President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection

PCCIP St. Louis Public Meeting

This page presents documents relating to the 19 June 1997 Public Meeting of the PCCIP in St. Louis, Missouri. At the present time, the following materials are available.

• A post-meeting media advisory

• Some photographs from the public meeting

• A transcript of the event

Post-Meeting Media Advisory

PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION ON
CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION

PO Box 46258
Washington, DC 20050-6258
http://www.pccip.gov/

PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION CONDUCTS PUBLIC MEETING

Community Leaders Assure America's Future

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

Mayor Clarence Harmon hosted the event and welcomed the participants saying, "St. Louis is proud to host this meeting, the outcome of which will promote infrastructure safety not only in our own region, but throughout the country."

"Critical infrastructures are America's life support system," 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."

Testifying at the event were representatives from Monsanto, the Missouri Department of Transportation, Washington University, the St. Louis School District, Sprint, H&R Block, the Chief of Police and Yellow Freight Systems, 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: telecommunication, 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."

"The input of our community leaders will help shape PCCIP's recommendations to President Clinton on national policy that will protect our critical infrastructures. Through our participation in this process, we proudly serve our community and our nation," said Mayor Harmon.

The St. Louis public meeting marks the last of five scheduled outreach meetings to gather information from infrastructure owners/operators and users around the nation. The Commission has until October to develop a national strategy for protecting the country's critical infrastructures from a spectrum of threats and assure their continued operation and submit their recommendation to President Clinton.

Views from the St. Louis Public Meeting

Left: PCCIP Chairman Robert Marsh reviews written statements received at the public meeting.

Right: Dr. LeRoy Fulmer, assistant superintendent of the Waynesville (Missouri) R-6 School District, reads a statement at the public meeting.

The President's Commission in St. Louis
From the Left: Commissioners Culnan, Case and Rodgers; Chairman Marsh;
St. Louis Mayor Clarence Harmon; Commissioners Keyes, Struble, Mitchell, Davis, and Wong

The Public Gallery at the Meeting

Transcript of the St. Louis Public Meeting

The PCCIP is pleased to be able to make available a transcript of its St Louis 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 54-page transcript for browsing or printing on your own computer. (Adobe Acrobat 3.0 format; file approximately 145 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.