Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman James R. Walkinshaw (VA-11), a Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and Congressman Don Bacon (NE-02) today introduced the bipartisan Cybersecurity Logging Enforcement and Accountability Reporting (CLEAR) Act, legislation requiring the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to report to Congress on the gaps preventing the Department from fully meeting federal cybersecurity event logging requirements.

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. A December 2023 Government Accountability Office report found that DHS and other federal agencies had not fully implemented event logging requirements mandated under Executive Order 14028 and Office of Management and Budget directives.

GAO also found that federal agencies reported more than 32,000 information security incidents to the Department of Homeland Security in Fiscal Year 2023 alone. At the same time, artificial intelligence is transforming the cybersecurity landscape at a speed and scale that demands urgent action. As cyber threats become more sophisticated and frequent, we must ensure the Department has all the information and tools it needs to effectively respond to cybersecurity incidents.

“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,” said Congressman Walkinshaw. “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,” said Congressman Bacon. “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. I’m pleased to join Rep. Walkinshaw on this bipartisan effort to strengthen DHS cybersecurity and improve accountability.”

“Cybersecurity threats are rapidly growing and becoming more sophisticated than ever. Ensuring the proper tools and effective processes are in place allows for those threats to be quickly mitigated and thwarted before an incident evolves,” said ITI President and CEO Jason Oxman. “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.”

The CLEAR Act requires DHS to submit a report to Congress within 180 days identifying the specific gaps in resources, guidance, and policies preventing the Department from meeting all federal cybersecurity event logging requirements, along with what is needed to close those gaps. The legislation also requires DHS to brief relevant congressional committees and publish an unclassified summary for the public.

As cyber threats targeting federal agencies continue to grow, DHS needs full visibility across its networks to detect malicious activity, investigate incidents, and protect critical systems. Full implementation of federal event logging requirements is essential to that mission.

This bill is endorsed by the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI).

Read the bill text here.

###