A bipartisan pairing of House members has introduced legislation that would direct the Education Department to award up to $10 million in grants to promote the integration of cybersecurity education into career and technical education programs that benefit the U.S. critical infrastructure workforce.
The Cybersecurity Skills Integration Act was offered on March 11 by Reps. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., and Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., who are the co-chairs of the Congressional Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus.
According to the text of the bill, the measure aims to “improve the competencies of the critical infrastructure workforce, particularly operators of critical infrastructure technologies, by developing postsecondary career and technical education programs that integrate cybersecurity education.”
Individual grants under the proposed program would not exceed $500,000 per year, and education programs funded by the grants would have to align with the NICE cybersecurity workforce framework developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
In making the grants, the Education Department would consult with the Labor Department and the Department of Homeland Security to determine areas of greatest workforce needs across critical infrastructure sectors.
“This bipartisan legislation seeks to create a pilot program that will award competitive grants to career and technical education programs that integrate cybersecurity into their curriculum,” the sponsors’ offices said.
“In critical infrastructure sectors like telecommunications, agriculture, energy, or health care, a workforce with basic cybersecurity skills is essential to our public safety,” their offices said.
“Unfortunately, many training programs in these fields do not place the same emphasis on cybersecurity as they do on physical safety,” they continued, adding, “By working to close the cybersecurity skills gap, this legislation will help better prepare our nation to defend our critical infrastructure from cyber threats.”
“It’s important that students have access to the necessary education and training to respond to breaches and keep our data systems secure,” Thompson said.
“This bipartisan legislation will help secure a strong future for our country’s critical infrastructure by providing students with increased access to cybersecurity education programs,” stated Bonamici.
Similar legislation was offered in the House by Thompson in 2023, but it did not make it out of the House Education and Workforce Committee.