Federal Information Security Amendments Act of 2012
Latest action. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Federal Information Security Amendments Act of 2012 - (Sec. 2) Amends the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA) to reestablish the oversight authority of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) with respect to agency information and security policies and practices.
Extends the security requirements of federal agencies to include responsibilities for: (1) complying with computer standards developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), (2) ensuring complementary and uniform standards for information systems and national security systems, (3) ensuring that information security management processes are integrated with budget processes, (4) securing facilities for classified information, (5) maintaining sufficient personnel with security clearances, and (6) ensuring that information security performance indicators are included in the annual performance evaluations of all managers, senior managers, senior executive service personnel, and political appointees.
Directs senior agency officials, with a frequency sufficient to support risk-based security decisions, to: (1) test and evaluate information security controls and techniques, and (2) conduct threat assessments by monitoring information systems and identifying potential system vulnerabilities. (Current law requires only periodic testing and evaluation.)
Defines "information system" as a discrete set of information resources organized for the collection, processing, maintenance, use, sharing, dissemination, or disposition of information. Includes in such definition: (1) computers and computer networks; (2) ancillary equipment; (3) software, firmware, and related procedures; (4) support services; and (5) related resources and services.
Directs agencies to determine information security levels in accordance with information security classifications and standards promulgated under the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act.
Directs agencies to collaborate with OMB and appropriate public and private sector security operations centers on security incidents that extend beyond the control of an agency. Requires that security incidents be reported, through an automated and continuous monitoring capability, when possible, to the federal information security incident center (the incident center), appropriate security operations centers, and agency Inspector General.
Directs agencies to conduct vulnerability assessments and penetration tests commensurate with the risk posed to agency information systems.
The summary continues for 4 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House amended" stage on April 26, 2012. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on May 7, 2012: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
DARRELL ISSA (R-CA) introduced it on March 26, 2012, and 2 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 2 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 26, 2012, 5281 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5239 days ago, on May 7, 2012.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers