Review - HR 9520 Introduced – Federal Cyber Workforce Training

Earlier this month, Rep Fallon (R,TX) introduced HR 9520, the Federal Cyber Workforce Training Act of 2024. The bill would require the National Cyber Director to formulate a plan for the establishment of a federal cyber training institute. It does not authorize the actual establishment of the institute, that would require subsequent legislation. The bill specifically does not authorize new spending. This is a companion measure to S 4715 [removed from paywall], which was introduced in July when it was ordered reported favorably with substitute language. That report (and the revised version) has not yet been printed.

Moving Forward

Fallon is a member of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration. This means that there may be sufficient influence to see the bill considered in Committee. With new spending being prohibited, I see nothing in this bill that would engender any organized opposition. I suspect that the bill would receive some level of bipartisan support, perhaps enough that it could be considered under the suspension of the rules process.

Commentary

While the proposed institute is not a cybersecurity institute, all cyber work roles should include some level of cybersecurity responsibilities. I think it would be helpful to delineate a responsibility for the institute to establish a minimum level of cybersecurity training for all cyber personnel. To that end, I would like to suggest the insertion of a new §2(b)(2)(C):

“(C) establish a common skill level cybersecurity curriculum for all entry level positions and a more advanced cybersecurity training program for personnel transitioning to mid-career level positions;”

 

For more information about the provisions of this bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-9520-introduced - subscription required. 

HSGA Takes Action on 3 Bills of Interest –

Today, the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held the continuation of last week’s Business Meeting. While not all of the bills listed on the agenda were addressed today, the three bills that I identified as being of potential interest here were amended and recommended reported favorably by a vote of 10 to 1 in all three instances. There were four additional yeah votes cast by proxy, but those are only reported, not counted in the official vote tally. The three bills were:

S 4630, Streamlining Federal Cybersecurity Regulations Act,

S 4697, Healthcare Cybersecurity Act of 2024, and

S 4715, Federal Cyber Workforce Training Act of 2024

The Committee does not typically publish substitute language, or other amendments. We will have to wait for the publication of the Committee’s reports on the bills to see what changes have been made.

In all three cases, the Committee adopted substitute language from the original author. For S 4630 and S 4697, that language was further modified by unanimous consent. The one Nay vote for each of the bills came from Sen Paul (R,KY). Paul’s opposition practically means that there is little chance of the bill being considered under the Senate’ unanimous consent process, as he is quick to use his objection to thwart the consideration of bills that he opposes. Since Paul is the Ranking Member, he has effective veto of these bills being considered as amendments to bills being considered on the floor of the Senate.

Review - S 4715 Introduced – Cyber Workforce Development

Earlier this month Sen Rounds (R,SD) introduced S 4715, the Federal Cyber Workforce Training Act of 2024. The bill would require the National Cyber Director to formulate a plan for the establishment of a federal cyber training institute. It does not authorize the actual establishment of the institute, that would require subsequent legislation. The bill specifically does not authorize new spending.

Moving Forward

This bill is scheduled to be taken up by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee tomorrow. This typically means that there is consensus on how to move forward with the bill. I suspect that there will be significant bipartisan support for the bill. The main question is whether or not Sen Paul (R,KY) will support the bill. While the bill can (and probably will) pass without Paul’s vote, his opposition will signal that the bill would not be able to be considered under the Senate’s unanimous consent process, nor would it likely be able to be considered as an amendment to another, more politically important bill.

Commentary

While the proposed institute is not a cybersecurity institute, all cyber work roles should include some level of cybersecurity responsibilities. I think it would be helpful to delineate a responsibility for the institute to establish a minimum level of cybersecurity training for all cyber personnel. To that end, I would like to suggest the insertion of a new §2(b)(2)(C):

“(C) establish a common skill level cybersecurity curriculum for all entry level positions and a more advanced cybersecurity training program for personnel transitioning to mid-career level positions;”

 

For more details about the provisions of this bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/s-4715-introduced - subscription required.

 

HSGA Committee Announces Continuation of Markup Hearing – 7-31-24

Today, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee announced that it had rescheduled last week’s business meeting for Wednesday. Last week’s meeting only ended up covering one bill (S 1171, the ETHICS Act) out of the 33 scheduled. There are three bills of interest here that are on the list of bills to be considered:

S 4630, Streamlining Federal Cybersecurity Regulations Act,

S 4697, Healthcare Cybersecurity Act of 2024, and

S 4715, Federal Cyber Workforce Training Act of 2024.

Review - Congressional Hearings – Week of 7-21-24

This week, with both the House and Senate back in Washington (and looking forward to their August Recess). In addition to some high-profile hearings (not covered here) on the attempted Trump assassination, there is a full slate of hearings in both bodies. Spending bills are being teed up in the House with a Rules Committee hearing. There are two transportation related hearings in the House. There is one cybersecurity regulatory panel scheduled.

Spending Bills

The House Rules Committee will meet today to formulate the rule for the consideration of four spending bills (FinServices, IER, EWR, and ARD).

The Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday to mark up four spending bill; CJS, IER, State, and Thud.

Transportation Hearings

On Tuesday, the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a hearing on “Examining the State of Rail Safety in the Aftermath of the Derailment in East Palestine, Ohio”.

On Wednesday, the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a hearing on “Examining the Department of Transportation’s Regulatory and Administrative Agenda”.

will not be a DOT spokesperson on the panel.

Cybersecurity

On Thursday, the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee will hold a hearing on “Enhancing Cybersecurity by Eliminating Inconsistent Regulations”.

Markup Hearings

On Wednesday, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a business meeting. The bills of interest here include:

S 4630, Streamlining Federal Cybersecurity Regulations Act,

S 4697, Healthcare Cybersecurity Act of 2024, and

S 4715, Federal Cyber Workforce Training Act of 2024

On the Floor

In addition to the two spending bills described above, The House will be taking up 20 bills under the suspension of the rules process, including the following bill of interest here: HR 8812, Water Resources Development Act. That will be considered today, though a final vote (if needed) may not happen until later this week.

 

For more details about these hearings, including witness lists, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/congressional-hearings-week-of-7 - subscription required.

Bills Introduced – 7-11-24

With both the House and Senate in Washington (and the House leaving for a district week), there were 106 bills introduced yesterday. Ten of those bills may receive additional coverage in this blog:

HR 8996 To enhance safety requirements for trains transporting hazardous materials, and for other purposes. Nehls, Troy E. [Rep.-R-TX-22]

HR 8997 Making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, and for other purposes. Fleischmann, Charles J. "Chuck" [Rep.-R-TN-3]

HR 8998 Making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, and for other purposes. Simpson, Michael K. [Rep.-R-ID-2]

HR 9026 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025 Rogers, Harold [Rep.-R-KY-5]

S 4677 An original bill making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, and for other purposes. Sinema, Kyrsten [Sen.-I-AZ]

S 4678 An original bill making appropriations for the Legislative Branch for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, and for other purposes. Reed, Jack [Sen.-D-RI] 

S 4690 An original bill making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, and for other purposes. Heinrich, Martin [Sen.-D-NM]

S 4697 A bill to enhance the cybersecurity of the Healthcare and Public Health Sector. Rosen, Jacky [Sen.-D-NV]

S 4715 A bill to require the National Cyber Director to submit to Congress a plan to establish an institute within the Federal Government to serve as a centralized resource and training center for Federal cyber workforce development. Rounds, Mike [Sen.-R-SD]

S 4719 A bill to provide the Secretary of Energy with the authority to enter into contracts and cooperative agreements to improve the security and resilience of defense critical electric infrastructure and reduce the vulnerability of critical defense facilities to the disruption of the supply of energy to those facilities, and for other purposes. Cortez Masto, Catherine [Sen.-D-NV]

I will be covering the six spending bills (HR 8997, HR 8998, HR 9026, S 4677, S 4678, and S 4690).

I will be covering HR 8996, S 4715, and S 4719.

I will be watching S 4697 for language and definitions that would specifically include medical devices and other operational technologies used in the healthcare sector.