The House Homeland Security Committee advanced three bills designed to improve cybersecurity.
The three bills are the CISA Director Reform Act (H.R. 5679), introduced by Rep. John Katko (R-NY); the Transportation Security Transparency Improvement Act CISA Director Reform Act (H.R. 5670), introduced by Rep. Dan Bishop’s (R-NC); and the Privacy Office Enhancement Act (H.R. 5678), introduced by Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ).
It is all part of a legislative package put forth by committee Republicans called the American Security Agenda, which seeks to combat new and evolving threats. The agenda is designed to provide DHS and its state, local, and private sector partners with the resources to deter acts of terrorism. It also seeks to reform DHS structure and management to ensure it’s positioned to combat threats.
“I applaud the House Homeland Security Committee for approving the CISA Director Reform Act, bipartisan legislation I introduced which aims to empower the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) by creating consistency and stability within the agency,” Katko said. “By establishing a set term limit of 5 years for the CISA Director position, my legislation will improve efficiency at the agency and provide certainty outside of the ad hoc appointments and varying term lengths that are currently in place. While this legislation takes the important step of instilling stability in CISA, I believe we must do more to further empower this agency.”