Review - HR 7174 Amended and Adopted in Committee – Cyber Forensics Institute

Yesterday, the House Homeland Security Committee held a business meeting where five DHS related bills were considered, including HR 7174, the National Computer Forensics Institute Reauthorization Act of 2022. Rep Slotkin (D,MI) proposed substitute language and Rep Thompson (D,MS) introduced a brief amendment to that language. The Committee adopted both by voice votes.

The amendments approved by the Committee yesterday do not make any substantive changes to the bill. The bill would still reauthorize the Secret Service’s NCFI through 2032 and expand the scope of responsibilities for the Institute. It would make several changes to 6 USC 383, including adding a list of definitions of key terms. The bill does not include authorization for expenditures to support these changes.

The broad bipartisan support for the bill in Committee essentially ensures that the bill will be considered under the suspension of the rules process. Once the Committee publishes their report on the bill, the bill will be cleared for consideration by the full House.