HR 5855 Begins Floor Debate

Yesterday the House began consideration of HR 5855, the DHS FY2013 appropriations bill under an open rule. A number of amendments were offered, passed/rejected in yesterday’s debate; none directly concerned chemical security or cybersecurity matters.

To date only one amendment has been pre- printed in the Congressional Record (which gives priority to consideration in the floor debate) that deals with cybersecurity issues. Rep. Terry (R,NE) introduced Amendment #1 that would prohibit funds being used “for the designation of critical infrastructure in the banking, telecommunications, or energy sector for cybersecurity purposes”. This would effectively prevent (if adopted) any cybersecurity regulation of critical infrastructure cybersecurity, at least during FY 3013.

The debate will continue today and possibly tomorrow.