LULAC Stands with Director Katherine Archuleta During Congressional Hearings on Chinese Cyber Attacks

June 24, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, Katherine Archuleta, will testify before three Congressional committees regarding the federal civilian data breach which enabled Chinese hackers to access U.S. systems. In response, Brent Wilkes, LULAC National Executive Director, issued the following statement:

“Director Archuleta is the 10th Director and first Latina to head the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). This has been a top priority of Hispanic organizations like LULAC because OPM is responsible for securing a talented and diverse federal workforce.

Director Katherine Archuleta was President Obama’s pick to head OPM based on her experience, having previously held senior positions in local and Federal government. We are confident that the Congressional inquiries will conclude that Director Archuleta was not responsible for the breach and that she is uniquely qualified to develop systemic long term solutions that will ensure U.S. systems are protected from cyber-attacks. The President’s trust in Director Archuleta is well founded and the Office of Personnel Management will become a more secure agency under her leadership.

Attempts to scapegoat Director Archuleta will not solve the problem. The issue of ensuring our government is safe from cyber espionage is much bigger than one agency. It requires a government-wide response which includes increased funding to ensure we have the best security expertise protecting U.S. systems from future attacks."