Description:
S. 3309 would codify the establishment and responsibilities of hunt and incident response teams (HIRTs) under the authority of the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Under the bill, HIRTs would continue to provide assistance to federal and nonfederal entities affected by malicious cyber activity. S. 3309 also would require the NCCIC to report to the Congress on HIRTs’ activities at the end of each of the first four fiscal years following the bill’s enactment. Using information from DHS and considering information about similar reporting requirements, CBO estimates that implementing S. 3309 would cost less than $500,000 over the 2019-2023 period; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. Enacting S. 3309 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that enacting S. 3309 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029. S. 3309 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. On March 15, 2018, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 5074, the DHS Cyber Incident Response Teams Act of 2018, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Homeland Security on March 7, 2018. The two pieces of legislation are similar and the estimated budgetary effects are the same.
