Cybersecurity strengthening measure gains House advancement

House lawmakers recently advanced the Federal CIO Authorization Act of 2018, which officials said strengthens national cybersecurity by elevating and reauthorizing the role of the Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO).

House IT Subcommittee Chair Will Hurd (R-TX) and Ranking Member Robin Kelly (D-IL) introduced the bill, which seeks to aid CIOs in overseeing digital infrastructure security across the federal government.

“Every single minute of every single day, hackers are trying to steal Americans’ information,” Hurd said. “From credit card numbers to social security numbers, our personal information is targeted by bad actors around the globe. Americans should be able to trust their government to keep their information safe. This bill helps keep the vast information stored by the federal government secure from hackers by making clear that the Federal CIO is in charge of the security of our data across the government.”

The legislators said the bill elevates the Federal CIO’s role as a Presidential appointee who directly reports to Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and
codifies the Federal Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) as a Presidential appointee reporting to the Federal CIO. It will also direct the Federal CIO to submit a proposal to Congress for consolidating and streamlining IT across federal agencies and reauthorize and rename the Office of E-Government as the Office of the Federal Chief Information Officer.

“By codifying and reauthorizing the federal CIO and CISO roles, we will continue streamlining government IT processes,” Kelly said. “This effort is part of our larger push to finally bring government into the 21st century. Our subcommittee has always been focused on real, bipartisan solutions that work. As Democrats assume control of the House, this commitment to a bipartisan federal tech policy must and will continue.”