FISMA Reform Passes House

The House passed on Friday by a 229 to 186 vote the Defense authorization bill, which included an amendment to overhaul federal cybersecurity policy.

Inclusion of the the amendment's information security provisions in the Defense bill is an obvious attempt to speed passage of existing measures from the Oversight and Government Reform Committee to update the Federal Information Security Management Act, which dictates agencies' information security processes, and establish a National Office of Cyberspace in the White House with budget authority and governmentwide coordinating responsibilities.

A spokesperson for Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., who offered the amendment with Rep. Diane Watson, D-Calif., claimed the decision to include the amendment with the authorization bill was less strategic as it was practical, since "properly securing our cyber infrastructure is a national security issue." But let's be honest: the Committee hopes this will push the measure through, perhaps even before Congress's August recess. Whether that happens remains to be seen; this bill has a lot of meaty content that will likely face some opposition -- most notably the repeal of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell law.