Bipartisan legislation sponsored by U.S. Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) to bolster national cybersecurity received unanimous U.S. House approval on Nov. 30 in a 391-0 vote.
“I thank my colleagues for coming together in a bipartisan manner … to work toward finally catching our federal government up with the 21st century,” said Rep. Hurd, chairman of the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Information Technology Subcommittee.
The Federal CIO Authorization Act of 2018, H.R. 6901, which Rep. Hurd sponsored on Sept. 26, would reauthorize funding for the role of the federal chief information officer (CIO), who oversees the security for the U.S. government’s digital infrastructure, among several other provisions.
“Every single minute of every single day, hackers are trying to steal Americans’ information. From credit card numbers, to social security numbers, our personal information is targeted by bad actors around the globe. Americans should be able to trust their government to keep their information safe,” the lawmaker said.
Rep. Hurd added that, if enacted, H.R. 6901 would ensure that the vast information stored by the federal government remains “secure from hackers by making clear that the federal CIO is in charge of the security of our data across the government.”
U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL), ranking member of the House IT subcommittee, is an original cosponsor of H.R. 6901, which generally would amend the United States Code to make certain changes relating to electronic government services, among other purposes, according to the text of the measure in the congressional record.
For instance, H.R. 6901 would elevate the federal CIO’s role as a presidential appointee who directly reports to the director of the Office of Management and Budget, according to a summary provided by Hurd’s office.
Additionally, H.R. 6901 would codify the federal chief information security officer (CISO) as a presidential appointee reporting to the federal CIO.
“By codifying and reauthorizing the federal CIO and CISO roles, we will continue streamlining government IT processes,” said Rep. Kelly. “I’m proud to once again to join Chairman Hurd in advancing a bipartisan, commonsense bill that improves government effectiveness, efficiency and responsiveness.”
The U.S. Senate received the bill on Dec. 3 and referred it to the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for consideration.