WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Congressman Brad Finstad (MN-01), member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation, voted in support of two measures to strengthen the nation’s cybersecurity capabilities: the Protecting Information by Local Leaders for Agency Resilience (PILLAR) Act and the Strengthening Cyber Resilience against State-Sponsored Threats Act.

These votes follow Congressman Finstad’s participation in a discussion with the Minnesota National Security Ecosystem and Metro State University called, "Building a Community Driven Cyber Resilient America: A Leadership Roundtable." During the event, Congressman Finstad met with educators, industry leaders, and government officials on the importance of federal, state, and local partnerships in ensuring a safe and secure cyberspace for our national security.

“Securing America’s digital future is one of the defining challenges of our time. As aggressive cyberactivity from our adversaries escalates, so must our efforts to strengthen our cyber defense and improve our deterrence capabilities,” said Rep. Finstad. “I was proud to support these measures and will continue to work with stakeholders across Minnesota and our country to assess our threat landscape, and ensure states and communities have the tools they need to build and maintain their cyber resilience.”

Background:

H.R. 5078, the Protecting Information by Local Leaders for Agency Resilience (PILLAR) Act, bolsters funding for state and local cybersecurity, allowing them to upgrade networks and provide additional support for communities that often lack the resources to keep up with evolving cyber threats. Read the full bill text here.

H.R. 2659, the Strengthening Cyber Resilience against State-Sponsored Threats Act, establishes an interagency task force on the targeting of United States critical infrastructure by state-sponsored cyber actors, in addition to addressing the widespread cybersecurity threats posed by state-sponsored cyber actors associated with our nation’s adversaries, specifically the People’s Republic of China. Read the full bill text here.