Cybersecurity: Legislation and Hearings, 115th-116th Congresses
Released: 2019-05-02T00:00:00

Cybersecurity Legislation and Hearings in the 116th and 115th Congresses

This report provides links to cybersecurity-related bills with some type of committee, floor, or chamber action (i.e., action subsequent to introduction). It also provides links to cybersecurity-related hearings. Table 1 lists House bills in the 116th Congress. Table 2 lists Senate bills in the 116th Congress. Table 3 lists House bills in the 115th Congress. Table 4 lists Senate bills in the 115th Congress.

116th Congress: Legislative Action

In the 116 th Congress, the House has passed four cybersecurity-related bills and the Senate has given varying levels of consideration to four others, passing one. See Table 1 for a list of House bills and Table 2 for a list of Senate bills in the 116 th Congress .

115th Congress: Legislative Action

Thirty-one bills received committee consideration or passed one or both chambers in the 115 th Congress. Five bills became public laws:

On September 28, 2018, the Department of Energy Research and Innovation Act was signed into law ( P.L. 115-246 ). The law establishes a Department of Energy policy for science and energy research and development programs; reforms National Laboratory management and technology transfer programs; and directs DOE to report to Congress on integrated research programs in cybersecurity and national security, among other issues.

On August 13, 2018, the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 was signed into law ( P.L. 115-232 ). The bill authorizes appropriations and sets forth policies regarding Department of Defense's military activities, including cybersecurity matters.

On December 12, 2017, the President signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 ( P.L. 115-91 ), which establishes several cybersecurity efforts and new rules and programs related to information security. These include an official ban on Kaspersky Lab software (Section 1634); definition by the President of "cyberwar" (Section 1633); the Pentagon's reexamination of the Defense Department's internal organizational structure surrounding its cybersecurity-related missions (Section 1641, Section 1644, and others); and the National Science Foundation and Office of Personnel Management's launch of a joint pilot scholarship program aimed at educating and recruiting talent directly out of universities (Section 1649).

On November 21, 2017, the FITARA Enhancement Act of 2017 became law ( P.L. 115-88 ). Among other things, it requires the chief information officer of each covered agency for information technology to conduct a risk management review of those investments that have received a high-risk rating for four consecutive quarters.

On November 2, 2017, Congress passed the Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act of 2017 ( P.L. 115-76 ), which authorizes a National Computer Forensics Institute within the U.S. Secret Service. The institute is to disseminate information related to the investigation and prevention of cyber and electronic crime and related threats.

CRS Products: Legislation

CRS Report R43831, Cybersecurity Issues and Challenges: In Brief , by Eric A. Fischer CRS In Focus IF10610, Cybersecurity Legislation in the 113th and 114th Congresses , by Eric A. Fischer CRS Report R44069, Cybersecurity and Information Sharing: Comparison of H.R. 1560 (PCNA and NCPAA) and S. 754 (CISA) , by Eric A. Fischer CRS Report R43996, Cybersecurity and Information Sharing: Comparison of H.R. 1560 and H.R. 1731 as Passed by the House , by Eric A. Fischer and Stephanie M. Logan CRS Report R42114, Federal Laws Relating to Cybersecurity: Overview of Major Issues, Current Laws, and Proposed Legislation , by Eric A. Fischer CRS Report R43821, Legislation to Facilitate Cybersecurity Information Sharing: Economic Analysis , by N. Eric Weiss

Hearings in the 116th Congress

The following tables list c ybersecurity hearings in the 116 th Congress . Table 5 lists House hearings arranged by date in reverse chronological order. Table 6 lists House hearings arranged by committee. Table 7 lists Senate hearings arranged by date in reverse chronological order , and Table 8 lists Senate hearings arranged by committee. CRS identified these hearings as being primarily about cybersecurity or related issues. However, no single, objective selection criterion was available for CRS to use in identifying which hearings to include. The list of hearings should therefore not be considered definitive.

Table document titles are active links to the committee's website for that particular hearing .

Hearings in the 115th Congress

Table 9 lists House hearings arranged by date in reverse chronological order , and Table 10 lists House hearings arranged by committee. Table 11 lists Senate hearings by date. Table 12 lists Senate hearings arranged by committee. CRS identified these hearings as being primarily about cybersecurity or related issues. However, no single, objective selection criterion was available for CRS to use in identifying which hearings to include. The list of hearings should therefore not be considered definitive.

In the tables , the document titles are active links to the committee's website for that particular hearing .