The House on Monday evening passed three bipartisan homeland security bills, including one requiring the Department to Homeland Security to report to Congress on the roles and responsibilities of the department and each of its components for responding to cyber incidents.
The DHS Roles and Responsibilities in Cyber Space Act (H.R. 5658), introduced by Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), also directs DHS to explain its cyber incident response roles and responsibilities working with the federal government’s response to a cyber incident and when working with the private sector entities that have been impacted.
Bacon’s bill also seeks recommendation from DHS to further clarify the department’s and its components’ roles and responsibilities for cyber incident response. The bill passed on a 313 to 105 vote.
The President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition Act (H.R. 6824), introduced by Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.), authorizes the DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to continue to host an annual cybersecurity competition for federal civilian employees and members of the armed forces.
The President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition is also a way to identify cyber talent and strengthen the cybersecurity workforce. Luria’s bill was approved on a 386 to 31 vote.
Also approved was the Nonprofit Security Grant Program Improvement Act of 2022 (H.R. 6825), introduced by Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and John Katko (R-N.Y.), the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the House Homeland Security Committee.
The bill increases the authorization for funding to the Nonprofit Security Grant Program to $500 million annually through fiscal year 2028. The current authorization is $75 million annual and expires in FY ’24.
The bill, which passed 288 to 129, also directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency to establish a dedicated office to administer the program and provide greater outreach, engagement, education, technical assistance and support to eligible nonprofits.