Bills Introduced – 07-29-15

Yesterday there were 197 bills introduced in the House and Senate. Most of those (178) were from the House as it was leaving for the summer recess. Many of those bills were introduced just for the purposes of showing the voters and campaign contributors that the Congressman was actively working on issues important to those in the home district. Of the bills introduced yesterday just 11 may be of specific interest to readers of this blog:

HR 3299 To amend the Public Health Service Act to ensure preparedness for chemical, radiological, biological, and nuclear threats, and for other purposes. Rep. Brooks, Susan W. [R-IN-5]

HR 3305 To help enhance American network security and mitigate cybersecurity risks, and for other purposes. Rep. Hurd, Will [R-TX-23]

HR 3313 To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to strengthen the ability of the Secretary of Homeland Security to detect and prevent intrusions against, and to use countermeasures to protect, agency... Rep. McCaul, Michael T. [R-TX-10]

HR 3326 To amend chapter 90 of title 18, United States Code, to provide Federal jurisdiction for the theft of trade secrets, and for other purposes. Rep. Collins, Doug [R-GA-9]

HR 3348 To direct the Attorney General to create a special reward program for individuals providing information leading to the apprehension and conviction of persons committing offenses under section 1030 of... Rep. Green, Al [D-TX-9]  

HR 3350 To require a terrorism threat assessment regarding the transportation of chemical, biological, nuclear, and radiological materials through United States land borders and within the United States, and... Rep. Higgins, Brian [D-NY-26]

HR 3360 To provide for identity protection coverage and other services for individuals exposed to the OPM security breaches, and for other purposes.

HR 3361 To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish the Insider Threat Program, and for other purposes. Rep. King, Peter T. [R-NY-2]

HR 3402 To strengthen the ability of the Secretary of Homeland Security to detect and prevent intrusions against, and to use countermeasures to protect, government agency information systems and for other... Rep. Ruppersberger, C. A. Dutch [D-MD-2]

HR 3418 To enhance homeland security, including domestic preparedness and the collective response to terrorism, by improving the Federal Protective Service, and for other purposes. Rep. Thompson, Bennie G. [D-MS-2]

S 1890 A bill to amend chapter 90 of title 18, United States Code, to provide Federal jurisdiction for the theft of trade secrets, and for other purposes. Sen. Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT] 

Cybersecurity

Not surprisingly a large number (7) of these bills deal (HR 3305, HR 3313, HR 3326, HR 3348, HR 3360, HR 3402, and S 1890) with cybersecurity issues. It looks like HR 3326 and S 1890 are companion bills that would make it a Federal offense to steal trade secrets. Three of the bills (HR 3313, HR 3360, and HR 3402) appear to deal with Federal computer systems (but may contain language for private sector cybersecurity). HR 3348 would establish a special reward program to deal with offenses under 18 US 1030, Fraud and related activity in connection with computers.

Chemical Security

I’m lumping the other four bills under the rubric of chemical security; though for two of them that only covers a portion of the threat to which the bills are responding. HR 3299 looks at CBRN issues from a public health perspective. HR 3350 would require a ‘terrorism threat assessment’ for CBRN related shipments within the United States; there will be some interesting definitions here. HR 3361 looks at insider threat response; this may also be a cybersecurity bill. And HR 3418 would strengthen the Federal Protects Service; which also provides critical infrastructure chemical facility support to facilities not covered under CFATS or MTSA programs.

Moving Forward

The Senate will be in Washington for another week or two. When they adjourn for summer recess I expect that we will see another large (but not so large) batch of bills introduced. In the meantime the Senate will continue to introduce a limited number of bills each day they are in session and there is a chance that an occasional bill will be introduced during the pro forma sessions that the House will hold between now and Labor Day.

It will take the GPO a while to work through this back log of bills, so I will continue to have fodder for my blog post while Congress is junketing, schmoozing voters, and sucking up to campaign contributors.