Skip to main content

Rep. Duncan Files Cybersecurity Legislation

June 24, 2021

Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Jeff Duncan (R-SC) filed legislation to create the Office of Policy Development and Cybersecurity (OPDC) within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The NTIA Policy and Cybersecurity Coordination Act is the result of bipartisan, cooperative work with Susan Wild of Pennsylvania (D) and John Curtis of Utah (R). It reflects the agency's role in developing policy to address the cybersecurity threats of the last two decades since the agency was last authorized.

"Today, we are taking the step of codifying in law the actions of the NTIA cybersecurity office," said Rep. Duncan. "While this agency has acted to try to educate stakeholders on ways to protect their systems against the cyber-crimes of adversaries, they will be more effective with clear direction from Congress rather than just the administrative mandate they have had up until now.

"I am pleased to be sponsoring this legislation in bipartisan cooperation with my colleagues Susan Wild of Pennsylvania and John Curtis of Utah. The threats to our national infrastructure have been made clear in recent days, most notably with the hack of the Colonial Pipeline and ransomware attacks around the country. The NTIA Policy and Cybersecurity Coordination Act will help provide the federal government and industry with the tools to protect American citizens, businesses, and state and local governments from the foreign hackers who attack us every day."

"Bolstering our efforts to counter cybersecurity threats is of critical importance, particularly as bad actors around the world relentlessly work to hack into American homes, businesses, and government offices with dangerous ransomware attacks," said Rep. Wild. "The vulnerabilities that these attacks expose are enormous, from revealing financial information about American families to potentially shutting down operations at American companies. This bipartisan legislation gives the National Telecommunications and Information Administration the legal tools it needs to more effectively and aggressively combat this growing threat and keep Americans safe, and I'm proud to be leading this effort alongside Congressman Duncan and Congressman Curtis."

The legislation officially creates the OPDC within the NTIA and sets out the parameters for the agency to work.