Review - HR 6429 Introduced – Diverse Cybersecurity Workforce

Earlier this month, Rep Brown (D,OH) introduced HR 6429, the Expanding Cybersecurity Workforce Act of 2025. The bill would require CISA to establish, within their current Cybersecurity Education and Training Assistance Program (CETAP), a new program to promote the cybersecurity field to disadvantaged communities. It would authorize $20 million per year through 2030 to support the program

HR 6429 is essentially the same as HR 8469, the Diverse Cybersecurity Workforce Act of 2024, that was introduced by Brown in May 2024. No additional actions were taken on that bill in the 118^th Congress.

Moving Forward

While Brown is not a member of the House Homeland Security Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration, five of her 29 cosponsors {Ranking Member Thompson (D,MS), Rep Goldman (D,NY), Rep Ramirez (D,IL), Rep Johnson (D,TX), Rep Carter (D,LA)} are members. This means that there may be sufficient influence to see the bill considered in Committee, but with the lack of any Republican cosponsor (because this is, after all a diversity program), and adding a new program to CISA’s workforce development slate, means that the legislation will have a hard-time getting enough support form committee republicans to be able to move the program to the floor of the House under the suspension of the rules process.

 

For more details about the provisions of this bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-6429-introduced-diverse-cybersecurity subscription required.