E&C Republican Leader Statement on Executive Order to Secure U.S. Bulk-Power System

Statement

Energy and Commerce Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR), Energy Subcommittee Republican Leader Fred Upton (R-MI), and Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee Republican Leader John Shimkus (R-IL) released the following statement on President Trump's Executive Order to secure the United States Bulk-Power System (BPS).

"Over the past decade as we have monitored the increased security threats our adversaries pose to our nation's electricity system, we have worked to ensure the Department of Energy has the authorities and tools to detect and address threats to critical electric infrastructure, which is essential for the health and safety of all Americans. We commend President Trump for taking action today, directing the Secretary of Energy to take additional steps to enhance the security of our nation's bulk-power system. We look forward to working with Secretary Brouillette to ensure the Department has the resources and authorities it needs to carry out this important mission," said Walden, Upton, and Shimkus.

Background:

Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order on Securing the United States Bulk-Power System.

The BPS is vital to the reliable, secure delivery of electricity, supporting every aspect of our daily lives, our work, our health, the operations of various critical infrastructure, emergency services, and national defense. Current procurement practices by both the federal and private sectors may be exploited by foreign adversaries with malicious intent.

Among other things, the Executive Order:

-Prohibits Federal agencies and U.S. persons from acquiring, transferring, or installing BPS equipment in which foreign adversaries have any interest and the transaction poses an unacceptable risk to national security or the security and safety of American citizens;
-Requires DOE to develop recommendations for the electric industry to isolate, manage, or replace equipment identified as posing a national security risk to the BPS; and
-Creates a task force, led by Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette, to develop energy infrastructure procurement policies to ensure national security considerations are fully integrated into government energy security and cybersecurity policymaking.

Source