President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection

PCCIP Houston Public Meeting

This page presents documents relating to the 13 May 1997 Public Meeting of the PCCIP in Houston, Texas. We currently have available a post-meeting press release, a number of photographs of the public meeting, as well as the transcript of the meeting itself.

Post-Meeting Press Release

Houston -- Business leaders and local officials testified at a public meeting at the Houston City Hall conducted by President Clinton's recently designated President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection (PCCIP).

Mayor Bob Lanier hosted the event and welcomed the participants saying, "I am pleased that the Commission has chosen to hold a hearing in Houston. Our city is the nerve center of Latin American trade and energy, and we have many national assets of vital importance."

"Critical infrastructures are America's life support system," said Commission Executive Director John Powers, outlining the need for the Commission. "These systems rely on new technologies to increase efficiency -- but with increased risk."

Testifying at the event was U.S. Attorney Gaynelle Jones; Dr. Richard Wainerdi, President and CEO of the Texas Medical Center; Mike Turner, Regional President, SBC; and representatives of the University of Houston, the City of Houston, and the Harris County Emergency Network, among others.

The Commission was created to examine eight infrastructures crucial to the nation's security and explore their vulnerabilities to physical and cyber threats. Infrastructures considered crucial are:

• telecommunications
• transportation
• electrical power
• oil and gas delivery and storage
• banking and finance
• water supply systems
• emergency services, such as medical and police, and
• the continuity of government services.

Powers said these systems are vulnerable to disruption through both physical and cyber attacks. "Attacks have the potential to put our economy, public safety and military readiness at risk in new and potentially far reaching ways," said Powers. "These attacks impact everything from an individual's privacy to an industry's ability to compete. Everyone is affected by America's infrastructures and everyone needs to take part in assuring their future."

After gathering information from corporate leaders and conducting a series of public meetings across the country, the Commission will make recommendations to President Clinton on national policy that will best assure the safety and protection of the nation's critical infrastructures.

Photographs From the Houston Public Meeting

Ms. Gaynelle Jones, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas,
was the first presenter at the PCCIP's Houston Public Meeting.

Testimony at the Public Meeting
From left: Dr. John Powers, Mayor Bob Lanier of Houston, and Ms. Nancy Wong

Dr. John Powers (Executive Director, PCCIP) and
The Honorable Bob Lanier (Mayor of Houston) at the Meeting

The "Public" at the Houston Public Meeting

Transcript of the Houston Public Meeting

The PCCIP is pleased to be able to make available a transcript of its Houston Public Meeting; this transcript is a record of the testimony that the Commissioners heard on that day. You may download an electronic copy of the 85-page transcript for browsing or printing on your own computer (Adobe Acrobat 3.0 format; file approximately 228 kilobytes in size).

Technical Note: This transcript requires Version 3.0 (or later) of the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you may download from the Adobe Systems, Inc. Web site. This software is available for a wide variety of computer platforms and is distributed free of charge.