WASHINGTON, D.C. – 2026 will be Michigan Senator Gary Peters’ (D- MI) final year in Congress. We spoke with the Senator about his legislative priorities for his final year.
“I’m feeling good,” said the Senator. “There are still things that I want to get done but I think the biggest challenge we have in Congress right now is bringing people together, to find common ground.”
That’s Senator Peters’ response when asked about looking to 2026, his final year in Congress.
“Even though I’m not running for re-election I’m not going to retire,” said the Senator. “I’m going to continue to work and i hope to continue to work in ways that bring people together, to solve the really tough problems we face as a country. They shouldn’t all be hyper partisan; they shouldn’t be polarized. We’ve got to find common ground and that’s going to be my commitment over the next year and in the years to come.”
Peters, who is the Ranking Member on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said one of his main focuses for his final year will be on cyber security.
“This is probably one of the most significant threats we have to the homeland on a daily basis,” said the Senator. “So, we’re constantly being attacked either by criminal elements or state actors who are trying to get information or take money, ransomware, all those attacks are persistent.”
One piece of bipartisan legislation he’s advocating for is his Protecting America from Cyber Threats Act. It would enable private companies to voluntarily share cybersecurity threat indicators with the Department of Homeland Security. Peters said this collaboration has helped prevent data breaches, protected personal information, and strengthened the federal government’s ability to respond to cyberattacks from foreign adversaries and criminal networks.
“The example of it is if there’s a burglar in your neighborhood robbing houses, you want to know that so you can make sure your doors are locked and the police would drive through the neighborhood more than they normally would; it’s the same thing for cyber,” said the Senator. “But unfortunately, that law ends at the end of January. My extension would extend it for ten years as well as add additional protections. It’s absolutely essential and it’s a priority of mine to get passed.”
