House Passes HR 1766 – NTIA Cybersecurity Office

This afternoon the House took up HR 1766, the NTIA Policy and Cybersecurity Coordination Act, under the suspension of the rules process. After five minutes of debate the House passed the bill by a voice vote.

The bill would transform the current NTIA Office of Policy Analysis and Development (OPAD) into the Office of Policy and Cybersecurity Coordination.

The bill now moves to the Senate where its future is uncertain at best. While there should also be bipartisan support in that body, the bill is not politically important enough to be considered under regular order, a time-consuming process at best. This leaves two paths to passage in the Senate; considering under the unanimous consent process (but that process is fraught with potential opposition due to political issues unrelated to this bill) or adding the language of the bill to another bill that would be important enough to take up under regular order.

House Passes HR 1709 – Mobile Service Cybersecurity

This afternoon the House took up HR 1709, the Understanding Cybersecurity of Mobile Networks Act, under the suspension of the rules process. After eight minutes of debate a recorded vote was demanded. Later this evening that vote took place and the bill passed by a strongly bipartisan vote of 360 to 10 (61 members not voting).

The bill would require the Department of Commerce to prepare a report to Congress that examines “the cybersecurity of mobile service networks and the vulnerability of such networks and mobile devices to cyberattacks and surveillance conducted by adversaries.” No new money is authorized by this bill.

The bill now moves to the Senate where its future is uncertain at best. While there should also be bipartisan support in that body, the bill is not politically important enough to be considered under regular order, a time-consuming process at best. This leaves two paths to passage in the Senate; considering under the unanimous consent process (but the 10 Republican votes against the bill in the House would suggest that there should be two or three Senators that would object to the bill and thus kill the consideration under this process), or add the language of the bill to another bill that would be important enough to take up under regular order.

Review – HR 1709 Introduced – Mobile Cybersecurity Report

Last month, Rep Landsman (D,OH) introduced HR 1709, the Understanding Cybersecurity of Mobile Networks Act.  The bill would require the Department of Commerce to prepare a report to Congress that examines “the cybersecurity of mobile service networks and the vulnerability of such networks and mobile devices to cyberattacks and surveillance conducted by adversaries.” No new money is authorized by this bill.

This bill is essentially identical to the version of HR 1123 that was passed in the 118^th Congress. That bill was introduced by Rep Eshoo (D,CA) in February of 2023. The bill was considered in the House without being acted upon by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The bill was considered under the suspension of the rules and passed on March 7^th, 2023 and passed by a bipartisan vote of 393 to 22.

Moving Forward

The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a business meeting on March 4^th, 2025, to consider eleven bills, including HR 1709. This bill was ordered reported favorably (without amendment) by a voice vote. Once the report is published, the bill would be cleared for consideration by the whole House. The bill would almost certainly be considered under the suspension of the rules process (limited debate, no floor amendments, and a supermajority would be required for passage).

 

For more information on the provisions of this bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-1709-introduced - subscription required.

Review - Bills Introduced – 2-27-25

Yesterday, with both the House and Senate preparing to leave for a three-day weekend, there were 189 bills introduced. Two of those bills may receive additional attention in this blog:

HR 1709 To direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to submit to Congress a report examining the cybersecurity of mobile service networks, and for other purposes. Landsman, Greg [Rep.-D-OH-1]

HR 1736 To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct annual assessments on terrorism threats to the United States posed by terrorist organizations utilizing generative artificial intelligence applications, and for other purposes. Pfluger, August [Rep.-R-TX-11]

 

For more information on these bills, including legislative history for similar bills in the 118th, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/bills-introduced-2-27-25 - subscription required.