THE DAILY WHIP: THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015

Daily Leader

For Immediate Release:

2015-04-23T00:00:00

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House Meets At:	First Vote Predicted:	Last Vote Predicted:
9:00 a.m.: Legislative Business Five “One Minutes”	12:30 – 1:00 p.m.	1:00 – 1:30 p.m.

Complete Consideration of H.R. 1731 – National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act of 2015 (Rep. McCaul – Homeland Security) (One Hour of Debate). Similar to yesterday’s cyber security bill, this bill is intended to create procedures to promote the voluntary sharing of information about cyber threat intelligence between private companies and with the federal government. The bill would require the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) to create procedures to facilitate and promote the timely sharing of cyber threat indicators with the private sector. It would also expand the NCCIC’s functions to include global cybersecurity with international partners, information sharing across critical infrastructure sectors, the notification to Congress regarding any significant violations of retention or disclosure policies, and notification to the private sector of indicators or defensive measures shared in error.

In order to protect privacy and civil liberties, the measure requires private sector companies to remove all personally identifiable information, limits what information companies can share with the government and requires DHS to do an additional scrub of personal information in submitted data. The bill also prohibits the government from requiring companies to give the government information in exchange for receiving cyber threat intelligence. Further, it would require robust oversight of the NCCIC by the DHS’s Chief Privacy Officer, Chief Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Officer and Inspector General, and the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. Additionally, the bill states that it provides no authority for the U.S. government to conduct any surveillance on individuals. In order to further promote information-sharing by the private sector, the bill provides liability protection for companies that do not engage in “willful misconduct” and choose to protect their networks.

Last Congress, the House passed a similar cyber security bill. This year’s bill includes a number of changes to address the procedures and issues surrounding the voluntary sharing of cyber threat information between private sector companies and the Federal Government. These changes enhance protections for privacy and civil liberties and improve the government’s ability to protect America against foreign cyber threats. Lastly, the White House supports H.R. 1731, and has issued a SAP supporting its passage in the House so that improvements can be made as the legislative process continues.

The Rule, which was adopted yesterday, makes in order 11 amendments, debatable for 10 minutes, equally divided between the offeror and an opponent. The amendments are:

McCaul/Ratcliffe Amendment. Makes technical corrections and further clarifies the provisions of the bill.
Katko/Lofgren/Eshoo/McClintock Amendment. Amends Section 226 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 by refining the definition of cyber ' incident' to explicitly restrict information sharing to incidents that are directly related to protecting information systems.
Langevin Amendment. Clarifies that the term "cybersecurity risk" does not apply to actions solely involving violations of consumer terms of service or consumer licensing agreements.
Jackson-Lee Amendment #1. Ensures that federal agencies supporting cybersecurity efforts of private sector entities remain current on innovation; industry adoption of new technologies; and industry best practices as they relate to industrial control systems.
Castro Amendment. Makes self-assessment tools available to small and medium-sized businesses to determine their level of cybersecurity readiness.
Castro/Cuellar/Doggett/Hurd/Smith (TX) Amendment. Codifies the establishment of the National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium (NCPC) made up of university partners and other stakeholders who proactively coordinate to assist state and local officials in cyber security preparation and prevention of cyberattacks.
Hurd Amendment. Authorizes the existing Einstein 3A (E3A) program, which monitors Internet traffic on federal government networks and automatically neutralizes malicious emails and web content.
Mulvaney Amendment. Sunsets the provisions of the bill after 7 years
Hahn Amendment. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit a report to Congress containing assessments of risks and shortfalls along with recommendations regarding cybersecurity at most at-risk ports.
Jackson-Lee/Polis Amendment #2. Provides for a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report to Congress 5 years after enactment to assess the impact of this act on privacy and civil liberties.
Jackson-Lee Amendment #3. Requires a report to Congress on the best means for aligning federally funded cybersecurity research and development with private sector efforts to protect privacy and civil liberties while assuring security and resilience of the Nation's critical infrastructure.

Bill Text for H.R. 1731:
PDF Version

Background for H.R. 1731:
House Report (HTML Version)
House Report (PDF Version)

The Daily Quote
“Amid the policy fights that followed the Republican victories of 1994, President Bill Clinton and the new majorities in Congress reached one particularly good deal: doubling the budget for the National Institutes of Health. The decision was bipartisan, because health is both a moral and financial issue… Unfortunately, since the end of the five-year effort that roughly doubled the N.I.H. budget by 2003, funding for the institutes has been flat. The N.I.H. budget (about $30 billion last year) has effectively been reduced by more than 20 percent since then. As 92 percent of the N.I.H. budget goes directly to research, one result is that the institutes awarded 12.5 percent fewer grants last year than in 2003… As a conservative myself, I’m often skeptical of government ‘investments.’ But when it comes to breakthroughs that could cure — not just treat — the most expensive diseases, government is unique. It alone can bring the necessary resources to bear. (The federal government funds roughly a third of all medical research in the United States.) And it is ultimately on the hook for the costs of illness. It’s irresponsible and shortsighted, not prudent, to let financing for basic research dwindle.” - Former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, New York Times, 4/22/2015

The Daily Quote

“Amid the policy fights that followed the Republican victories of 1994, President Bill Clinton and the new majorities in Congress reached one particularly good deal: doubling the budget for the National Institutes of Health. The decision was bipartisan, because health is both a moral and financial issue… Unfortunately, since the end of the five-year effort that roughly doubled the N.I.H. budget by 2003, funding for the institutes has been flat. The N.I.H. budget (about $30 billion last year) has effectively been reduced by more than 20 percent since then. As 92 percent of the N.I.H. budget goes directly to research, one result is that the institutes awarded 12.5 percent fewer grants last year than in 2003… As a conservative myself, I’m often skeptical of government ‘investments.’ But when it comes to breakthroughs that could cure — not just treat — the most expensive diseases, government is unique. It alone can bring the necessary resources to bear. (The federal government funds roughly a third of all medical research in the United States.) And it is ultimately on the hook for the costs of illness. It’s irresponsible and shortsighted, not prudent, to let financing for basic research dwindle.”

- Former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, New York Times, 4/22/2015