Review – Committee Hearings – Week of 11-16-25

With both the House and Senate in session this week (the first time that both were in Washington at the same time since the last week in September), there is a moderately busy hearing schedule. The Senate continues to concentrate on nominations (see the Washington Post nomination tracking page), while the House catches up on a host of talking point hearings. There is an aggressive list of bills to be considered on the floor of the House, both under suspension and under rules.

On the Floor

Today the House will begin consideration of eight bills under the suspension of the rules process with another nine scheduled for tomorrow. Bills of potential interest here include:

HR 2659 – Strengthening Cyber Resilience Against State-Sponsored Threats Act,

HR 5078 – PILLAR Act, as amended, and

HR 5062 – Pipeline Security Act

 

For more information on these hearings, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/committee-hearings-week-of-11-16 - subscription required.

Review – HR 5062 Introduced – Pipeline Security

Last month Rep Johnson (D,TX) introduced HR 5062, the Pipeline Security Act. The bill would amend the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 by adding a new §1559, Pipeline Security. It would require the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to take actions to regulate the cybersecurity protection of hazardous material pipelines. No new funding is authorized.

The bill is similar in intent to HR 9469, the Pipeline Security Act, that was introduced by Rep Garcia (D,CA) in September 2024. The House Homeland Security Committee held a business meeting on September 25^th, 2024 where the bill was considered. The bill was amended and passed on a voice vote. No report was published nor was a revised version of the bill published. No further action was taken in the House. The earlier bill would have amended 49 USC 114 to specifically add pipeline cybersecurity to the list of responsibilities of the Transportation Security Administration.

Moving Forward

On September 3^rd, 2025 the House Homeland Security Committee held a business meeting that included the consideration of HR 5062. By a vote of 22 to 0 the Committee, the bill was ordered reported favorably without amendment. That bipartisan support would indicate that the bill could be considered in the House under the suspension of the rules process, where the bill should pass with significant bipartisan support.

Commentary

The reality is that this bill is going to codify responsibility for actions that TSA is already taking. Bills such as this, however, are important in that they provide a legal backstop for charges that the agency has exceeded its authority. The current authority under 49 USC 114 is broadly written and could be argued to support the agency’s security directives and current rulemaking process.

 

For more information on the provisions of this bill, including additional commentary, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-5062-introduced-pipeline-security - subscription required.

Review - Bills Introduced – 8-29-25

Yesterday, with the House and Senate meeting in the last pro forma session of the summer recess, there were 23 bills introduced. Two of those bills will receive additional coverage in this blog:

HR 5061 Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act Garbarino, Andrew R. [Rep.-R-NY-2] 

HR 5062 Pipeline Security Act Johnson, Julie [Rep.-D-TX-32]

 

For more information on these bills, including legislative history for similar bills in the 118th, as well as a mention in passing of a bill providing for UAP whistleblower protections, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/bills-introduced-8-29-25 - subscription required.