Congress orders audit of Coast Guard's cyber readiness for U.S. ports
H.R. 7625 — MTS CYBER Act of 2026 · Filed by Addison McDowell (R-NC) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 20, 2026 · Reported out
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What it does
This bill directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to audit the Coast Guard's budget, staffing, and capabilities to determine whether it has adequate resources to manage cybersecurity risks in the marine transportation system—a responsibility it was given under recent executive orders and federal rules. The audit will assess funding for cybersecurity personnel, training, and enforcement, and will evaluate whether the Coast Guard can effectively oversee maritime industry compliance with new cyber regulations.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is a directive to the GAO to conduct a review and report findings to Congress. It is a transparency and oversight measure, not a substantive policy change or appropriation.
What the text implies
- The audit may reveal significant underfunding of Coast Guard cybersecurity operations, potentially triggering pressure for emergency supplemental appropriations or budget reallocation.
- The 270-day timeline creates a near-term deadline (approximately 9 months post-enactment) that may accelerate congressional action on maritime cybersecurity funding before the next fiscal year.
- By explicitly referencing Executive Order 14116 and the Coast Guard's final cybersecurity rule, the bill signals congressional intent to hold the executive branch accountable for implementing its own cyber mandates with adequate resources.
- The audit's assessment of 'sufficiency of guidance' to industry may expose gaps in regulatory clarity, potentially leading to follow-up legislation clarifying compliance expectations or providing safe harbors for good-faith implementation.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill creates accountability for a critical national security function by requiring an independent audit of whether the Coast Guard is adequately resourced to protect maritime infrastructure from cyber threats. Citizens depend on secure ports and shipping for economic stability and national security; an audit that surfaces resource gaps enables Congress to make informed appropriations decisions and hold the executive branch accountable for fulfilling its cybersecurity duties.
Named in the bill
Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Transportation, Government Accountability Office (GAO), Transportation Security Administration, Executive Order 14116, Presidential Policy Directive 21, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 1 Democrats, 1 Republicans.
- Feb 20, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 20, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Homeland Security and House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland…”
- Sep 15, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
- Sep 15, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $240,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 99 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Addison McDowell, the sponsor, reported $560,000 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Fdd Action — $240,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (4,109 characters) on Aug 13, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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