Industry Coalition Urges Congress to Extend CISA Through 2035 via Defense Authorization

A coalition of 35 industry groups is pressing Congress to leverage the annual defense policy bill to renew legislation that shields companies from legal liability when they share cyber‑threat intelligence with federal agencies.

In a Nov. 1 letter addressed to the leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees, the groups urged negotiators to retain a provision in the House defense bill that would extend the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) of 2015 through 2035. The statute lapsed during last year’s historic government shutdown and has been kept alive via successive appropriations measures; its most recent extension is set to expire on Dec. 11.

Signatories comprise the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Software Alliance, the American Bankers Association, Airlines for America, the American Public Power Association, and the National Rural Water Association.

“In this environment, the speed and breadth with which defenders share information determines whether they keep pace with adversaries,” the groups wrote. “That speed depends on the legal certainty CISA 2015 provides.”

The statute’s core liability protections are intended to insulate firms from lawsuits and regulatory sanctions when they disclose threat data to federal partners such as the FBI or the National Security Agency. Such disclosures frequently contain personal or proprietary information linked to individuals and entities impacted by cyber breaches.

Industry groups have repeatedly cautioned lawmakers that allowing the measure to lapse would expose companies to legal risk when sharing breach data, potentially causing a decline in private‑sector threat reporting.

On the first day of last year’s shutdown, cybersecurity attorneys were already receiving calls from clients questioning whether their existing agreements still afforded protection.

Congress restored the law retroactively through January 2026 after the government reopened in November 2025. Lawmakers granted another extension in February of this year, initially setting the deadline to Sept. 30, and later moved the expiry to December via a stopgap funding measure.

A key sticking point in the Senate’s reauthorization effort has been what additional provisions to include in a longer renewal. Senators Gary Peters (D‑Mich.) and Mike Rounds (R‑S.D.) advocated for a ten‑year extension during last year’s shutdown.

Conversely, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R‑Ky.) told Roll Call last month that he wanted a provision prohibiting federal officials from pressuring social media companies to restrict speech. Paul, who regularly opposes clean extensions of the law, said he and Peters had discussed the amendment several times without reaching consensus.

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