The U.S. House of Representatives recently advanced three homeland security bills to address issues related to the nation’s nuclear, transit and cybersecurity defenses.
All three bills were authored by Rep. Dan Donovan (R-NY) and advanced with bipartisan support.
The Securing Cities Act of 2017 will make the Securing the Cities program, which defends cities against radiological and nuclear attacks. The bill also provides training and equipment to detect radiological materials.
The Transit Security Grant Program Flexibility Act will seek to improve the ability of transit agencies to prevent and respond to terror attacks by improving the Transit Security Grant Program (TSGP) rules. The bill also permits TSGP recipients to use grant funds for additional security training costs and allow more transit agency employees to participate in security drills.
The Cyber Preparedness Act of 2017 will seek to streamline the nation’s cybersecurity procedures to improve cyber-threat information sharing and coordination between federal, state, and local authorities. The bill will also allow representatives from state and urban fusion centers to operate jointly out of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center.
“Your government’s greatest responsibility is to protect the American people,” Donovan said. “We have to be constantly vigilant and ensure that law enforcement officials have the resources necessary to prepare for and respond to terror threats. My bills will bolster nuclear, cyber, and transit defenses, and ultimately make the homeland safer.”