Lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee will weigh legislation this week that would reauthorize key cybersecurity programs at the Department of Energy and establish new initiatives aimed at protecting U.S. energy infrastructure.
The hearing will provide a forum for lawmakers to evaluate bills that strengthen collaboration between the federal government and the private sector, improve detection of cyber threats, and bolster physical security, according to full committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) and Energy Subcommittee Chair Bob Latta (R-Ohio).
“Right now, the energy infrastructure in the United States faces numerous cyber and physical threats from sophisticated nation-state actors as well as criminals or ideologically driven hackers,” Guthrie and Latta said in a statement.
Among the measures under consideration is the “Energy Emergency Leadership Act,” a long-running congressional effort to create a Senate-confirmed assistant secretary position at DOE focused on cyber threats to grid infrastructure.
