With the turn of the year, France took over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), following Slovenia. The Council consists of a representative of each Member State at ministerial level and is the EU co-legislator together with the European Parliament. While it is the European Commission, EU executive, that has the … Continue Reading
This report provides a snapshot of the US Executive Branch priorities via daily schedules and the prior day’s press releases. POTUS’ Schedule* 12:30 p.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT has lunch with the Vice President | Private Dining Room 2:30 p.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT participates in a roundtable on Fighting for America’s Seniors | Cabinet … Continue Reading
The European Commission (i.e. the European Union’s Executive Body) has started a new 5-year political mandate on 1 December 2019 under the leadership of its new President, the German Ursula von der Leyen. Three overarching priorities are woven into the EC policy agenda until 2024: (1) sustainability/climate neutrality (under the new European Green Deal), (2) … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity US/Europe Energy Relations On Thursday, November 5, the U.S. House of Representatives and the European Parliament will jointly discuss energy security issues. The House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Energy and Power will hold an “Energy Security Roundtable” with European members of the Transatlantic Legislators’ Dialogue. The event will be co-chaired by … Continue Reading
Legislative Branch Activity Cybersecurity Legislation Last week, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson offered some encouraging news to cybersecurity stakeholders in comments at the Reuters Cybersecurity Summit, noting that he believes that Congress is likely to agree on cybersecurity legislation this summer. While he did not comment on any of the specific bills … Continue Reading
Legislative Branch Activity Senate Information Sharing Legislation Last week, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) issued a statement noting their progress on a draft cybersecurity information sharing bill that they have been working on since last year. In the statement, they noted that they have reached an agreement … 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 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: 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 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 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 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 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 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 This Week’s Hearings: Wednesday, November 13: The House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing at 10:00 am titled “Cyber Side-Effects: How Secure is the Personal Information Entered into the Flawed Healthcare.gov?” Thursday, November 14: At 10:00 am, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing regarding threats to … 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 Cybersecurity Legislation After postponing a previously scheduled markup due to the government shutdown, the House Homeland Security Committee plans to mark up 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) on Thursday, October 24 at 9:00 am. The bills were … 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
Legislative Activity Cybersecurity Legislation Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) stated that the committee is close to introducing a cybersecurity information sharing bill that will be the Senate equivalent of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act that the House passed in April. The bill would establish a mechanism within the Department of … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Impact of Government Shutdown on DHS The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) retained more staff than other agencies because many of its operations cover fields deemed “essential,” such as law enforcement and national security. However, DHS officials still report increased challenges due to the overall impact of the shutdown. In response, House … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Cybersecurity Legislation Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced that she plans to introduce legislation soon that will offer tax credits to businesses that make investments in cybersecurity protections. Under her proposal, businesses would be able to claim a credit worth up to 30 percent of the costs of investment in new, qualified cyber defenses. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Cybersecurity Legislation Last week, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) called on the Senate Intelligence Committee to pass a cybersecurity information sharing bill so that it could eventually be conferenced with his bill that passed the House in April – the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (H.R. 624). Privacy and national … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Cybersecurity Legislation Last week, the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies marked up two cybersecurity bills – the Critical Infrastructure Research and Development Advancement (CIRDA) Act of 2013 (H.R. 2952) and the Homeland Security Cybersecurity Boots-on-the-Ground Act (H.R. 3107). The subcommittee passed both bills by voice vote and … Continue Reading
