From his perch as the top Republican on the U.S. Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., brought back two bills to protect America’s small businesses from cyber threats.

At the start of 2019, Rubio teamed up with U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Mary., now the chairman of the Small Business Committee, on SBA Cyber Awareness Act.” Rubio brought the bill back this week with the support of U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Jim Risch, R-Idaho.

“This bill would require the Small Business Administration (SBA) to develop a cyber strategy, examine its IT system components’ country of origin, and report on breaches and threats to the Small Business Committees,” Rubio’s office noted.

Rubio also teamed up with U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, on the “Small Business Cyber Training Act” in 2019. He brought that bill back with the support of Cassidy, U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-NH, Risch and Shaheen.

“This bill would create a training program for small business development centers (SBDCs) to prepare counselors in cyber planning assistance. Specifically, the bill would require SBDCs to employees certified in cyber strategy counseling for small businesses,” Rubio’s office noted.

Rubio weighed in on the bills this week.

“As evidenced by recent cyber attacks on American companies, it is extremely important to protect our small businesses from cybersecurity threats,” Rubio said. “These two bills would give small businesses the tools they need to safeguard themselves against today’s growing cybersecurity risks.”

Both bills were sent to the Small Business Committee. So far, there is no companion measure in the U.S. House for either of the proposals.

Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.