Review - HR 4939 Introduced - Grid Security Research and Development

Last month, Rep Bera (D,CA) introduced HR 4939, the Grid Security Research and Development Act. The bill would amend Title VIII, Division Z (the Energy Act of 2020) of the Consolidated Appropriations Act,  2021, inserting 9 new sections in that Title. To support the programs in those new sections the bill would authorize $371 million in FY 2022, increasing to $442 million in FY 2026. The new sections would be:

§8013. Energy sector security research, development, and demonstration program.

§8014. Grid resilience and emergency response.

§8015. Best practices and guidance documents for energy sector cybersecurity research.

§8016. Vulnerability testing and technical assistance to improve cybersecurity.

§8017. Cybersecurity education and workforce training research and standards.

§8018. Interagency coordination and strategic plan for energy sector cybersecurity research.

§8019. Report to Congress.

§8020. Critical infrastructure research and construction.

§8021. Definitions.

Bera and his single cosponsor {Rep Weber (R,TX)} are both members of the House Space, Science, and Technology Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration. This means that there could be enough influence to see the bill considered in Committee. I suspect that there will be some level of bipartisan support for this bill, but I am not sure that it would be sufficient to allow the bill to move to the floor of the House under the suspension of the rules process. I doubt that there is enough solid support for this bill in the leadership to have the bill move to the floor under regular order.

For more detailed description of the programs outlined in this bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-4939-introduced - subscription required.