The U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 11 unanimously approved H.R. 3359, the landmark Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2017, sponsored by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.
McCaul, who introduced the legislation July 24, stressed its importance to expanding the protections provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through the creation of a stand-alone operational organization focused on vital cybersecurity and infrastructure security missions.
“With the advancement of technology and our increased dependence on computer networks, nation states, hackers and cybercriminals are finding new ways to attack our cyber infrastructure and expose vulnerabilities,” said McCaul.
H.R. 3359 “will achieve DHS’s goal … [and] strengthen the security of digital America and our nation’s critical infrastructure,” he added.
Specifically, the bill would authorize the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) at DHS by streamlining DHS’s current National Protection and Programs Directorate, which would be redesignated as CISA to better accomplish cybersecurity and infrastructure-protection activities.
Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX), chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection, praised passage of the bill on Monday.
“One of my primary goals as a lawmaker is to be a productive steward of our country’s cybersecurity posture,” Ratcliffe said Dec. 11, which he said stems from his obligation to safeguard Americans.
By authorizing the CISA within DHS, Ratcliffe said, “we’re establishing the structure, the nomenclature and the flexibility we need to ensure we’re successfully achieving this goal.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen also applauded House approval of the legislation and urged the Senate to pass similar legislation. The Senate received the bill on Dec. 12 and referred it to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Pointing to recent events, Nielsen referred to the attempted terrorist attack in New York City on Dec. 11, saying the events clearly illustrate how the nation’s critical infrastructure can be prime targets for adversaries of all types.
“As the threat landscape shifts and becomes more complex, our approach to security must evolve,” she said.
“These serious concerns led me to craft the National Cybersecurity & Critical Infrastructure Protection Act,” McCaul tweeted earlier this week. “We need to encourage and incentivize DHS & the private sector to share and distribute real-time cyber threat information to secure our nation’s cyberspace.”
H.R. 3359 has been a priority of the White House since President Donald Trump took office, Nielsen added, and she plans to continue supporting its passage to become law.
Also on Dec. 11, the House passed H.R. 3669, the Securing General Aviation and Commercial Charter Air Carrier Service Act of 2017, introduced by Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS). The Homeland Security Committee under McCaul’s leadership approved the bill before passage by the House.
Earlier in July, McCaul also shepherded the related Department of Homeland Security Authorization Act Of 2017 to bipartisan passage in the House.
When the reauthorization moves forward and is signed into law, it will mark the first time in 15 years that DHS has been reauthorized.