Sec. 2. Sense of Congress
381 words·~2 min read·
/bill/116/s/3688/is/section-2A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
It is the sense of Congress that— electrical energy is essential to civil society; the infrastructure that delivers electrical energy to the people of the United States has been vulnerable to attacks of varying scope for more than 100 years; with the ready availability of information about electric infrastructure, and the ease of international travel for individuals who seek to harm the United States, threats to electric infrastructure have multiplied in recent years; the geographic barriers of the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean no longer provide sufficient protection for the people of the United States against threats to electric infrastructure, especially for threats coming from cyberspace; electric infrastructure around the world has been attacked during times of war and times of peace, on the ground and in cyberspace, by— individuals; criminal organizations; and foreign countries; like electric infrastructure, the fuel suppliers and other vendors who supply the electricity industry are vulnerable to attacks designed to disrupt electricity service; before and during World War II, the Federal Power Commission assisted owners and operators of energy infrastructure in defending the assets of those owners and operators; the Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission carry on the legacy of security assistance established by the Federal Power Commission; the Department of Energy, assisted by the expertise at the National Laboratories, and utilizing the statutory role of the Department as the lead Federal agency for cybersecurity in the energy sector, has acted to assist owners and operators of electric infrastructure when those owners and operators defend their assets; the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, utilizing the jurisdiction of the Commission over matters of cost recovery and electric reliability, has acted to assist owners and operators of electric infrastructure when those owners and operators defend their assets; owners and operators of electric infrastructure, entities involved with electric infrastructure, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Department of Energy, other Federal departments and agencies, States, and units of local government have information that— can be used by those who seek to harm the United States to disrupt electricity service; and should be protected from excessive disclosure; and owners and operators of electric infrastructure— have been acting to reduce the vulnerability of their assets; and should have better opportunities to further reduce the vulnerability of their assets.