Review - HR 4609 Introduced – NIST for the Future Act

Last month, Rep Stevens introduced HR 4609, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for the Future Act of 2021. This reauthorization bill includes language providing NIST with specific cybersecurity responsibilities.

On July 27^th, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee held a markup hearing that included the consideration of HR 4609. Substitute language was offered that included minor wording changes to cyber security responsibility language. There were fourteen other amendments adopted before the substitute language was adopted by voice vote. One of those amendments would require NIST to develop tools and guidance to “enable software developers and operators to identify, assess, and manage cyber risks over the full lifecycle of software products.”

With the bipartisan support seen for this bill in Committee, and considering that this is a perennial legislative requirement, this bill will move to the full House. I suspect that it will be considered under the suspension of the rules process; limited debate, no floor amendments and requiring a supermajority to pass. It will almost certainly pass with significant bipartisan support.

For more details on the language of the bill and its amendments, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-4609-introduced - subscription required.