H Res 195 Introduced – Sense of Congress on IOT

Yesterday Rep. Lance (R,NJ) introduced H Res 195. This is a Sense of Congress resolution that describes the benefits of the expanded use of the internet of things (IOT) and resolves to foster the additional development of the technology.

In most ways this is similar to S Res 110 passed last month in the Senate. There are two major and one minor differences between the two resolutions. First the minor; the Senate version resolves “to incentivize the development of the Internet of Things” while the House version resolves “to encourage the development of the Internet of Things”. The first would cost money (probably in tax breaks); the second only hoorah cheers from the legislative sidelines.

The Lance version of the resolution adds an additional ‘whereas’ in the description of the benefits of IOT:

“Whereas the Internet of Things, through augmented data collection and process analyses, optimizes energy consumption by increasing energy efficiency and reducing usage and demand;”

Fortunately congressional rules do not require documentation to support their allegation of facts in these Sense of Congress resolutions. They only need to not raise serious objections from potential opponents.

Lance’s paean to IOT sings the same verses as Sen. Fischer, but he adds another to address my (I’m a blogger, I can make unsubstantiated claims as well as a congresscritter) complaints about Fischer’s failure to address cybersecurity issues:

“(5) to further innovation, economic growth, and ensure cybersecurity, the United States should only address discrete harms in the Internet of Things marketplace when identified pursuant to cost-benefit analysis revealing that governmental action is necessary;”

This is a Sense of Congress resolution not a piece of real legislation so I can hardly fault Lance for not proposing a specific regulatory scheme or even a legislative agenda to specifically address cybersecurity concerns about IOT. It would have been nice if he had exhorted IOT developers to include basic cybersecurity developmental tools in their crafting of IOT devices and software. Or at least expressed concerns about protecting privacy.

It will be interesting to see if Lance has enough pull in the Energy and Commerce Committee (he is a middle ranking member of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee) to see the bill moved to the floor of the House. If it does, it will almost certainly pass as it contains no politically objectionable language.

Bills Introduced – 04-13-15

The first day back in session and 55 bills are introduced. Seven of those may be of specific interest to readers of this blog:

HR 1731 To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to enhance multi-directional sharing of information related to cybersecurity risks and strengthen privacy and civil liberties protections, and for other... Rep. McCaul, Michael T. [R-TX-10]

HR 1735 To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2016 for military activities of the Department of Defense and for military construction, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year.. Rep. Thornberry, Mac [R-TX-13] 

HR 1738 To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to modernize and implement the national integrated public alert and warning system to disseminate homeland... Rep. Bilirakis, Gus M. [R-FL-12]

HR 1753 To establish a National Office for Cyberspace, and for other purposes. Rep. Langevin, James R. [D-RI-2]

HR 1763 To provide for the minimum size of crews of freight trains, and for other purposes Rep. Young, Don [R-AK-At Large]

H Res 195 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 902 A bill to prohibit trespassing on critical infrastructure used in or affecting interstate commerce to commit a criminal offense. Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]

HR 1731 is the new cybersecurity information sharing bill that is being marked up by the House Homeland Security Committee today.

HR 1735, the DOD spending bill, may contain cybersecurity language; we’ll see. This is one of the earliest spending bill introductions that I remember. We may actually see at least some of these passed before the start of the fiscal year.

HR 1738 is the second bill to address the national alerting system introduced this year. The first, HR 1472 is being marked up tomorrow. Unless something odd happens with either of these bills this will be the last time that they are mentioned.

HR 1753 could be interesting or it could be a bust. I’ll have to wait until I see the actual language to see if there is something specifically addressing control system security.

HR 1763 is a train safety issue. Unless the bill includes some specific mention of crude oil trains or hazmat shipments this will be the last mention here.

H Res 195 looks like it may be a response to S Res 110 that I lambasted when it was introduced. I’ll have more on this resolution later today.

S 902 looks like it is a re-issue of S 2934 that was introduced late in the last session of Congress. It was issued so late that I never really took a look at it. I’ll have to wait and see what it actually says before I decide to continue to cover it.