Congressional Hearings – Week of 5-12-13

The House starts off the week with a pro forma session but both Houses will meet on Tuesday. To date there are only three congressional hearings that I think might be of interest to the chemical security, cybersecurity or chemical safety communities. Hearing topics will include cybersecurity, Coast Guard budget and domestic UAVs.

Cybersecurity

The Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies Subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee will be holding a hearing on Thursday about Facilitating Cyber Threat Information Sharing and Partnering with the Private Sector to Protect Critical Infrastructure: An Assessment of DHS Capabilities. No witness list is yet available.

Domestic UAVs

Okay, this one is a stretch, but I can envision the use of UAVs for security checks of rail yards, port facilities and large chemical complexes. The Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Friday concerning the domestic use of UAVs. No witness list is currently available.

Coast Guard Spending

On Tuesday the Homeland Security Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee will be holding a hearing on the President’s FY 2014 budget request for the Coast Guard. Admiral Papp will be the sole witness. I would be surprised if there were not questions asked about the TWIC Reader NPRM, especially after last week’s GAO report.