House Homeland Approves Bipartisan Bills To Advance American Safety & Security

WASHINGTON, DC – The House Committee on Homeland Security today held its first markup of the 117th Congress. The Committee advanced seven bipartisan bills to ensure the safety and security of the homeland, including securing critical infrastructure networks, enhancing air travel safety during COVID-19 and future pandemics, improving information sharing, and supporting our nation’s first responders.

Notably, the Committee passed H.R. 1833, The DHS Industrial Control Systems Capabilities Enhancement Act of 2021, one of the most significant pieces of bipartisan cyber legislation introduced this Congress. The bill, introduced by Ranking Member Katko, is designed to protect critical infrastructure from cyber attacks following the recent hack of a Florida water treatment facility and has strong bipartisan support from leading cybersecurity voices in Congress.

“As I’ve said from day one as Ranking Member of this Committee, we need to continue to bolster cybersecurity capabilities at CISA to defend our federal networks and the nation’s critical infrastructure from cyber threats. Already in 2021, the nation is confronting potentially two major cyber incidents facing federal and private sector networks,” Katko said. “We have also recently witnessed the potential for real-world impact from cyber attacks stemming from a compromise of digital systems at a water treatment plant in Florida. This attack reinforces the need to solidify CISA’s lead role in protecting our nation’s critical infrastructure from cyber threats, particularly industrial control systems that underpin vital components of our daily lives.”

“I commend all members of the committee for their unanimous support of these commonsense homeland security provisions and appreciate the leadership from Reps. Bishop and Gimenez on their critical transportation security bills. With the threat landscape rapidly evolving, I am committed to strong partnership with Chairman Thompson where there is agreement to secure the nation,” concluded Katko.

A full list of bills passed by the Committee is below:

• H.R. 1833, The DHS Industrial Control Systems Capabilities Enhancement Act of 2021, introduced by Ranking Member John Katko (R-NY).

• H.R. 1871, The Transportation Security Transparency Improvement Act, introduced by Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC).

• H.R. 1895, The Transportation Security Public Health Threat Preparedness Act of 2021, introduced by Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL).

• H.R. 1850, The Supporting Research and Development for First Responders Act, introduced by Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY).

• H.R. 1870, The Strengthening Local Transportation Security Capabilities Act of 2021, introduced by Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-CA).

• H.R. 1877, The Security Screening During COVID-19 Act, introduced by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO).

• H.R. 1893, The Transportation Security Preparedness Act of 2021, introduced by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ).