This report provides a snapshot of the US Executive Branch priorities via daily schedules and the prior day’s press releases. POTUS’ Schedule* 9:50 a.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT receive the President’s Daily Brief | Oval Office 11:00 a.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT attends and delivers remarks at the funeral ceremony of … Continue Reading
Executive Branch Activity U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity Dashboard The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to begin using a new dashboard in January 2015 that will display real-time visual data of the cybersecurity status of federal networks. The dashboard is part of DHS’s cybersecurity efforts through its Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM), … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity CFATS Bill Advances On April 30, the House Homeland Security Committee reported out of committee by voice vote Rep. James Meehan’s (R-PA) Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Program Authorization and Accountability Act (CFATS) of 2014 (H.R. 4007). This bill would provide multi-year funding for DHS’s chemical facility security program, insure that the Department of … Continue Reading
Executive Branch Activity U.S. Department of Defense Network Breach Reporting Regulations The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is expected to release draft regulations this summer that would require defense contractors to report network and information system penetrations within a specified amount of time. As part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013, DOD was … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Renewed Call for Improved Airport Perimeter Security After a 15-year-old California boy survived a five-and-a-half hour stowaway trip last week, Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA) resubmitted a request sent in February by some of his fellow House Homeland Security Committee members to the Government Accountability Office to perform a review of airport perimeter security … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Passes Coast Guard Reauthorization On April 1, the House of Representatives passed by voice vote the Howard Coble Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2014 (H.R. 4005), which was introduced by House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-CA). This bill would authorize $17.5 … Continue Reading
Legislative Branch Activity Cybersecurity Legislation At a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) hearing last week, Ranking Member Tom Coburn (R-OK) announced that the committee is working on legislation that will give the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the authority to hire more cybersecurity professionals. Ranking Member Coburn stated that the committee will … Continue Reading
Legislative Branch Activity Upcoming Hearings: Wednesday, March 26: The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing at 10:00 am titled “Strengthening Public-Private Partnerships to Reduce Cyber Risks to Our Nation’s Critical Infrastructure.” Wednesday, March 26: The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will hold a hearing at 2:30 pm titled “Protecting Personal … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity DHS Names Acting ICE Leader Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson has announced that Deputy Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Thomas Winkowski – who most recently served as acting director of CBP – will become the acting principal deputy assistant director of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), where he will … Continue Reading
Legislative Branch Activity Upcoming Hearings: Tuesday, March 11: The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing to consider the nomination of Navy Vice Admiral Michael S. Rogers to be Admiral and Director of the National Security Agency, Chief of the Central Security Services, and Commander of U.S. Cyber Command. In addition, the Committee will … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity OMB Releases DHS FY 2015 Budget Request On March 5, the Office of Management and Budget released President Barack Obama’s FY 2015 Budget Request, which recommends $38.2 billion in funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), approximately $1 billion less overall than the level of funding appropriated to the agency under … Continue Reading
Legislative Branch Activity Upcoming Hearings: Tuesday, March 4: The House Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Technology and Subcommittee on Oversight will host a joint hearing titled “Can Technology Protect Americans from International Cybercriminals?” Dr. Charles Romine, Director of the Information Technology Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will be a … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity DHS Secretary Johnson Sets Agency Priorities On February 26, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson appeared before the House Homeland Security Committee to discuss DHS operations and his priorities for the agency. In response to concerns from privacy-minded lawmakers, he stated that he might scale back loans of Customs and Border … Continue Reading
Legislative Branch Activity Upcoming Hearings: Tuesday, February 25: The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee will hold a hearing titled “Reauthorizing TRIA (Terrorism Risk Insurance Act): The State of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Market, Part II.” Thursday, February 27: The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing to examine the U.S. Strategic Command and … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Authorization Bill The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies will hold a hearing to discuss the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Authorization and Accountability Act of 2014 (H.R. 4007) on Thursday, February 26. This bill, introduced by Subcommittee Chairman Patrick Meehan (R-PA), would provide a … Continue Reading
Legislative Branch Activity Data Breach Issues Last week, three Congressional Committees – the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, and the Senate Judiciary Committee – held hearings that explored the recent data breaches at Target and Neiman Marcus that compromised the financial data for millions of customers. Officials from … Continue Reading
Legislative Branch Activity Data Breach This week, several Congressional Committees will hold a number of hearings focused on the recent data breaches at Target, Neiman Marcus and other large companies that compromised the financial information of millions of customers. The hearings will focus on how to prevent future data breaches and the appropriate course of … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Cybersecurity Legislation The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies Committee plans to move forward on its cybersecurity bill this week, with plans to follow-up in full committee in the near future. H.R. 3696, the “National Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection Act of 2013” is a bipartisan bill designed … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Homeland Security Nominations The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee held a nomination hearing for President Barack Obama’s nominee to become the next Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), John Roth. Both Majority and Minority Members of the committee expressed support for Roth’s nomination and along with continued … Continue Reading
Legislative Branch Activity Data Security Hearing After hackers were able to access the credit and debit card data of nearly 40 million Target customers last month, Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mark Warner (D-VA) sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee calling for Congressional … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Homeland Security Nominations President Barack Obama has announced his intention to nominate two more officials to fill senior homeland security positions. First, he will nominate Leon Rodriguez to serve as Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Rodriguez is currently the Director of the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Cybersecurity Legislation Last week, the House Homeland Security Committee approved two cybersecurity bills by a voice vote – the Critical Infrastructure Research and Development Advancement Act of 2013 (H.R. 2952) and the Homeland Security Cybersecurity Boots-on-the-Ground Act (H.R. 3107). It is unclear how quickly these bills will be considered on the House floor, … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senator Threatens to Hold Jeh Johnson Nomination President Barack Obama has nominated former Department of Defense Chief Counsel Jeh Johnson to serve as the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). However, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has announced that he plans to block all new nominees until the State Department gives … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Jeh Johnson Nominated for DHS Secretary President Barack Obama has nominated former U.S. Department of Defense General Counsel Jeh Johnson to serve as the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The position has been empty since former Secretary Janet Napolitano stepped down on September 6, and the vacancy has drawn … Continue Reading
