HPSCI passes cyber bill out of committee

By a voice vote, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence today favorably reported the Protecting Cyber Networks Act (H.R. 1560) to the full House of Representatives. A manager’s amendment making technical changes to the bill language was adopted on a voice vote following discussions between committee members, committee staff, privacy groups, industry representatives, other stakeholders, Administration officials, and other committees of jurisdiction. Committee Chairman Devin Nunes and Ranking Member Adam Schiff issued the following statements on the vote:

Chairman Nunes: “This bill will help defend U.S. networks against a wide array of cybercriminals who are becoming more active and more threatening every day. It’s a bipartisan approach with strong privacy protections that will have a deep impact on this growing problem. In light of the urgency of the situation, I encourage House members to support this bill.”

Ranking Member Schiff: “Today’s markup of our bipartisan bill has made a good bill even better.  The bill that passed unanimously out of Committee helps pave the way for the expeditious passage of cyber information sharing legislation that can help turn the tide against hackers, cyber criminals and malicious state actors, while safeguarding privacy and civil liberties at every step of the way.  Every minute we delay, intellectual property that took American companies years to develop is stolen in a flash, and Americans’ most private and confidential information is hacked and stolen, and compromised. Chairman Nunes, our colleagues on the Committee, and I have worked with the full range of stakeholders – from the privacy community, industry, the Administration, other House Committees and the Senate – to produce a bill that can secure the American people and protect their privacy, and we are optimistic about its prospects for passage.”

For more information on the Protecting Cyber Networks Act, click here.

Source: HPSCI