Review – S 3404 Introduced – Satellite Cybersecurity

Last month Sen Peters (D,MI) introduced S 3404, the Satellite Cybersecurity Act of 2025. The bill would require the GAO to publish a report on government actions to support cybersecurity of commercial satellite systems. It also outlines new responsibilities for the Department of Commerce (DOC) on satellite cybersecurity. No new funding is authorized by this legislation.

This bill is very similar to S 1425, the Satellite Cybersecurity Act, that was introduced by Peters in May 2023. The Senate Homeland Security Committee held a business meeting on May 17^th, 2023, where this bill was considered. The bill was ordered favorably reported and the Committee Report was published on September 5^th, 2023. No further action was taken in the Senate.

There are two significant differences between the two bills. First, S 3404 changes the definitions in Section 3. S 3404 removes two definitions; ‘Director’ and ‘Sector Risk Management Agency’. It also adds the definition of the term ‘appropriate congressional committee’. The later change obviates the need for naming these committees in various places in the bill. The deleted definitions relate to the other, more significant change, a change in the agency, from CISA to DOC, responsible for the cybersecurity responsibilities outlined in this bill.

Moving Forward

Peters is a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. This means that there may be sufficient influence to see the bill considered in Committee. I see nothing in this bill that would engender organized opposition, and I would suspect the bill would receive the same level of bipartisan support that S 1425 received in the 118^th Congress. Unfortunately, I do not think that the bill is politically important enough to take up the Senate’s time if it were to be considered under regular order.

 

For more information on the provisions of the bill, including a commentary on why the responsible agency was changed, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/s-3404-introduced-satellite-cybersecurity - subscription required.

Review - S 1425 Reported in Senate – Satellite Cybersecurity

Last month, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee published their Report on S 1425 [removed from paywall], the Satellite Cybersecurity Act. The Committee held a business meeting of May 17^th, 2023, where the bill was considered. They approved substitute language for the bill and in a unanimous vote, recommended the amended bill favorably.

The bill would require the GAO to publish a report on government actions to support cybersecurity of commercial satellite systems. It also outlines new responsibilities for CISA on satellite cybersecurity. No new funding is authorized by this legislation. Nothing in the revised language would change those requirements.

Moving Forward

The strong bipartisan support for this bill in Committee would certainly be reflected in a vote in the Senate if this bill were considered in regular order. Unfortunately, the bill is not politically important enough for the Senate to take up its limited time in that consideration process. This bill could be a candidate for consideration under the Senate’s unanimous consent process, but that is an iffy process at best, with bills being offered under those provisions frequently being stymied by a lone Senator making a point often having nothing to do with the bill. There is a possibility of the language being included in a piece of ‘must pass’ legislation like a spending or authorization bill.

 

For more details about the revisions made to the bill and the information included in the Committee Report, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/s-1425-reported-in-senate - subscription required.

Review - S 1425 Introduced – Satellite Cybersecurity

Earlier this month, Sen Peters (D,MI) introduced S 1425, the Satellite Cybersecurity Act. The bill would require the GAO to publish a report on government actions to support cybersecurity of commercial satellite systems. It also outlines new responsibilities for CISA on satellite cybersecurity. No new funding is authorized by this legislation.

This bill is very similar to S 3511 introduced in the last session by Peters. That bill passed (removed from paywall) in Committee but was not taken up by the Senate.

Moving Forward

As I mentioned earlier, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will take up S 1425 (along with 14 other bills) in a business meeting on Wednesday. This typically means that there is at least some bipartisan support for the measure, though amendments may be offered to improve the bill. I suspect that there will be substantial bipartisan support for the bill.

It is unlikely that the bill would be considered in the Senate under regular order, that process is just too time consuming. There is a chance that it could be considered under the unanimous consent process, but that is just too fraught with potential for unrelated political concerns to interfere with the process. I suspect that this is a prime candidate to be included in some must pass spending or authorization bill.

 

For more details about the provisions of the bill, including a commentary about the importance of legislative definitions, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/s-1425-introduced - subscription required.

Bills Introduced – 5-3-23

Yesterday, with just the Senate in session, there were 33 bills introduced. Two of those bills may receive additional attention in this blog:

S 1416 A bill to provide guidance for and investment in the upgrade and modernization of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio All Hazards Network, and for other purposes. Cantwell, Maria [Sen.-D-WA]

S 1425 A bill to require a report on Federal support to the cybersecurity of commercial satellite systems, and for other purposes. Peters, Gary C. [Sen.-D-MI]

I will be watching S 1416 for definitions and language that would include cybersecurity provisions within the scope of the new guidance.

I will be covering S 1425.

I would like to mention in passing four bills introduced by Sen Lummis (R,WY): S 1427, S1429, S1430, S1432, and S1433. All four of these bills have the same, identical description: “A bill to exempt certain entities from liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 with respect to releases of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and for other purposes.” 

While these could be four slightly different versions of the same bill to see what would be legislatively acceptable (a tactic frequently used with amendments for major bills), I suspect (cannot tell for sure until the actual text is published), that this is some sort of administrative glitch that saw the same bill recorded four times. In any case, I am not going to follow these bills, but I enjoy pointing out legislative oddities.