Bills Introduced – 07-23-19

Yesterday with both the House and Senate in session there were 102 bills introduced. Two of those bills may see future coverage in this blog:

HR 3907 To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish the Insider Threat Program, and for other purposes. Rep. King, Peter T. [R-NY-2] 

S 2234 A bill to establish a consortia of universities to advise the Secretary of Defense on cybersecurity matters, and for other purposes. Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD] 

I will be watching HR 3907 for any requirements for establishing an insider threat program outside of government agencies.

As with the similar sounding bill in the House (HR 3840), I will be watching this bill for any language specifically mentioning control system security.

S 333 Reported in Senate – Cybersecurity Consortia

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee published their report on S 333, National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium Act of 2019. The bill was adopted in Committee without amendment. The bill is now cleared for consideration by the full Senate. That consideration will take place under the Senate unanimous consent process if it does occur. HR 1062, the companion bill in the House, has not yet been considered in Committee.

The only thing of interest in the report is the clarification that the actions that would be authorized by the bill are already being undertaken by the Department of Homeland Security. This may be why Johnson’s Committee was so quick to take up a bill that was not sponsored by Committee members

Bills Introduced – 02-07-19

Yesterday with both the House and Senate in session there were 151 bills introduced. Only three of these may see future coverage in this blog:

HR 1062 To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to work with cybersecurity consortia for training, and for other purposes. Rep. Castro, Joaquin [D-TX-20]

S 406 A bill to establish a Federal rotational cyber workforce program for the Federal cyber workforce. Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI] 

S 429 A bill to require the establishment of exchange programs relating to cybersecurity positions between the private sector and certain Federal agencies, and for other purposes. Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]

These all sound like they may be re-introductions of bills from the 115^th Congress. I will be watching these for control system security language (but probably will not find it).

Bills Introduced – 03-09-17

With both the House and Senate in session, there were 78 bills introduced yesterday. Of those, three may be of specific interest to readers of this blog:

HR 1465 To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to work with cybersecurity consortia for training, and for other purposes. Rep. Castro, Joaquin [D-TX-20]

S 592 A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to support meeting the increasing needs of the United States for a cybersecurity and information assurance workforce by reinvigorating and modifying the Information Assurance Scholarship Program of the Department of Defense, and for other purposes. Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA]

S 594 National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium Act of 2017. Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX]

HR 1465 and S 594 are almost certainly companion bills. I suspect that they will be very similar to HR 4743 and S 3295 that were introduced in the 114^th Congress. HR 4743 passed with a strongly bipartisan vote in the House, but neither bill was taken up in the Senate.

On S 592 it will be interesting to see if there is specific mention of control system security and to see if there are funds authorized for the program.

Bills Introduced – 09-07-16

Yesterday with both the House and Senate in session, 20 bills were introduced. Of those four may be of specific interest to readers of this blog:

HR 5943 To amend the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 to clarify certain allowable uses of funds for public transportation security assistance grants and establish periods of performance for such grants, and for other purposes. Rep. Donovan, Daniel M., Jr. [R-NY-11] 

HR 5944 To amend title 49, United States Code, with respect to certain grant assurances, and for other purposes. Rep. Upton, Fred [R-MI-6]

H Res 847 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives about a national strategy for the Internet of Things to promote economic growth and consumer empowerment. Rep. Lance, Leonard [R-NJ-7]

S 3295 A bill to authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to work with cybersecurity consortia for training, and for other purposes. Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] 

The first two House bills will be of interest here only if they deal with chemical transportation safety or security issues.

H Res 847 may be a companion resolution to S Res 110 introduced last March by Sen. Fischer.

S 3295 may be a companion bill to HR 4743 that was passed in the House with only three dissenting votes.