The bill was introduced in the wake of the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline, which temporarily disrupted 45 percent of the East Coast’s fuel supply this week after the company chose to shut down the pipeline to protect operational controls. Slotkin sent a letter to major pipeline owners and operators in Michigan earlier this week in an effort to urge them to strengthen their cybersecurity protocols in the wake of the attack. She pointed to the Colonial Pipeline incident on Friday in underlining the need for the new legislation. “Cyber attacks like the ones launched against the Colonial Pipeline have the potential to devastate our economy and our way of life,” Slotkin said in a statement. “Even if the intent behind an attack is only to steal money or hold data for ransom, the broader consequences can be enormous for our national and economic security, as we’ve seen from public panic and subsequent gas shortages in a number of states on the East Coast this week.”