SIA to Honor Legislators of the Year at GovSummit 2019
SIA has named Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. (D-N.J.) as the 2019 recipients.
The awardees will be honored at the SIA GovSummit to be held June 26-27 in Washington, D.C.
SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Security Industry Association announces Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. (D-N.J.) as the 2019 recipients of the SIA Legislator of the Year Award. The awardees will be honored at the SIA GovSummit to be held June 26-27 in Washington, D.C.
The SIA Legislator of the Year Award is presented annually to members of Congress and other elected officials who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership in advancing legislation and policies that encourage the effective use of technology solutions to enhance public safety and security and protect critical infrastructure.
Klobuchar will be recognized for her leadership on workforce development and life-safety issues important to the security industry and its mission. In 2019, Klobuchar authored S.379, a bill that would allow workers to use “529” education savings accounts for training and credentialing programs. The 2020 presidential candidate is also credited for authoring S.481 — the Nicholas and Zachary Burt Memorial Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act — which would provide grant assistance for the purchase and installation of CO detectors in dwelling units of low-income families and elderly persons, child care facilities, public schools and student housing owned by public universities.
Fischer authored bipartisan legislation that would convene a working group of federal entities and private-sector stakeholders tasked with providing recommendations to Congress on how to facilitate the growth of connected Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. S. 1611, also known as the Developing and Growing the Internet of Things (DIGIT) Act, calls for the United States to craft a national strategy to position the United States as the global leader in IoT technologies. Fischer recently recognized SIA, along with SIA member companies Intel and VMware, as supporters of the DIGIT Act.
Payne, who serves as chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery, recently introduced H.R. 2160, the Shielding Public Spaces From Vehicular Terrorism Act. The act would help communities leverage homeland security grants to install vehicular barriers and implement other protective measures and direct research and development efforts on the emerging threats from vehicular attacks. Payne also crafted H.R. 6920, the School Security Is Homeland Security Grant Act, which clarified allowable uses, requires a percentage of homeland security grants to be used for enhanced school security measures and increases overall authorization for the grants.
“SIA’s policy priorities include notable measures that help increase safety and security across many sectors, including the critical areas of perimeter security and school security, while helping the industry to stay ahead of megatrends such as the proliferation of IoT and the recruitment and retention of qualified workers,” states SIA CEO Don Erickson.
Erickson continues, “SIA applauds Sen. Klobuchar’s work to promote the 21st-century technology workforce essential to our industry, Sen. Fischer’s leadership in recognizing the security industry’s role in fostering IoT growth and Rep. Payne’s contributions to mitigating the threat of vehicular attacks and protecting students, staff, faculty and visitors in our nation’s schools.”
The annual SIA GovSummit brings together government security leaders and private industry technologists for top-quality information sharing and education on security topics affecting federal, state and even local agencies. The 2019 installment will offer specialized sessions on topics such as modernizing federal physical access control systems, the U.S. Department of Defense’s unified facilities criteria for security systems, facial recognition technology use for public safety and homeland security missions and helping communities protect religious institutions, crowded spaces and other soft targets.
For more information and to register, go here.
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