Omnibus package also includes Johnson priority to fight cyberattacks

WASHINGTON — Two key priorities of Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), strengthening national security protections in the Visa Waiver Program to keep terrorists off U.S. soil, and improving cooperation to stop cyberattacks, passed Congress on Friday.

The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) of 2015, S. 754, and the majority of the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act, S. 2362, passed as part of the 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill.

Johnson, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, was the Senate sponsor of the reforms to the Visa Waiver Program. The program simplifies travel between the United States and a group of 38 countries, but in the wake of attacks in Paris by terrorists holding passports from European countries in the program, Congress sought to enhance the security measures in it.

“I am pleased that these reforms have passed Congress,” said Johnson on Friday. “Protecting Americans against terrorism is something we can all agree on. These reforms to the Visa Waiver Program will improve our ability to keep terrorists out of the United States while maintaining the legitimate travel and the security benefits of the Visa Waiver Program.”

Johnson also was part of a bipartisan group that shepherded the cybersecurity reforms through Senate and House homeland security and intelligence committees, and he crafted the reforms of network security for federal computer systems with Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, ranking member of the Senate’s homeland security committee. The bill enables private companies and the federal government to share information about attempts to steal information from computer systems.

“Foreign adversaries are pillaging American companies for their intellectual property and our government agencies for their sensitive data,” said Johnson on Friday, citing notorious cyberattacks on private companies and the theft of personal data on millions of Americans from the Office of Personnel Management and the Internal Revenue Service. “The Cybersecurity Act of 2015 is an important step in the right direction. It requires federal agencies to use common-sense solutions. It’s long overdue, and I am pleased that it now has passed.”

Sen. Johnson’s comments on the omnibus appropriations bill can be found here.