Committee Hearings – Week of 4-28-19

This week both the House and Senate are back from their two-week spring recess. Budget hearings continue. There is also a cybersecurity hearing and a pipeline safety hearing scheduled.

Budget Hearings

• Tuesday, DHS, House DHS Subcommittee;

• Tuesday, FEMA, House DHS Subcommittee;

• Tuesday, CISA, House Homeland Security Committee;

• Wednesday, CISA, House DHS Subcommittee;

• Wednesday, DOD, House DOD Subcommittee; and

• Thursday, DHS, Senate DHS Subcommittee (no link available);

Cybersecurity

On Tuesday the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee will hold a hearing on “Strengthening the Cybersecurity of the Internet of Things”. The witness list includes:

• Michael Bergman, Consumer Technology Association;

• Matthew Eggers, U.S Chamber of Commerce

• Harley Geiger, Rapid7

• Robert Mayer, US Telecom – The Broadband Association

• Charles Romine, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Pipeline Safety

On Wednesday the Energy Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on “The State of Pipeline Safety and Security in America”. The witness list includes:

• Howard R. “Skip” Elliott, PHMSA;

• W. William Russell, GAO;

• Lawrence Friedeman, Public Utilities Commission of Ohio;

• Andrew J. Black, Association of Oil Pipelines (AOPL);

• Carl Weimer, The Pipeline Safety Trust

The Staff Memo for the hearing indicates that the below listed items will be addressed in the hearing, but questions from various congresscritters could address cybersecurity and the incident in Merrimack Valley last year.

• Cost-benefit analysis;

• Mandamus (citizen suits);

• Automatic and remote-control shutoff valves; and

• Leak detection