U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today applauded the committee’s passage of the Learning Excellence and Good Examples from New Developers (LEGEND) Act, Harvesting American Cybersecurity Knowledge through Education (HACKED) Act, and the Reliable Emergency Alert Distribution Improvement (READI) Act, all bills he’s either sponsored or cosponsored. These bipartisan bills now head to the Senate floor for consideration.
“Today’s executive session proves that my colleagues in the Senate can continue to get work done for the American people in a bipartisan manner,” said Thune. “My LEGEND Act will improve forecasting capabilities and will benefit farmers and producers, not only in my home state, but across the country, and the READI Act will make necessary improvements to the nation’s emergency alert system. I’m thankful for Sen. Schatz’s partnership on these important bills, both of which unanimously passed the committee today.
“I’d also like to thank both Sens. Wicker and Klobuchar for their help in strengthening the HACKED Act, legislation that would ensure we have the necessary cybersecurity workforce to combat any potential threats in today’s internet and digital economy.”
Thune introduced the LEGEND Act last month with Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). This legislation would require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to make certain operational models publicly available and utilize any innovations to improve the models that are developed as a result of public collaboration.
The READI Act, which Thune cosponsored with Schatz last month, would ensure more people receive relevant emergency alerts on their mobile phones, televisions, and radios, explore new ways of alerting the public through online video and audio streaming services, track and study false alerts when they occur, and improve the way states plan for emergency alerts.
Thune joined Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) in introducing the HACKED Act last week. This legislation would build on the important work being done by South Dakota universities to strengthen America’s cybersecurity workforce by bolstering existing science education and cybersecurity programs within the National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Department of Transportation. The HACKED Act includes Thune’s amendment to establish a cybersecurity exchange program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, incorporating one aspect of Thune’s and Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s (D-Minn.) Cyber Security Exchange Act.