Review - HR 302 Passes in House – Cybersecurity Research

Yesterday evening, the House took up H 302, the Energy Cybersecurity University Leadership Act of 2023. After 11 minutes of debate under the suspension of the rules process, and a demand for a recorded vote, the House voted 357 to 56 (with 20 absences) to pass the bill. The bill would require DOE to establish an “Energy Cybersecurity University Leadership Program”. No money is authorized by this bill for the program.

Moving Forward

This bill had strong bipartisan support in the House. There is little indication that it would face substantial organized opposition to consideration in the Senate. While there should be more than sufficient votes to close debate in that body, this is a relatively minor bill that is unlikely to take up time in the Senate. There is a possibility that the bill could be considered under the unanimous consent process, but I suspect that it would be held up by lone voices of opposition.

 

For more details about the debate yesterday, including a discussion about the prospects for funding this program should the bill be enacted, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-302-passes-in-house - subscription required.