Review – S 2256 Introduced – FY 2026 ARD Spending

Last week Sen Hoeven (R,ND) introduced S 2256, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (ARD) Appropriations Act, 2026. The Senate Appropriations Committee published their Report on the bill. There is one cybersecurity spending mention in the bill and a separate agricultural cybersecurity discussion in the Report. There is also a UAS utilization discussion in the Report

This bill is similar to S 4690, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025, that was introduced by Sen Heinrich (D,NM) in July, 2024. No action was taken in the Senate on that bill or its House counterpart. The current House version of this legislation is HR 4121, no action has been taken on that bill to date.

Moving Forward

As with any Senate drafted spending bill, this bill will almost certainly not be considered on the floor of the Senate. Instead, if/when HR 4121 is considered in the Senate, the language of the this bill will be offered as substitute language that would subsequently be amended in floor debate and votes. If the revised version of passes in the Senate, a conference committee would be established to work out the differences between the two bills.

 

For more information about the cybersecurity and UAS provisions of this bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/s-2256-introduced-fy-2026-ard-spending - subscription required.

Review - S 4690 Introduced – FY 2025 ARD Spending

Last month, Sen Heinrich (D,NM) introduce S 4690, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies spending bill. The Senate Appropriations Committee published their Report for the legislation. The bill includes one cybersecurity mention, and the Report includes one cybersecurity discussion.

The House version of this bill is HR 9027. The House Appropriations Committee ordered the bill reported favorably, but no other action has been taken in the House.

Moving Forward

Because of constitutional issues, the Senate waits for the House to pass spending bills. When the bill is subsequently considered by the Senate, one of the first actions taken is the offering of an amendment in the form of a substitute which substitutes the language from the related Senate bill for the language of the House bill. From there, the Senate amends and votes on the revised Senate language.

Unfortunately, it looks like the House is not going to consider HR 9027 this year. That means that this bill is effectively dead-on arrival through no fault or design of the Senate.

 

For more information on the cybersecurity provision in the bill and in the report, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/s-4690-introduced - subscription required.

Bills Introduced – 7-11-24

With both the House and Senate in Washington (and the House leaving for a district week), there were 106 bills introduced yesterday. Ten of those bills may receive additional coverage in this blog:

HR 8996 To enhance safety requirements for trains transporting hazardous materials, and for other purposes. Nehls, Troy E. [Rep.-R-TX-22]

HR 8997 Making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, and for other purposes. Fleischmann, Charles J. "Chuck" [Rep.-R-TN-3]

HR 8998 Making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, and for other purposes. Simpson, Michael K. [Rep.-R-ID-2]

HR 9026 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025 Rogers, Harold [Rep.-R-KY-5]

S 4677 An original bill making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, and for other purposes. Sinema, Kyrsten [Sen.-I-AZ]

S 4678 An original bill making appropriations for the Legislative Branch for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, and for other purposes. Reed, Jack [Sen.-D-RI] 

S 4690 An original bill making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, and for other purposes. Heinrich, Martin [Sen.-D-NM]

S 4697 A bill to enhance the cybersecurity of the Healthcare and Public Health Sector. Rosen, Jacky [Sen.-D-NV]

S 4715 A bill to require the National Cyber Director to submit to Congress a plan to establish an institute within the Federal Government to serve as a centralized resource and training center for Federal cyber workforce development. Rounds, Mike [Sen.-R-SD]

S 4719 A bill to provide the Secretary of Energy with the authority to enter into contracts and cooperative agreements to improve the security and resilience of defense critical electric infrastructure and reduce the vulnerability of critical defense facilities to the disruption of the supply of energy to those facilities, and for other purposes. Cortez Masto, Catherine [Sen.-D-NV]

I will be covering the six spending bills (HR 8997, HR 8998, HR 9026, S 4677, S 4678, and S 4690).

I will be covering HR 8996, S 4715, and S 4719.

I will be watching S 4697 for language and definitions that would specifically include medical devices and other operational technologies used in the healthcare sector.