HR 8469 Rules Committee Action – FY 2027 MilCon Spending

 This afternoon the House Rules Committee passed H Res 1275, the rule for the consideration of five bills this week, including HR 8469, the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2027. The resolution passed by a party-line vote of 8 to 2. That bill will be considered under a structured rule with limited debate and 51 amendments were cleared for debate and vote during the consideration of the legislation. None of those amendments are of significant interest here. 

Two of the three fiscal problem members of the Committee voted for the Resolution. The third, Rep Roy (R,TX) did not vote, but it is not clear if that was a soft-Nay or just a missed vote. In any case, the first hurdle on the road to the President’s desk has been cleared. Later this week, the House will vote on an amended version of the bill which will rise or fall on a near party-line vote in the full House. It could still go either way. 

Review - Committee Hearings – Week of 5-10-26

With both the House and Senate back in Washington, there is a moderately busy hearing scheduled. Spending bill markups continue in the House, while the Senate concentrates on budget hearings. There is one markup hearing of interest in the House. Finally, we expect (hope) to see the first FY 2027 spending bill on the House floor this week. 

Markup Hearings  

On Thursday, the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence of the House Homeland Security Committee will hold a business meeting that will include the markup of the following bill of interest here: 

HR 7448, Modernizing and Improving the National Terrorism Advisory System Act of 2026. 

On the Floor  

The first FY 2027 spending bill (HR 8469) is scheduled to come to the floor in the House this week, probably Wednesday or perhaps Thursday. The first problem this bill will face will be the three fiscal fanatics in the House Rules Committee. If they do not support the rule vote in Committee, the bill will not come to the floor under a rule. While this bill may not be fiscally radical enough for them, it is certainly too radical to pass under the suspension of the rules process. There will not be enough Democrats to get the supermajority required for passage under that process. 

For more information on these hearings, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/committee-hearings-week-of-5-10-26 - subscription required. 

Review - HR 8469 Introduced – FY 2027 MilCon Spending

 Last week, Rep Carter (R,TX) introduced HR 8469, the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2027. The Committee Report on the legislation has been published. This is the first FY 2027 spending bill introduced. It would provide appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies. There are no cybersecurity provisions in the bill, but there are two cybersecurity discussions in the Report. 

Moving Forward   

 The MilCon spending bill is typically one of the least controversial spending bills, but it still only drew party-line support last year. The relatively low increases in spending are unlikely to draw ire from the fiscal flank of the Republican House. Interestingly, there may be increased (over last year) Democratic support for this bill, with the ‘Minority View’ section on page 120, concluding:  

 “While the bill is not the bill Democrats would have written, it is a much-improved bill from last year. The Chairman worked in good faith towards bipartisanship both in drafting his bill and in the compromise reached during full committee markup, leading to unanimous passage out of full committee. We look forward to continuing to work with the majority as the bill moves through the process.” 

For more information on the cybersecurity provsions of this bill and report, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-8469-introduced-fy-2027-milcon - subscription required.  

Review – Bills Introduced – 4-23-26

 Yesterday, with just the House in session, there were 47 bills introduced. One of those bills will receive additional coverage in this blog: 

• HR 8469 Making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2027, and for other purposes. Carter, John R. [Rep.-R-TX-31] 

For more information on these bills, including legislative history for similar bills in the 118th Congress, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/bills-introduced-4-23-26 - subscription required. 

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.

Review - HR 8469 Introduced – Diverse Cybersecurity Workforce

Back in May, Rep Brown (D,OH) introduced HR 8469, the Diverse Cybersecurity Workforce Act of 2024. 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.

Moving Forward

While Brown is not a member of the House Homeland Security Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration, four of her cosponsors {Rep Carter (D,LA), Rep Ramirez (D,IL), Rep Thompson (D,MS), Rep Goldman (D,NY), and Rep Jackson-Lee (D,TX)} 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 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 the bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-8469-introduced - subscription required.

Bills Introduced – 5-21-24

Yesterday, with both the House and Senate in session, there were 46 bills introduced. One of those bills will receive additional attention in this blog:

HR 8469 Introduced - To establish in the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of the Department of Homeland Security a program to promote the cybersecurity field to disadvantaged communities, including older individuals, racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, geographically diverse communities, socioeconomically diverse communities, women, individuals from nontraditional educational paths, individuals who are veterans, and individuals who were formerly incarcerated, and for other purposes. Brown, Shontel M. [Rep.-D-OH-11] 

That description covers such a wide base of potential individual to be the focus of the program, I will be interested in seeing how the crafters of this bill expect a single program to adequately address each of the varying constituencies.