Cybersecurity Policy Report, Bipartisan House Bill Spotlights DHS’s Cyber Incident Logging Failures, (Jun 26, 2026)
The Department of Homeland Security would have to explain to Congress why it can’t comply with the federal government’s directives on cybersecurity event logging under bipartisan House legislation.
The Cybersecurity Logging Enforcement and Accountability Reporting (CLEAR) Act (H.R. 9492, 119th Cong. (2026)) was introduced yesterday by Reps. James Walkinshaw (D., Va.) and Don Bacon (R., Neb.).
Introduction of the bill was prompted by a 2023 Government Accountability Office report that found that DHS was one of 20 executive branch agencies that had failed to implement advanced network logging capabilities as required by a White House directive (CPR, Dec. 4, 2023).
“Event logging, which tracks activity across an agency’s networks and systems, is a foundational cybersecurity tool. Without comprehensive event logging, agencies can miss intrusions, lose critical data needed to investigate cyber incidents, and fail to respond to threats in time,” Reps. Walkinshaw and Bacon explained in a news release.
The bill would give DHS 180 days to report to Congress on its efforts to implement cyber event logging and whether any “gaps in resources ... prevent the Department from satisfying such requirements,” according to its text.
“DHS is supposed to be the tip of the spear on federal cybersecurity. That means meeting its own cybersecurity requirements, not just setting standards for others,” Rep. Walkinshaw said. “This bill is simple: show Congress what’s broken, what resources are missing, and what it will take to fix it. When federal networks are under attack, DHS cannot afford blind spots.”
“The cybersecurity threats facing our federal agencies continue to escalate, and DHS cannot afford blind spots across its networks,” Rep. Bacon said. “The CLEAR Act will give Congress the insight needed to ensure DHS is fully implementing federal event logging standards, closing compliance gaps, and protecting some of our nation’s most critical systems.”
“Cybersecurity threats are rapidly growing and becoming more sophisticated than ever,” noted Jason Oxman, president and chief executive officer of the Information Technology Industry Council, which endorsed the bill.
“Ensuring the proper tools and effective processes are in place allows for those threats to be quickly mitigated and thwarted before an incident evolves,” Mr. Oxman said. “Representatives James Walkinshaw and Don Bacon’s bipartisan Cybersecurity Logging Enforcement and Accountability Reporting (CLEAR) Act helps ensure the Department of Homeland Security has a clear understanding of where gaps exist so it can strengthen U.S. cyber defenses and better protect U.S. critical infrastructure and American communities.”
News: FederalLegislation DataSecurity