House Approves Bills to Boost Cybersecurity Research

A look at the week of April 30 in public advocacy for the IT channel: This week, the House passed CISPA, a controversial Republican-backed cybersecurity bill.  The House also passed several other bills relating to cybersecurity, including the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act, which increases funding for education and R&D to confront cyberthreats.  Rick Pollack, executive vice president of the American Hospital Association, sent a letter to Health and Human Services saying that electronic medical record goals were too ambitious and could not be met by 80 percent of hospitals.


CISPA Passed in U.S. House — The U.S. House of Representatives approved a Republican-backed cybersecurity bill, a day after President Barack Obama’s administration called the measure flawed and threatened a veto. The bill, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, passed the House by a vote of 248 to 168, reports Bloomberg. The measure, introduced by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), head of the House Intelligence Committee, would encourage the government and companies to share data on cyber threats and give businesses legal immunity for such exchanges.


House Approves Bills to Boost Cybersecurity Research — This week, the House approved a bill to increase education, research and development to confront cyberthreats. The Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2011, sponsored by Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Dan Lipinski (D-IL) would authorize research and education, as well as the development of standards at the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. It gives NIST the authority to set standards for federal agencies, says National Journal.


Electronic-Records Goals Aren’t Met by 80 Percent of U.S. Hospitals — More than 80 percent of hospitals have yet to achieve the requirements for the first stage of a $14.6 billion U.S. program to encourage doctors to adopt electronic medical records, the industry’s largest trade group said. The program is too ambitious and goals may not be met, Rick Pollack, executive vice president of the American Hospital Association, said in a 68-page letter to the Health and Human Services Department. He cited “the high bar set and market factors, such as accelerating costs and limited vendor capacity,” Bloomberg reports.