Daines' Efforts to Improve Federal Website Security Passed by Homeland Security

Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Representative Steve Daines' work to protect Americans' civil liberties and personal information while using federal websites continues to gain bipartisan support and is moving forward to a full vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Today, the House Committee on Homeland Security passed the "National Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection Act of 2013," which contains a Daines amendment that would implement new security measures to protect Americans' personal information while using federal websites, including the Obamacare website, healthcare.gov. Today's approval clears the way for a full vote by the House of Representatives.

"With the failed Obamacare website rollout and growing evidence that the federal government has failed to take necessary steps to secure federal websites, it's clear that stronger efforts to protect Americans' privacy and personal information are needed," Daines stated. "I'm glad that the Homeland Security Committee acted today to move forward my proposal to provide needed oversight and put new accountability measures in place to better protect Americans using all federal websites."

Daines' amendment expands upon the security and accountability measures contained in the Cyber Awareness and Recovery Enhancement, a bipartisan bill Daines recently introduced with Representative Ron Barber (D-AZ) to address security risks plaguing the Obamacare marketplace website, and works to ensure that Americans' personal information is better protected while using any federal website.

The amendment directs the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) to assist Federal agencies in preventing and responding to data breaches involving personally identifiable information (PII). It provides technical assistance to federal agencies to prevent and respond to data breaches involving PII, requires federal agencies to promptly notify all potential victims of a data breach involving PII and ensures PII data breaches on federal networks are being reported to the NCCIC within 2 days as well as to Congress.

Last month, Republicans and Democrats on the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies applauded Daines' amendment, noting its timeliness and importance to protecting Americans' privacy.

"I have no objections, and just to complement our colleague on this very timely amendment to this legislation, and I look forward to supporting it," stated Ranking Member Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY).

"I also want to take a moment to express my deep appreciation to the gentleman for his work on this issue of privacy and private information," added Subcommittee Chairman Patrick Meehan (R-PA). "I mention again the comments that I made in my opening statements regarding the tremendous amount of work that went into ensuring the protection of personally identifying information, and I think this bill and the gentlemen's amendment have gone a long way in working out that balance."

A recent December 2013 Government Accountability Office report found that federal agencies are not effectively leveraging DHS' cybersecurity expertise, with 22,156 security incidents having taken place in 2012 alone and millions of Americans' personal information being put at risk due to "limitless" security risks in the Obamacare website.

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