State-sponsored cyber attacks are an increasing problem. Hackers around the world are paid by wealthy governments to actively seek out software vulnerabilities. When they find a vulnerability, they then infiltrate and either steal important information or spread viruses to wreak havoc.

In an attempt stop future cyber-attacks, a Republican lawmaker recently proposed creating a new committee focused exclusively on cyber security. The new committee would be responsible for overseeing the prevention of state-sponsored cyber attacks.

According to reports during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing earlier this week, Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) proposed creating a special cyber security committee to combat state-sponsored cyber attacks from countries such as China, North Korea, and Russia. Specifically, he said, “one of the things that I have supported and others on the committee have supported is the creation of a select committee on cyber security that would take the ranking member of the chair of each committee that has jurisdiction over cyber security, and put them on one committee, so that they can have a whole of government view, because this is a complex issue.”

The reason for his proposal has to do with logistics. Currently, there are roughly 20 different committees that hold hearings related to cyber security. Gardner hopes that by bringing the chairs of each of the committees together, they can do a better job preventing many cyber-attacks against our country.

Samantha Ravich, the Senior Adviser for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies also spoke to the committee. Her testimony was primarily about the economic impact associated with poor cyber security. “The business of America is at risk of being hollowed out from the inside by everything from the theft of intellectual property to the malicious infection of the supply chain to the degradation of confidence in our commerce, banking, and transportation sectors,” she explained.

The committee also heard from Eric Rosenbach, the Co-Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University. He warned that if we don’t take active measures to stop and deter cyber attacks, they’re only going to get worse. “This is not a political thing—I know there’s a lot going that’s associated with the political right now—but we as a country need to rise above the political fear about it and do something about cyber information attacks against the democracy, or otherwise in the years to come, it is just going to get worse,” claimed Rosenbach. As of now, however, he doesn’t believe any nation has successfully responded to a cyber attack in a way that is “visible and forceful enough to deter future attacks.”

Thankfully, Gardner understands that cyber security is not a partisan issue. Back in January, he partnered with Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) to introduce bipartisan legislation establishing a Senate Select Committee on Cyber Security. “Cybersecurity policy is one of the most complex and significant challenges facing Congress, yet the Senate’s structure to investigate and address cyber issues is diffuse and inadequate. This has led to an uncoordinated policy response to recent cyber attacks on government agencies, businesses, and infrastructure,” Gardner said at the time.

“The scope of the cyber threat is as varied as the actors who are responsible for them and the consequences of potential attacks,” added Gardner. “Therefore, as cyber risks threats evolve so must U.S. cybersecurity policy. The establishment of a Select Committee on Cyber Security is essential to investigating emerging cyber risks and bolstering our defenses against them through legislative solutions, and I’m hopeful that my colleagues recognize that a centralized structure is the best path forward to effectively tackle the cyber challenge,” he concluded.

Sen. Coons echoed Gardner’s comments. “In the Internet age, Americans’ fundamental freedoms depend more than ever on robust cyber security, which is vital to ensure the free flow of information, the protection of intellectual property, the privacy of our citizens, and the sanctity of our democratic process,” he reasoned.

It is extremely important that we do everything possible to stop attacks against our country. This means that all of the committees involved in cyber security need to work together. In order for them to do that effectively, Congress should listen to Gardner and establish a special committee to oversee the prevention of cyber attacks.