A busy week for tech policy legislation continued Wednesday, as two House Committees approved bills ahead of Cybersecurity Week in the House next week. CQ's Tim Starks brings us another update on the House debate, which is just the start for such measures, according to GOP cybersecurity task force leader Mac Thornberry, R-Texas. Thornberry told CQ he thinks legislators will be passing cybersecurity legislation "as long as we live." His prediction is recognition that cybersecurity will likely be one of the most prominent national security issues going forward, and is unlikely to be resolved by a single legislative package, no matter how comprehensive.

CQ's Rachael Bade and Annelise Russell report the House Oversight Committee approved by voice vote a bill (HR 4257) from chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif, and ranking Democrat Elijah Cummings of Maryland designed to update the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA). Reforming FISMA, which dictates how federal civilian agencies should protect their networks, has bipartisan support and has been included in a number of cybersecurity bills in recent years. The Oversight bill differs from the Senate comprehensive cybersecurity bill in that it would place the White House and the Office of Management and Budget in charge of cybersecurity, rather than the Department of Homeland Security. CQ Homeland Security's Joanna Anderson reports on the bill (HR 3674) approved Wednesday by the House Homeland Security Committee, which was approved by a partisan vote of 16-13. The legislation from Cybersecurity Subcommittee Chairman Dan Lungren, R-Calif., would task DHS with protecting federal networks and assisting critical infrastructure owners in safeguarding their systems. The Committee also approved an amendment that would significantly scale back the bill's requirements, prompting Democrats to argue the watered-down bill wouldn't go far enough to improve cybersecurity. Lungren's bill is preferred by privacy groups over the information-sharing bill from the House Intelligence Committee, but business groups are more enthusiastic about the latter.

Speaking of the Intelligence bill, it continues to face strong headwinds from privacy and civil rights advocates, and has become the most controversial aspect of the House cybersecurity push. Two other bills from Texas Republicans are also likely to be considered next week; both deal with computer research and development. The bill from Michael McCaul (HR 2096) focuses on defenses against threats, while Ralph Hall's bill (HR 3834) is focused more on general information technology. The two are likely to be combined. A separate draft bill from Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., to increase the penalties for cybercrimes has been delayed due to a recent court decision that narrowed the scope of computer fraud law.

Export Controls on Space Tech May Be Relaxed: CQ's John M. Donnelly reports the Defense and State departments released a report on Wednesday urging that the export restrictions be relaxed on certain satellites and related components. The report is expected to booster efforts on the Hill to give satellite makers some freedom to export their products, including legislation (HR 3288) from Reps. Howard Berman, D-Calif., and Donald Manzullo, R-Ill. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo, said he plans to introduce similar legislation soon. The administration's report urges that certain purely military and intelligence satellites be kept on Foggy Bottom's munitions control list, and that countries such as China, Iran, and North Korea not get even less tightly controlled technologies. Senate Begins Confirming Privacy Board Members: The Senate Judiciary Committee held a nomination hearing on Wednesday to consider President Obama's nominees to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. CQ Homeland Security's Jennifer Scholtes reports it's the first time in years that Senate lawmakers have started the confirmation process for the five-member board, which was created in 2004 but has been vacant since Congress reconstituted it in 2007. The comprehensive cybersecurity bill backed by Senate leadership and the Obama administration (S 2105) would give the privacy board an oversight role. Several privacy groups opposed to the House Intelligence Committee's information sharing bill wrote to lawmakers ahead of Wednesday's hearing, urging swift confirmation of board members. House C-J-S Spending Bill Sets Up Conflict Over Weather Satellites: CQ's John Gramlich reports House Republicans released a draft fiscal 2013 Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill that sets up a conflict with the Senate over which agency - NASA or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - should pay to acquire weather satellites. During Tuesday's markup, the Senate Subcommittee shifted funding for the satellites to NASA but said NOAA would still operate them. Subcommittee chairwoman Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., said cost overruns at NOAA were the primary cause, but House appropriators believe the satellites should stay in the NOAA and were caught off guard by the Senate's action. E-Verify Mandate Still in Limbo: CQ's David Harrison reports the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy held a hearing on the E-Verify worker eligibility verification system on Wednesday, the sixth hearing on the topic so far in this Congress. The DHS system verifies new employees' legal status by running their Social Security number against a government database. Federal contractors and employers in several states are required to use E-Verify to check all new hires, but Judiciary chairman Lamar Smith has sponsored a bill (HR 2885) that would make the system mandatory nationwide.

The Committee approved the measure in September, but it has not been scheduled for debate on the House floor. Supporters are quietly lobbying for a vote on the bill, while Democrats countered that the debate is a waste of time. Agricultural groups are opposed to the legislation, which they argue would severely harm their industry. Civil liberties advocates including the ACLU have also opposed the mandate, arguing almost any error rate from the system would create a de facto blacklist of workers unfairly barred from seeking employment.

CQ Homeland Security's Rob Margetta reports there was also some controversy before the hearing, as the panel's GOP leaders withdrew an invitation for a witness from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Subcommittee chairman Elton Gallegly, R-Calif., said ICE was "unresponsive" to a request for relevant statistics and data on whether E-Verify would cut down on the use of fraudulent  documents by illegal immigrants during the hiring process. Chairman Lamar Smith said DHS has shown a pattern of refusing to turn over immigration-related information and suggested ICE had been censored by the administration.