HR 7569 Passed in House – Energy Security Research

This evening, the House completed action on HR 7569, the Energy Cybersecurity University Leadership Act of 2022. The House debated the bill on Monday under the suspension of the rules process with limited debate; nary a word was heard in opposition to the legislation. At the end of the debate Monday, a vote was demanded, and the House did not take further action until today.

Earlier this afternoon, under provisions of §5 of H.Res.1254 (special dispensation to speed up proceeding to get ready to go home for summer vacation), the House attempted to take up 12 previously debated measures (including HR 7569) en bloc under a voice vote, but yet another recorded vote was demanded. At 6:15 this evening, that vote was completed, and the twelve measures passed by a vote of 336 to 90; less than half of the Republicans voting in opposition.

HR 7569 is unlikely to be taken up in the Senate under regular order, but might get included as part of a larger authorization or spending bill. There is a remote chance that it could get considered under the Senate’s unanimous consent process, but that is a politically fraught process at the best of times.

Committee Hearings – Week of 7-24-22

With the House and Senate in session but preparing to leave on their Summer Recess at the end of the week, there is a relatively light hearing schedule. There is one cybersecurity hearing scheduled in the House.

Cybersecurity Hearing

On Thursday the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics of House Space, Science, and Technology Committee will hold a meeting on “Exploring Cyber Space: Cybersecurity Issues for Civil and Commercial Space Systems”. The witness list includes:

• Theresa Suloway,The MITRE Corporation,

• Matthew Scholl, NIST, and

• Brandon Bailey, The Aerospace Corporation

This discussion could get technical, it will be interesting to see how well the Staff prepares technical questions, and how well the congresscritters understand the answers.

On the Floor in the House

The last week in July is always jam packed with stuff and this week will certainly be interesting. The House is planning on taking up 27 bills under the suspension of the rules process which will mean some late-night votes on Tuesday. Those bills include:

HR 7569 – Energy Cybersecurity University Leadership Act of 2022, and

HR 4551 – RANSOMWARE Act (not covered here)

There are five bills to be considered under rules, but nothing major. They will take up legislative time while the House waits on Senate actions (see below) on HR 4346, and possible  “Consideration of Legislation Related to Public Safety”.

On the Floor in the Senate

The Senate is scheduled to take the final cloture vote on HR 4346 this morning. This would set the bill up for a final vote tomorrow or Wednesday. There was some Republican support on the first cloture vote, but the final vote may be held ransom to some last-minute Republican amendment. We will just have to wait and see.

House Science Committee Approves HR 7569 – Cybersecurity Education

On Tuesday, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee held a business meeting where they considered HR 7569, the Energy Cybersecurity University Leadership Act of 2022. The bill was adopted without amendment by a voice vote. The legislation would require DOE to establish an “Energy Cybersecurity University Leadership Program”.

Once the Committee’s report is prepared, the bill will be cleared for consideration by the full House. The bill would probably be considered under the suspension of the rules process. That means limited debate, no floor amendments, and would require a super majority for passage.

Committee Hearings – Week of 5-15-22

This week, with both the House and Senate in session, there is a very active hearing schedule on both sides of the Hill. FY 2023 budget hearing continue, including Member Day hearings (where congresscritters not on the Appropriations Committee have a chance to plead for their favorite projects). We also have two cybersecurity markups, a health and education cybersecurity hearing, and an emergency response hearing.

Cybersecurity Markups

On Tuesday, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee will hold a business meeting to consider four pieces of legislation. It will include:

• HR 7569, the Energy Cybersecurity University Leadership Act of 2022.

On Wednesday, the Senate Small Business Committee, will hold a business meeting to consider five bills. It will include:

• S 1687, the Small Business Cyber Training Act of 2021

NOTE: I have not followed this bill closely because it deals with cybersecurity training for employees of Small Business Development Center, not small businesses.

Cybersecurity Hearings

On Wednesday the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing on “Cybersecurity in the Health and Education Sectors”. The witness list includes:

• Denise Anderson, Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center,

• Joshua Corman, I Am the Cavalry,

• Amy McLaughlin, Consortium of School Networking, and

• Helen Norris, Chapman University

I do not think that there will be any in depth discussion about medical device cybersecurity issues, but I could be wrong with Corman as a witness.

Emergency Response

On Tuesday, the Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on “Creating a More Resilient Nation: Stakeholder Perspectives”. The witness list will include:

• Chris Currie, GAO,

• Orlando Rolón, Chief of Police, City of Orlando, and

• George Dunlap, Mecklenburg County Commission

I do not think that there will be any specific discussion about response planning for chemical incidents.

On the Floor

There are five cybersecurity bills scheduled for consideration in the House this week under the suspension of the rules process. They include:

HR 5658 – DHS Roles and Responsibilities in Cyber Space Act, as amended,

HR 6824 – President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition Act, as amended,

HR 6825 – Nonprofit Security Grant Program Improvement Act of 2022, as amended,

HR 6868 – Cybersecurity Grants for Schools Act of 2022, as amended, and

S 2520 – State and Local Government Cybersecurity Act of 2021,

Review - HR 7569 Introduced – Energy Cybersecurity Research

Last month, Rep Ross (D,NC) introduced HR 7569, the Energy Cybersecurity University Leadership Act of 2022. After finding that integrating “cybersecurity considerations into the research, design, and development of energy infrastructure represents a cost-effective approach to enhancing the security, resilience, and reliability”, this bill would require DOE to establish an “Energy Cybersecurity University Leadership Program”. No money is authorized by this bill for the program.

Ross and her sole cosponsor {Rep Carey (R,OH)} are both members of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration. While both are first termers, there may be sufficient influence to see the bill considered in Committee. I see nothing that would engender any significant opposition to the legislation. I suspect that the bill would receive significant bipartisan support. The bill could probably be considered on the floor of the House under the suspension of the rules process.

For more details about the provisions of this bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-7569-introduced  - subscription required.