S 2393 New Sponsor Added – Ag Cyber Clearinghouse

Earlier this week Sen Warnock (D,GA) was added as a co-sponsor for S 2393 [removed from paywall], the Food and Agriculture Industry Cybersecurity Support Act. Warnock is a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration. This means that, were there more time remaining in the session, there could be sufficient influence to see the bill considered in Committee, instead it is unlikely to make a difference.

The bill would require National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to establish a food and agriculture cybersecurity clearinghouse which would include direct support by NTIA to the food and agriculture industry. No funding is authorized by this bill.

This bill is very similar to HR 1219, which was introduced in March. No action has been taken on that bill.

Review - S 2393 Introduced – Ag Cyber Clearinghouse

Last month, Sen Rounds (R,SC) introduced S 2393, the Food and Agriculture Industry Cybersecurity Support Act. The bill would require National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to establish a food and agriculture cybersecurity clearinghouse which would include direct support by NTIA to the food and agriculture industry. No funding is authorized by this bill.

 This bill is very similar to HR 1219 [removed from paywall], which was introduced in March. No action has been taken on that bill.

Moving Forward

Neither Rounds, or his sole cosponsor {Sen Cortez-Maso (D,NV)} are members of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration. This means that there will probably not be sufficient influence to see this bill considered in Committee. I see nothing in this bill that would engender any significant opposition to the legislation. I suspect that there would be some level of bipartisan support for the bill if it were taken up by the Committee.

 

For more information on the differences between this bill and HR 1219, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/s-2393-introduced - subscription required.

Bills Introduced – 7-19-23

Yesterday, with both the House and Senate in session, there were 80 bills introduced. Two of those bills will receive additional coverage in this blog:

S 2388 A bill to amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish a cybersecurity circuit rider program to provide cybersecurity-related technical assistance to certain entities that operate rural water or wastewater systems. Cortez Masto, Catherine [Sen.-D-NV]

S 2393 A bill to establish a food and agriculture cybersecurity clearinghouse in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and for other purposes. Rounds, Mike [Sen.-R-SD] 

Mention in Passing

There were two bills introduced yesterday that I thought might be of interest to political watchers. Sen Ernst (R,IA) and Rep Miller-Meeks (R,IA) respectively introduced S 2373 and H 4744. Each is described as “A bill to establish a minimum temperature for thermostats at the headquarters of the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.” Since the bills are limited to just these two agencies I suspect that this is a political statement rather than an honest attempt to reduce federal energy expenditures.