Bills Introduced – 07-26-18

Yesterday with both the House and Senate in session (and the House preparing to leave on its extended summer break) there were 131 bills introduced (109 in the House). Of these, five may be of specific interest to readers of this blog:

HR 6555 To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish a DHS Cybersecurity On-the-Job Training and Employment Apprentice Program, and for other purposes. Rep. Jackson Lee, Sheila [D-TX-18]

HR 6609 To amend title 46, United States Code, to reauthorize the port security grant program, and for other purposes. Rep. Meng, Grace [D-NY-6]

HR 6617 To provide for a legal framework for the operation of public unmanned aircraft systems, and for other purposes. Rep. Poe, Ted [R-TX-2]

HR 6620 To require the Department of Homeland Security to prepare a threat assessment relating to unmanned aircraft systems, and for other purposes. Rep. Richmond, Cedric L. [D-LA-2]

S 3288 A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to provide the Department of Justice needed legal authorities to combat cybercrime, including state sponsored cybercrime, and for other purposes. Sen. Graham, Lindsey [R-SC]

I suspect HR 6555 will be a program for federal employees, but it would still be worthwhile to watch how such a program was established. It could actually be an interesting model for similar programs in the private sector.

It will be interesting to see what sorts of restrictions are placed on public unmanned aircraft systems in HR 6617.

S 3288 will bear close scrutiny of definitions as they will likely have unintended bearing on activities of cybersecurity researchers.