The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection & Security Technologies approved a bill (H.R. 901) that would extend the Department of Homeland Security's Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards another seven years.
The extension would provide important continuity for the chemical industry and for the federal government and allow CFATS to be fully implemented, said Subcommittee Chairman Dan Lungren (R-Calif.). Implementation is slower than desired, but CFATS is working, he asserted. While there may be problems, Congress should extend the current system and not let the perfect be the enemy of the good, he added.