Ratcliffe, Langevin introduce two bills for U.S.-Israel cybersecurity initiatives

U.S. Reps. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) and Jim Langevin (D-RI) introduced two bills on Thursday aimed at strengthening collaborative cybersecurity research and development efforts with Israel.

The first bill, the United States-Israel Cybersecurity Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2016, will create a cybersecurity grant program for joint research and development ventures between Israeli and American entities. The proposals will be tailored to research requirements determined by the secretary of homeland security in conjunction with an advisory board with members from successful U.S.-Israeli partnerships.

The second bill, the United States-Israel Advanced Research Partnership Act of 2016, expands a successful bi-national research and development program at the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency to include cybersecurity technologies.

“Israel is our strongest and most trusted ally in the Middle East, and I’m proud to be partnering with Rep. Langevin on efforts that will grow and strengthen this bond through long-term collaboration on cybersecurity efforts between our countries,” Ratcliffe said. “Our recent discussions with Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed just how important it is that we unite forces to formulate ongoing, effective strategies to best address the rapidly evolving cyber threats faced by both of our nations. After all, cybersecurity is national security, and we must be doing everything we can to fortify ourselves from the very real dangers posed by malicious cyber actors.”