{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://mrvan.house.gov/media/press-releases/chairman-mrvan-introduces-bipartisan-legislation-strengthen-va-cybersecurity", "Chairman Mrvan Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen VA Cybersecurity", "2022-03-30", "2022", "2022-03", "Democrat", "House", "IN", "Frank J. Mrvan", "M001214", "mrvan.house.gov", "mrvan", "https://mrvan.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Today, Rep. Frank J. Mrvan (IN-01), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans\u2019 Affairs\u2019 Subcommittee on Technology Modernization, introduced the Strengthening VA Cybersecurity (SVAC) Act of 2022, along with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV), and Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY).\n\nThe purpose of this bipartisan legislation is to strengthen cybersecurity at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and protect information technology systems and devices used at VA.\n\nSpecifically, the SVAC Act of 2022 requires VA to obtain an independent cybersecurity assessment of its most critical information systems, as well as its cybersecurity posture as a whole. It also requires VA to develop a timeline and budget to fix any weaknesses and deficiencies identified by the report.\n\nA companion measure has been introduced in the Senate by U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).\n\nChairman Mrvan stated, \u201cAccording to VA officials, in 2020, regrettably 46,000 veterans had their personal information compromised after hackers breached VA\u2019s computer systems. This is unacceptable, and action must be taken to improve VA\u2019s cybersecurity. This legislation will move us in the right direction to give VA the tools it needs to effectively protect against new and emerging cybersecurity threats and safeguard our veterans\u2019 personal information. I appreciate the close working relationship of my colleagues Rep. Nancy Mace, Rep. Susie Lee, and Rep. Andrew Garbarino, and look forward to continuing to collaborate with you to move this commonsense and bipartisan legislation forward.\u201d\n\n\u201cGiven Russia\u2019s recent aggression and invasion of Ukraine, it is more important than ever that we shore up America\u2019s critical cybersecurity, including proactively protecting the healthcare of our veterans against possible cyber attacks from Russia,\u201d said Rep. Nancy Mace.\n\n\u201cVA is the largest integrated health care network in the United States that provides care and benefits to millions of veterans. As a result, VA retains, transfers, and processes massive amounts of sensitive information,\u201d said Congresswoman Susie Lee, who served as Chair of the Subcommittee on Technology Modernization in the 116th Congress. \u201cHowever, despite spending more on IT overall, VA spends less on cybersecurity than most other agencies, leaving veterans' sensitive information vulnerable to cyber crime. This bipartisan bill is a simple fix that will help strengthen VA\u2019s cybersecurity and protect veterans\u2019 information.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs Ranking Member of the Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Innovation Subcommittee, I\u2019m highly concerned by the rising threat of cyberattacks and have been working closely with public and private stakeholders to ensure Americans are prepared to protect themselves online,\u201d said Rep. Garbarino. \u201cVeterans\u2019 personal information can be appealing targets for foreign adversaries and cyber criminals, making it essential for the VA to engage in long overdue system upgrades and take proactive steps to mitigate cyber threats. I\u2019m proud to co-sponsor this bill to assess and improve the VA\u2019s cyber preparedness.\u201d\n\nSVAC Act of 2022 will:\n\nProtect against advanced cybersecurity threats, ransomware, denial of service attacks, insider threats, threats from foreign actors, phishing, credential theft and other cyber threats;\n\nEnsure that the entire Department\u2019s IT is covered\u2014including on-premises, remote, cloud-based, and mobile information systems and devices used by, or in support of, Department activities;\n\nRequire the Secretary to submit a detailed report and plan of implementation to Congress within 120 days of the independent assessment; and\n\nRequire the GAO to review VA\u2019s plan and evaluate if the cost estimates and timelines are realistic.\n\nFor additional information on this legislation, see below:\n\nDocument\n\ncyber_xml.pdf (40.62 KB)", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T02:06:17Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://mrvan.house.gov/media/press-releases/chairman-mrvan-introduces-bipartisan-legislation-strengthen-va-cybersecurity"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 3.8139759562909603, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}