The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday took a significant step toward reauthorizing two key cybersecurity programs.
The newly released draft of the House’s temporary government-funding bill includes language reauthorizing both the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act and the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program. Both programs are set to expire on Sept. 30 unless lawmakers renew them.
The CISA law has received widespread support from cybersecurity experts and industry groups that describe it as essential for encouraging businesses to share cyber threat data with one another and the government. Trump administration officials have also endorsed its renewal.
“Without the protections codified by this statute, businesses may be less willing to share cyber threat information for fear of legal exposure,” a coalition of financial, energy, tech and operational technology trade groups warned congressional leaders on Sept. 4. “Any chilling effect on this information exchange directly benefits the nation-state attackers and cybercriminals seeking to degrade U.S. economic and national security interests.”
The local cybersecurity grant program, meanwhile, has helped many states and cities overhaul their cyber defenses, and local government associations have urged Congress to extend its funding. Lawmakers are debating how much more money to give the program.
On Sept. 2, tech-industry groups told Congress that the grants were one of the best ways to help cash-strapped states repel sophisticated nation-state attackers. They urged lawmakers to renew the program “without delay” and suggested a two-year $4.5 billion infusion.
“Without continued funding, hard-won progress will stall, and communities across the country will be left vulnerable,” they wrote, “handing our adversaries a dangerous advantage.”
Different House and Senate CISA bills
The inclusion of both programs in the stopgap spending bill is a promising sign for supporters of both initiatives, given that Congress must pass the legislation to avoid a government shutdown. But the bill’s fate still remains uncertain amid broader policy disputes between Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill.
Meanwhile, the homeland-security committees in both the House and the Senate have been working on individual bills to reauthorize CISA. The House panel approved its bill during a Sept. 3 meeting, while the Senate panel will discuss its more controversial version during a meeting on Thursday.
The House committee also approved a bill to renew the grant program during the Sept. 3 meeting; the Senate committee has not yet acted to reauthorize the program.
