Rep. Langevin, key architect of cyber policy, announces plans to retire

House Armed Services cyber subcommittee Chairman James Langevin (D-RI), whose record includes landmark pieces of cyber legislation as well as the influential work of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, has announced he will retire at the end of the year.

“Like I promised when I first ran for office, I have done my best to stand up for you and your families. But after serving the people of Rhode Island for over three decades – including 11 terms and nearly 22 years in Congress -- today, I am announcing that I will not be a candidate for elected office this November,” according to a statement posted today by the Providence Journal.

Langevin, the first quadriplegic elected to Congress, said, “I am so proud of all that we have been able to accomplish together. I worked tirelessly to protect and advance the rights of Americans with disabilities, and I’ve worked across the aisle to invest in job training, apprenticeships, and career and technical education.”

Langevin said on cyber: “I led the efforts in Congress to strengthen our cybersecurity, and I stewarded dozens of Cyberspace Solarium Commission recommendations into law, including the establishment of the first-ever National Cyber Director.”

Langevin is a senior member of the House Homeland Security Committee and chairman of the Armed Services cyber subcommittee, and has played an essential role in securing inclusion of far-reaching cyber proposals in the annual National Defense Authorization Act, such as the language creating the Solarium Commission in the Fiscal Year 2019 NDAA.

He is currently closely engaged in efforts to pass an incident reporting law for critical infrastructure operators.

Langevin’s retirement plans follow the announcement last week by House Homeland Security ranking member John Katko (R-NY) that he will not seek re-election.

“In the last four days, cyber policy has lost two of its most important and vocal advocates. Man, these retirements hurt,” tweeted Michael Hettinger of Hettinger Strategy Group.