Rep. Loudermilk Authors Amendment to National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act

On Tuesday, the Committee on Homeland Security unanimously passed bipartisan legislation to improve Cybersecurity by encouraging voluntary information-sharing about cyber threats between the private sector and government. To ensure a greater level of accountability, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) introduced an amendment to the bill, which passed by voice vote and will require all reports made by this act to sunset after seven years of enactment.

“Cyber space is the new battleground for a multitude of adversaries. Foreign nations, international terrorist organizations and organized crime regularly target our citizens, businesses, and government,” said Rep. Loudermilk. “Unlike traditional combat operations, cyber attackers don’t require sophisticated weaponry to carry out their warfare. On the cyber battlefield, a single individual with a laptop computer can wreak havoc on businesses, the economy and our infrastructure.

“Because of the ever changing environment of information technology, the tools, techniques and methodologies used to protect against cyber attacks will evolve within the next few years. To ensure that all reports given to Congress remain pertinent and relevant, my amendment sunsets all reporting requirements after seven years. This will not only force future Congresses to revise and perfect these reporting requirements, but it will save taxpayer dollars by automatically eliminating labor intensive reports that may no longer be relevant.”

H.R. 1731, the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement (NCPA) Act of 2015, was introduced by Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, chairman of the Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies Subcommittee.

A bill summary is available HERE.

A list of amendments and roll call votes is available HERE.