On Thursday, U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and James Lankford (R-OK) introduced legislation that would establish a comprehensive framework for cybersecurity regulations across the federal government.
The bill, the Streamlining Federal Cybersecurity Regulations Act, seeks to address sometimes conflicting, contradictory cybersecurity compliance requirements by establishing an interagency Harmonization Committee at the office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD).
“In order to properly combat the threat of cyberattacks, federal agencies must have comprehensive, coordinated cyber regulations in place,” Peters, Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said. “My bill will harmonize federal cybersecurity regulations to ensure our government and regulators are working together to address cybersecurity threats in the most effective way.”
Earlier this month, Peters held a hearing to examine the current federal efforts on overlapping cybersecurity standards. During the hearing, witnesses said duplicative and contradictory requirement have a significant impact on businesses, and that Congress needs to act on regulation standardization across infrastructure sectors.
“Bureaucratic red tape shouldn’t get in the way of preventing a cyber-attack, but complicated regulations are making it more difficult to address the major cyber threats facing our national security and critical infrastructure. Harmonizing these efforts will make sure that federal requirements are focused on actually improving security instead of imposing a convoluted set of compliance challenges,” Lankford said.
The legislation will also require the ONCD to develop a framework for aligning cybersecurity and information security regulations, rules and other compliance requirements, while establishing a pilot program to test the framework. If passed, the legislation would require regulatory agencies to consult with the committee before issuing or updating regulations.