Congressional deadlock over stopgap funding legislation puts two essential cybersecurity programs at risk as the September 30 government shutdown deadline approaches. The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (CISA 15) and State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP) face expiration without legislative action.
The House Republicans’ stopgap funding measure, which passed Friday in a largely partisan vote, would extend government funding through November 21 while reauthorizing both cybersecurity programs. However, Senate Democrats have vowed to defeat the measure, while Republicans rejected a Democratic proposal to move the deadline to October 31.
The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 created a legal framework encouraging voluntary cyber threat information sharing between industry and federal government. The program has garnered bipartisan support from lawmakers, federal officials, and the Trump administration as critical to national cyber defenses.
National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross named CISA 15 reauthorization as one of his top priorities. Cybersecurity experts warn that without reauthorization, the nation’s cyber defense progress could be set back a decade, with some Hill staffers estimating an 80% drop in private sector information sharing.
The State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program provides $1 billion in cybersecurity funding over four years to state and local governments. State and local officials have warned congressional leadership that cyber defenses would likely falter without continued SLCGP funding.
While the stopgap measure faces pushback, both House and Senate homeland security committees are working on separate bills to reauthorize CISA 15. The House panel has favorably reported its measure to the full House, while the Senate cancelled its scheduled markup to focus on stopgap negotiations.
Both cybersecurity programs require congressional reauthorization before the September 30 deadline to continue protecting critical infrastructure and maintaining information-sharing frameworks established under previous administrations.
