U.S. Senate introduces companion bill to Ratcliffe’s cybersecurity legislation

A U.S. Senate version of the bipartisan Advancing Cybersecurity Diagnostics and Mitigation Act introduced by U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) was unveiled on Sept. 18.

Rep. Ratcliffe said he was grateful that his Texas counterpart, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), took “leadership in the Senate to advance this important legislation that will help ensure our national cybersecurity efforts keep pace with the ever-evolving cyber threat landscape.”

H.R. 6443, introduced by Ratcliffe on July 19, received U.S. House approval on Sept. 4. The bill would amend the Homeland Security Act to direct the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to deploy and operate a continuous diagnostics and mitigation (CDM) program to collect and monitor security data and cybersecurity risks, among other purposes, according to the congressional record summary.

“Codifying the CDM program at DHS will help ensure its ongoing success and improvement as an indispensable cybersecurity tool for protecting our federal networks,” said Rep. Ratcliffe.

Additionally, the proposal would call for the regular deployment of new technologies and the update of existing technologies to improve the CDM program, according to the congressional record.

“Cyberattacks are escalating at an alarming rate, making it vital that our federal agencies have access to programs and tools to help mitigate these risks,” Sen. Cornyn said this week, adding that the bill, if enacted, also would help ensure DHS continues to rely on and evolve the CDM program.

DHS operates the CDM program through its National Protection and Programs Directorate to provide cyber capabilities to continuously monitor the networks of federal agencies.

H.R. 6443 has five cosponsors: U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX), John Katko (R-NY), Dan Donovan (R-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Cedric Richmond (D-LA).