Sen. Carper Statement on the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA)

WASHINGTON — Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released a statement following the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence approval of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA). In February, Sen. Carper introduced the Cyber Threat Sharing Act of 2015, which would take critical steps to provide liability protections to increase the sharing of cyber threat data between private industry and the federal government.

“Given the threats we face today in cyber space, it’s imperative that Congress, the Administration, and stakeholders work together on legislation to bolster our nation’s cyber defenses, and do so with a sense of urgency,” Sen. Carper said. “We made important progress on this front last Congress but more must be done to stay ahead of this growing threat. That includes passing legislation that would promote the sharing of cyber threat data among the private sector and the federal government to defend against cyber-attacks and encourage better coordination. Senators Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein have shown great leadership on this issue, and I am encouraged by the bipartisan progress their Committee made today. I understand that their bill shares some of the same goals as my bill, the Cyber Threat Sharing Act of 2015, which would empower companies with clear legal authority and liability protection to share critical data while maintaining privacy protections. I look forward to reading the new text of their bill once it becomes available. In order to get legislation enacted, we need to work together to facilitate a collaborative and transparent process, and make sure our civil liberties are protected as we take steps improve our cybersecurity. I look forward to working closely with my colleagues, including Senators Burr and Feinstein, and all stakeholders in an open and speedy process.”

Last Congress, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee authored several cybersecurity bills, which the president signed into law in December. Those include the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (S.2521) to improve the security of federal networks, the National Cybersecurity Protection Act of 2014 (S.2519), which authorized the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center at the Department of Homeland Security for information sharing, and two bills to improve the federal cybersecurity workforce — the Cybersecurity Workforce Assessment Act (H.R.2952) and the Border Patrol Pay Reform Act (S.1691) (which contains provisions from the DHS Cybersecurity Workforce Recruitment and Retention Act of 2014).