WASHINGTON, D.C. –– This week, House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY) joined Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power” to discuss the critical cybersecurity bills that were passed by the House of Representatives earlier this week. 

As foreign adversaries intensify and refine their cyber operations, Chairman Garbarino underscored the urgent need for the United States to take a proactive and coordinated approach to protect the nation’s critical infrastructure. ​The “Protecting Information by Local Leaders for Agency Resilience Act” (PILLAR Act), legislation introduced by Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Chairman Andy Ogles (R-TN) and cosponsored by Chairman Garbarino, provides state, local, tribal, and territorial governments with the necessary tools to protect their networks. 

Another key measure, Subcommittee Chairman Ogles’ “Strengthening Cyber Resilience Against State-Sponsored Threats Act,” will help improve interagency coordination to counter escalating cyber threats from foreign adversaries like the People’s Republic of China. Chairman Garbarino noted that America’s cyber borders are the new battlefield and stressed that a whole-of-government approach that streamlines information sharing is essential to protecting the nation.

On how AI can be a force multiplier for the U.S. and our adversaries in cyberspace: 

“We’ve seen AI being used by the bad guys in cyberattacks for years now, but this was the most aggressive use, and it is very concerning that it could just get worse. So, one thing I’ve been talking about with the private sector, you know, 85 percent of our critical infrastructure is held by the private sector, controlled by the private sector, is if the bad guys are going to be using AI to attack us, we should be using AI…in our cyber defenses because it’s not going to be possible to fight this aggressive use of AI and cyberattacks by just human intervention and defense alone. So, we have to step up our game.”

On the “Strengthening Cyber Resilience Against State-Sponsored Threats Act”:

“It’s actually going to help us streamline our response to these attacks by other our foreign adversaries…Now, our cyber border is a new battlefield, and [we need to be] making sure that the FBI, CISA, other federal agencies are sharing information, and sharing it also with the private sector so we can we can protect against these foreign adversaries, especially when it comes to attacks on our critical infrastructure.”

“I’m so proud this bill passed, hopefully the Senate moves it. So, we can streamline our response to the thousands and thousands of attacks that we see every day from foreign actors in the likes of China, Russia, you know, North Korea.”

On the “PILLAR Act”: 

“Our state, local governments, municipalities, counties, mayors, the cities, they don’t have the money. They don’t have the expertise, even though they also control a lot of critical infrastructure. So, this grant program is a continuation of one that’s been going on. We’ll help these local governments stay protected because they need it. And I think this year we’ve said 44 states have been hit by cyberattacks. So, we need to prepare them so they can defend against these cyberattacks as well… we’re very proud of the two pieces of legislation passed the House this week.”

Background:

The PILLAR Act would reauthorize and enhance the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program. The program provides grants to state, local, tribal, and territorial governments to address cybersecurity risks and threats to information systems and operational technology systems. H.R. 5078 was introduced and advanced out of Committee in September 2025. Read statements of endorsement here.

Support for this bill includes the Alliance for Digital Innovation (ADI), American Public Works Association, Armis, Association of the United States Cyber Forces (AUSCF), Better Identity Coalition (BIC), Business Software Alliance, CSC 2.0, Cybersecurity Coalition, Cyber Threat Alliance (CTA), Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), Dragos, Fortinet, Global Cyber Alliance (GCA), Halcyon, Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGA), McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security, National Association of Counties, National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), Operational Technology Cybersecurity Coalition (OTCC), OpenPolicy, Palo Alto Networks, Security Scorecard, SentinelOne, Software & Information Industry Association (SIAA), Strategic Cybersecurity Coalition (SCC), TechNet, Tenable, The Merlin Group, Vanta, Wiz, and Zscaler.

The “Strengthening Cyber Resilience Against State-Sponsored Threats Act” would establish an interagency task force, led by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), to address the widespread cybersecurity threats posed by state-sponsored cyber actors associated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). 

The legislation also requires the task force to provide a classified report and briefing to Congress annually for five years on its findings, conclusions, and recommendations relating to malicious CCP cyber activity. The legislation was advanced by the House Committee on Homeland Security and passed unanimously by the House of Representatives in the 118th Congress. H.R. 2659 was reintroduced and advanced out of Committee in April 2025.

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