This bill creates a systematic process for the federal government to identify and manage risks to America's critical infrastructure—the essential systems and services we all depend on, like power grids, water supplies, hospitals, and financial networks. Right now, there's no coordinated national approach to understanding these risks, so this law fills that gap.

Here's what it does: The Secretary of Homeland Security has to set up a regular cycle to identify threats to critical infrastructure, considering both cyber attacks and physical dangers. When doing this, they have to talk to the agencies responsible for different sectors (like energy or transportation), the companies that actually run these systems, and other key government officials. The process will collect information about what threats exist, how vulnerable systems are, and what would happen if something went wrong.

Once the Secretary identifies the risks, they report to the President and Congress within a year. The President then has to create a national strategy to address those risks—basically a plan for how the government will protect these critical systems and what resources are needed. This strategy gets delivered to Congress and includes which federal agencies are responsible for what. Every year after that, the Secretary briefs Congress on progress and how much money is actually needed to execute the plan.

In practical terms, this means the government will have a clearer picture of what could go wrong with essential services and a formal plan to prevent or respond to those problems. It also creates accountability by requiring regular reports to Congress so lawmakers can oversee whether the government is actually protecting these critical systems.

National Risk Management Act of 2023

Hassan, Margaret Wood

National Risk Management Act of 2023 This bill requires the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish a recurring process to identify and assess risks to critical infrastructure and requires the President to deliver to Congress a national critical infrastructure resilience strategy designed to address the risks identified. The process shall include elements to <ul> <li>collect relevant information from Sector Risk Management Agencies relating to the threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences related to the particular sectors of such agencies;</li> <li>allow critical infrastructure owners and operators to submit relevant information to DHS for consideration; and</li> <li>outline how DHS will solicit input from other federal departments and agencies.</li> </ul> DHS must brief the Senate and House homeland security committees on <ul> <li>the national risk management cycle activities undertaken pursuant to the strategy, and</li> <li>the amounts and timeline for funding that DHS has determined would be necessary to address risks and successfully execute the full range of activities proposed by the strategy.</li> </ul>