Review - HR 4549 Introduced – FY 2022 EWR Spending

Last month, Rep Kaptur (D,OH) introduced HR 4549, the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies (EWR) Appropriations Act, 2022. The House Appropriations Committee marked-up the bill before it was introduced. The Committee Report on the bill is also available. The only mention of cybersecurity in the bill refers to the funding of the DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response on page 27. The Committee sets funding for five programs under CESER in the Report.

I do not expect that this bill will make it to the floor of the House as a standalone bill. I am pretty sure that we are going to see what has become the standard for spending bill consideration again this year. There will be a continuing resolution before midnight on September 30^th moving the deadline for a combined spending bill until sometime in December. If the Democrats get their larger infrastructure bill passed, there will be little need for them to try to force through spending measures that the Republicans will not accept. They should be able to craft a bill that would allow 10 Republicans in the Senate to vote yeah.

If that infrastructure bill fails, the fight could get ugly this year.

 

For more details about the cybersecurity provisions in the bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-4549-introduced - subscription required.

Bills Introduced – 7-20-21

Yesterday, with both the House and Senate in Washington, there were 73 bills introduced. Three of those bills may receive additional coverage in this blog:

HR 4549 Making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022, and for other purposes. Rep. Kaptur, Marcy [D-OH-9]

HR 4550 Making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022, and for other purposes. Rep. Price, David E. [D-NC-4]

HR 4551 To amend the U.S. SAFE WEB Act of 2006 to provide for reporting with respect to cross-border complaints involving ransomware or other cyber-related attacks, and for other purposes. Rep. Bilirakis, Gus M. [R-FL-12]

I will be following the two spending bills (as is normal here). GPO has published the text of the bills, but I am waiting on the publication of the Committee Reports before I review these two bills. As I mentioned the other day, both of these bills are currently slated to be combined in the first mini-bus next week.

I will be watching HR 4551 for language and definitions that would tend to include industrial control systems within the coverage of the legislation.