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House Passes Four Garbarino Proposals With Annual Defense Spending Package

September 23, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the House of Representatives approved four Amendments proposed by Congressman Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY-02) through the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (NDAA). All four Amendments were approved by the House with strong bipartisan support.

I am pleased to announce that four of my Amendments have passed the House today through the NDAA," said Rep. Garbarino. "Each of my proposals passed today are designed to strengthen our cyber preparedness, whether by empowering small businesses to protect themselves from ransomware attacks, building cyber partnerships with our allies, or providing oversight and stability to CISA, the lead federal civilian cybersecurity agency. Make no mistake, cybersecurity is national security and the passage of each these Amendments will only improve our ability to mitigate and respond to cyber attacks.

Amendments passed through the National Defense Authorization Act include:

CISA Leadership Act

Rep. Garbarino offered the text of the CISA Leadership Act as an Amendment to the NDAA. The passage of this Amendment within the NDAA will codify the CISA Director’s tenure as a 5-year term, reaffirm that the Director will be Presidentially appointed and Senate confirmed, and provide stability to the lead federal civilian cybersecurity agency of the United States.

U.S.-Israel Cybersecurity Cooperation Act

Rep. Garbarino offered the text of the U.S.-Israel Cybersecurity Cooperation Act as an Amendment to the NDAA. The passage of this Amendment within the NDAA will establish a Department of Homeland Security grant program to support U.S.-Israel cooperation on cybersecurity research and development, and the demonstration and commercialization of cybersecurity technology. This program will help facilitate a stronger cyber partnership with Israel and ultimately develop more sophisticated cybersecurity technologies in order to thwart future cyber attacks.

Small Business Development Center Cyber Training Act of 2021

Rep. Garbarino offered the text of the Small Business Development Center Cyber Training Act of 2021 as an Amendment to the NDAA. The passage of this Amendment within the NDAA will help Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) become better trained to assist small businesses with their cyber security and cyber strategy needs by establishing a cyber counseling certification program. In addition, it authorizes the SBA to reimburse SBDCs for employee certification costs up to $350,000 per fiscal year. It would amend section 21 of the Small Business Act and utilize existing federal resources to cover the reimbursement costs. This Amendment will help small businesses get the information they need to implement their own cyber strategy and to take the appropriate steps in the event of a cyber-attack against their business.

Cyber Incident Response Plan

This Amendment will ensure CISA updates its National Cyber Incident Response Plan (NCIRP) at least every two years. It will also require CISA to coordinate with relevant Sector Risk Management Agencies and the National Cyber Director to educate critical infrastructure stakeholders on cyber incident response. By updating the NCIRP biennially, CISA will be able to incorporate lessons learned from cyber exercises and incidents to protect the safety, security, and prosperity of the American people. 

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