WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation that would vastly increase federal spending on computer security in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. came closer to becoming law on Friday when a key Senate committee approved it.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, and Sen. George Allen, a Virginia Republican, would authorize $875 million in grant funds for research and education to deal with potential threats to technology.
The measure, approved on a voice vote of the Senate Commerce Committee, is expected to win easy passage in the full Senate. Similar legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly in February.
The hijack attacks of Sept. 11 heightened concerns about the vulnerability of the nation's telecommunications, Internet and other vital networks to computer-based attack.
In several hearings last fall, experts told Congress the nation needed to spend more money to encourage long-term academic research in cybersecurity to supplement efforts by commercial software companies.
The new funds would come on top of roughly $60 million the federal government currently devotes to network security.
Business groups have praised the measure, noting that cybersecurity attacks have increased dramatically in the past several years.
The National Science Foundation and the National Institute for Standards and Technology would hand out the money in the form of research grants, fellowships and internships for students, and funds to improve undergraduate and master's degree programs in network security.
The committee also approved and sent to the floor another bill co-sponsored by Wyden and Allen to provide an organizational structure to quickly locate and mobilize science and technology expertise in times of crisis. It does not yet have a House companion bill.
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