WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1717, the Communications Security Act, a bill authored by Representatives Rob Menendez (NJ-08) and John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13) to strengthen telecommunications networks against cybersecurity attacks and natural disasters.
The bill makes permanent the Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (“CSRIC”) within the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”), which consists of stakeholders and industry professionals focusing on improving next generation 911, emergency preparedness, network security, resiliency, and interoperability.
“As threats to our nation’s critical infrastructure continue to rise, we need expert collaboration at the FCC to ensure our communications networks remain reliable when we need them the most,” said Rep. Rob Menendez. “Time and again, CSRIC has improved the reliability and performance of our networks during natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and cybersecurity attacks. It’s common sense to make this council permanent, and I’m grateful to my colleagues for moving this forward on a bipartisan basis.”
“Adversarial nations have been allowed to take advantage of the vulnerabilities in our critical communications infrastructure for far too long, threatening the systems that the American public relies on every day,” said Rep. John Joyce, M.D. “I am proud to see the Communications Security Act pass through the House in a bipartisan manner, and I encourage my colleagues in the Senate to swiftly pass this common sense legislation so President Trump can sign it into law.”
First chartered in 2009, CSRIC has played a vital role in bolstering communications networks across the country, ensuring that communities and first responders can communicate during natural disasters and national security emergencies. The bill requires CSRIC to include representatives from a wide range of stakeholders from the communications industry, academia, the public interest sector, and state, local, and tribal governments.
Congressman Menendez is currently serving his second term in the House of Representatives. He serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Subcommittees on Communications and Technology, Energy, and the Environment. To learn more about his work, click here.
