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DOE Needs to Ensure Its Plans Fully Address Risks to Distribution Systems  (GAO) Protecting the reliability of the U.S. electricity grid, which delivers electricity essential for modern life, is a long-standing national interest. The grid comprises three functions: generation, transmission, and distribution. In August 2019, GAO reported that the generation and transmission systems—which are federally regulated for reliability—are increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks.
GAO recommends that DOE more fully address risks to the grid’s distribution systems from cyberattacks—including their potential impact—in its plans to implement the national cybersecurity strategy. DOE agreed with GAO’s recommendation.

Bipartisan House Lawmakers to Reintroduce Grid Security Bill after Texas Outages, SolarWinds Attack  (Robert Walton, Utility Dive)
A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. House plan to reintroduce HR 5760, the Grid Security Research and Development Act, which would require the Department of Energy (DOE) to bolster the cyber and physical security capabilities of the electric grid. HR 5760 was passed by the House last year with bipartisan support, but was ultimately not included in the Energy Act of 2020 that became law last Congress, due to a debate over committee jurisdictions, Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., said Thursday at a hearing on last month’s Texas blackouts held by the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. The Texas grid collapse, western wildfires and SolarWinds cyber breach all “highlight the need for Congressional action to ensure the security and resilience of the U.S. energy sector,” Lucas said.

Expulsions of Families & Children Were Falling Before Trump Left  (David J. Bier, CATO Institute)
Both Republicans and Democrats have reasons to misstate President Biden’s border policies. At a hearing yesterday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas attempted to make his policies appear more compassionate than they are, and Republicans attempted to make the Trump administration seem more draconian than it was. Neither are presenting a fair reading of the facts.

Protectionism or National Security? The Use and Abuse of Section 232  (Scott Lincicome and Inu Manak

With several Section 232 tariffs still in place, and the status of other investigations unclear, the law presents an early test for the Biden administration and a signal about its future trade policy plans.

Wyden Calls for “Time Out” in Government Cybersecurity Contracting  (Aaron Schaffer, Washington Post)
A top Senate Democrat says the government needs to call “time out” and take a closer look at its cybersecurity spending in the wake of cyberattacks on SolarWinds and other software, as well as on Microsoft Exchange.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who chairs the Senate Finance Committee and also sits on the Intelligence Committee, says Congress needs to examine what went wrong that led to the breaches, which hit nine U.S. government agencies and tens of thousands of organizations.

Student-Visa Records Show Enrollments by Foreign Students Tumbled 18% In 2020  (Melissa Korn, Wall Street Journal)
New student visas declined by 72%, even steeper than early indicators suggested.

Portland Proves that Defunding the Police Is a Giant Mistake  (Jarrett Stepman, National Interest)
Wanton vandalism on one federal building or another has practically become the norm in Oregon.

4 Men Linked to Proud Boys Charged in Plot to Attack Capitol  (AP / VOA)
Four men described as leaders of the far-right Proud Boys have been charged in the U.S. Capitol riots, as an indictment ordered unsealed Friday presents fresh evidence of how federal officials believe group members planned and carried out a coordinated attack to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory. So far, at least 19 leaders, members or associates of the Proud Boys have been charged in federal court with offenses related to the January 6 riots. Proud Boys members, who describe themselves as a politically incorrect men’s club for “Western chauvinists,” have frequently engaged in street fights with antifascist activists at rallies and protests. Vice Media co-founder Gavin McInnes, who founded the Proud Boys in 2016, sued the Southern Poverty Law Center for labeling it as a hate group. The latest indictment suggests the Proud Boys deployed a much larger contingent in Washington, with more than 60 users participating in an encrypted messaging channel for group members that was created a day before the riots.

Why Quad Boosts India’s Vaccine Diplomacy: 5 Things to Know  (Kiran Sharma, Nikkei Asia)
Group to make and distribute 1bn COVID doses to counter China’s moves.