Vote Explanation for H.R. 1731

Statement

This afternoon the House voted on the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act, H.R. 1731. I voted in support of this bill, which passed the House by a vote of 355--63.

Like the cybersecurity bill I voted on yesterday (H.R. 1560), H.R. 1731 is intended to promote the voluntary sharing of information about cyber threats among private companies and between the private sector and federal government. H.R. 1731 provides liability protections to companies that share cyber threat information with the federal government and includes provisions to ensure that personally identifiable information is scrubbed before any information is shared under this authorization.

Even despite the privacy protections in this bill, I had many reservations about H.R. 1731 when it was passed by the Homeland Security Committee last week. During consideration on the House floor, however, the House made two important improvements to the bill. One amendment ensures that information can only be shared if it is directly relevant to cyber crime. The other amendment created a sunset clause so that the sharing authorization included in this bill expires after seven years. Doing so gives Congress the ability to examine and debate the effectiveness and privacy protections in this legislation, and reform them if need be.

I supported this bill because it will help our businesses and government prevent future cyber attacks and takes meaningful steps to protect the privacy rights of Americans.

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