Washington, D.C. – Rep. Don Bacon (NE-02) introduced H.R. 5658, the DHS Roles and Responsibilities in Cyber Space Act, which would require the Secretary of Homeland Security to assess its cyber incident response plans and procedures.

“Americans are alarmed at the dramatic increase in cyber-attacks on private companies, including the recent ransomware attacks on Colonial Pipeline and the JBS meatpacking facility in Nebraska,” said Bacon. “The federal response to these cyber incidents was inadequate and exposed gaps and confusion in how we defend our critical infrastructure.”  

The May 2021 attack on Colonial Pipeline was the largest cyberattack on energy infrastructure in American history causing significant disruptions to gasoline and aviation fuel delivery throughout the Southeast. Days later JBS, the world’s largest meat supplier, was forced to suspend operations at nine processing facilities in the United States following a similar ransomware attack.    

“It’s clear that our cyber incident response framework must evolve to match the threat,” added Bacon. “This bill will set the conditions for improvements in our national cyber defenses by requiring the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct a thorough review of its cyber incident response plans, including how it works with private sector entities, and provide recommendations for improvement.”  

Original co-sponsors of H.R. 5658 include three members of the House Committee on Homeland Security: Committee Vice Chairman Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY); Ranking Committee Republican Rep. John Katko (R-NY); and Ranking Republican of the Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Innovation Subcommittee Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY). Bacon previously served on the Committee from 2017-2019. 

###