The House Committee on Financial Services on May 17 voted to approve an amended version of H.R.7022 – the Strengthening Cybersecurity for the Financial Sector Act of 2022 – and send the bill to the full House of Representatives for consideration.
The legislation aims to amend the “Federal Credit Union Act to modify requirements relating to the regulation and examination of credit union organizations and service providers.”
According to its sponsor Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill., the bill “would grant the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) the authority to oversee third party vendors employed by the entities under their purview.”
“This authority – currently utilized by all other industry regulators – was previously temporarily granted to the NCUA and FHFA but has since expired, leaving a dangerous regulatory gap and leaving consumers and families at risk,” the congressman’s office said. “This bill would bring parity amongst our regulators to ensure that our financial services and housing industries are well protected against cyberattacks.”
At the May 17 committee markup session, Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., argued against the legislation, saying “it may be a good faith effort to help the IT security of our financial system,” but said he worried about expanding “the size and scope of the Federal regulation under the guise of cyber security.”
Rep. Barr faulted the bill because it doesn’t use the word “cyber” in its text, and said the measure has more to do with financial regulation than cybersecurity.
