President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection

PCCIP Los Angeles Public Meeting

This page presents documents relating to the 13 March 1997 Public Meeting of the PCCIP. The following materials are available at the present time.

• Press Release Announcing the Meeting

• Post-Meeting Press Release

• Photographs from the Public Meeting

• Transcript of the Public Meeting

Press Release Announcing the Meeting

Where would we be if our transportation systems were suddenly interrupted across a large sector of the country? How would we react if the vast telecommunications systems that permit us to communicate anywhere in the world, or bring images into our homes instantaneously from nearly any spot on the globe, suddenly ceased to operate? How vulnerable to "hackers" are our water supply systems, or our electric power grid?

A commission has been appointed to investigate both physical as well as "cyber" threats to property and to vital control systems, and to recommend to the President of the United States a national policy for assuring their safety in the future. The commission will hold the first in a nationwide series of public meetings in Los Angeles, March 13th.

For more information, contact Nelson McCouch at (202) 696-9395 or Bill Garber at (202) 828-8879.

Post-Meeting Press Release

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

"Critical infrastructures are America's life support systems," said Chairman Robert T. "Tom" Marsh, outlining the need for the Commission. "These systems rely on new technologies to increase efficiency -- but with increased risk."

Representatives from the Los Angeles and Glendale Mayor's offices testified at the meeting, as did representatives from the Los Angeles Police and Fire Departments. The Commission also heard testimony from the LA Department of Fire and Water, CBS Radio Network, and the Motion Picture Association of America.

The Marsh Commission was created to examine eight infrastructures crucial to the nation's security, and explore their vulnerability to physical and cyber threats. Those 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

Marsh 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 Marsh. "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. That's why we're here today."

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.

Marsh is the former chairman of Thiokol Corporation and a retired Air Force general with extensive experience in the technology industries.

Photographs from the Public Meeting

Meeting Transcript

The PCCIP is pleased to be able to make available a transcript of its Los Angeles 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 56-page transcript for browsing or printing on your own computer (Adobe Acrobat 3.0 format; file approximately 155 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 available free of charge.