Two bills offered by U.S. Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) that would bolster the nation’s cybersecurity efforts passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 17, advancing to the U.S. Senate for action.
The House approved the bipartisan Protecting Information by Local Leaders for Agency Resilience (PILLAR) Act, H.R. 5078, and also passed the Strengthening Cyber Resilience Against State-Sponsored Threats Act, H.R. 2659.
If enacted, H.R. 5078 would extend the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program through fiscal year 2035, expand the scope of the program, and impose certain limits on the use of grant funds for the program, which provides grants to states and Indian tribes to address cybersecurity risks to government information systems.
“As sophisticated nation-state adversaries and criminals target our nation’s critical infrastructure and government agencies in cyberspace, it is essential that states and localities have the necessary tools to protect the networks our communities rely on,” Rep. Garbarino said. “We have seen success through efforts such as deploying student-led regional security operations centers in partnership with community colleges to train local cyber talent and providing shared services across the state for end point detection and response capabilities, multi-factor authentication, and cybersecurity trainings, just to name a few.”
The congressman on Sept. 2 signed on as the lead original cosponsor of H.R. 5078 with fellow cosponsor U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA). The bill has been referred for consideration to the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Rep. Garbarino on April 7 also cosponsored H.R. 2659 alongside his GOP colleagues, including U.S. Reps. John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Laurel Lee (R-FL), to create a joint interagency task force to facilitate agency collaboration on efforts to respond to Chinese state-sponsored cyber actors, including Volt Typhoon. The task force must be established and led by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“Now more than ever, it’s critical for the federal government to take a proactive, whole-of-government approach to countering escalating cyber threats from the Chinese Communist Party,” said Rep. Garbarino. “As threats in cyberspace evolve rapidly, I urge the Senate to help send this legislation to President Trump’s desk without delay.”
Rep. Moolenaar added that H.R. 2659 would ensure federal agencies have the resources they need to build a unified and effective response to Chinese-backed cyberattacks.
“As the Chairman of the Select Committee on China, I understand the threats the CCP poses to our cyber space and critical infrastructure,” he said. “This legislation will strengthen our national cybersecurity and give us the ability to more quickly counter threats like Volt Typhoon.”