 1, 2013 that has not been certified as secure must be taken down until proven to be safe.
Said Cook, “I’m dedicated to protecting Americans’ privacy and information security. This bill will put in place safeguards to ensure that our most sensitive information is kept out of the hands of hackers and identity thieves.”
A recent hearing by the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology revealed that Healthcare.gov has no safeguards to determine when it is under attack by hackers. Additionally, normal security industry practices were not employed by the designers in securing the website.
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Read more of Congressman Cook’s newsletter at cook.house.gov/media-center.
