S 914 Passed in Senate – Water Systems Authorization

Yesterday, after adopting the substitute language I described earlier this week by a voice vote, and adopting two other amendments, the Senate passed S 914, the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021, by a strongly bipartisan vote of 89 to 2. The cybersecurity provisions in the substitute language made it through to the final bill without modification.

Commentary

I think we are going to see additional authorization bills that are not strictly cybersecurity related containing cybersecurity provisions. While I had some concerns about definitions and such, I am glad to see this bill pass with the cybersecurity provisions that it contained. This reflects a growing recognition within the Congress that cybersecurity will have to be a component of much of what we do in this country and around the world.