On Day 109, a ransomware attack on a major U.S. fuel pipeline turns up the heat on Biden’s ability to not just spend on infrastructure, but keep it secure.

Ransomware Attack Cripples Major U.S. Pipeline.

A ransomware attack allegedly executed by hacker group DarkSide crippled the computer systems at Colonial Pipeline, the company that supplies 45 percent of the East Coast’s fuel, and shut down a vital, 5,500-mile U.S. pipeline over the weekend. 

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on CBS Sunday that President Joe Biden had been briefed on the attack and that the Biden government was working “all hands on deck” to restore pipeline operations. The U.S. Department of Transportation issued an emergency declaration to create flexibility for transporting fuel and mitigate disruptions to supply. 

“Colonial Pipeline is the country’s largest refined products pipeline operator, transporting more than 100 million gallons of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and home heating oil, daily,” Business Insider reported. “A prolonged shutdown could roil fuel markets, disrupt supply to the East Coast and cause the price of gasoline to jump just as coronavirus pandemic restrictions lift and Americans begin summer travel.”

The attack draws attention again to the fact that Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan doesn’t include a strategy for securing critical infrastructure investments against cyberattacks or espionage—and experts admit that current federal guidelines are not clear or robust enough to condition infrastructure funding on security. On April 20, the White House separately announced a 100-day effort to bolster U.S. cybersecurity in various infrastructure sectors, beginning with the electric grid.

Meeting The Moment: Moms Edition.

The White House Gender Policy Council published a blog post on Mother’s Day explaining how the American Rescue Plan, the American Jobs Plan, and the American Families Plan “Meet the Moment for Moms.”

“Meeting the moment” is always Biden-speak for massive government spending, and on Mother’s Day, it also meant getting women who departed the workforce to care for their families into manual labor jobs, STAT.

• A line the teachers unions won’t like one bit: “Over the past year, many mothers have taken on the full-time jobs of educator and care provider when our schools and care facilities were closed.”
• It’s not enough to fully reopen schools so moms can return to work—”meeting the moment” NEEDS to cost trillions of dollars. “To honor America’s moms this Mother’s Day, we must recognize that it’s not enough for us simply to return to the status quo. We need to build back better by building an economy that values the dignity, labor, and choices of every mom.”
• The infrastructure plan will help send more women out to … replace lead pipes? “The plan would deliver high-speed internet to every American home —and replace every lead service pipe in America . . . To ensure that the economy is built on a foundation of equity, the American Jobs Plan would also strengthen the workforce pipeline for more women and communities of color to access these in-demand jobs.”
• Best of all, it’s going to be FREE. “Like the American Rescue Plan, the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan are essential to meeting the moment for mothers — they are critical investments in working families that can be paid for without adding a dollar to our debt.”