The House Foreign Affairs Committee has approved by a voice vote a bill that would reinstate a top cyber diplomat role within the State Department, Nextgov reported Wednesday.
The Cyber Diplomacy Act seeks to restore the DHS cyber coordinator position through the presidential appointment process and revive global cyber norms that Chris Painter pushed for when he held the post.
House Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce (R-California) and Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-New York) introduced the legislation in September.
“The bipartisan Cyber Diplomacy Act will help counter foreign threats on the internet while promoting human rights and new jobs and economic growth,” Engel said at the time.
The bill would establish a U.S. international cyber policy designed to accelerate democratic principles and mitigate potential attempts from foreign countries to extort control and censorship over the internet.
The Cyber Diplomacy Act also seeks to increase cyberspace partnership between U.S. and foreign governments as well as establish a congressional notification process.
