A roughly $550 billion spending bill being considered by the Senate for investment in the nation’s infrastructure includes at least $1 billion for cybersecurity, mostly for state and local grants but also a sliver to help the new executive Office of the National Cyber Director (NCD) staff up.
The Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act contains $21 million for the NCD’s office, which will help coordinate and implement the nation’s cybersecurity strategy and policies from the White House.
“I applaud the inclusion of this important funding priority for the new Office of the National Cyber Director in the bipartisan infrastructure package,” Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), ranking member on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said in a statement. “The Office of the National Cyber Director is tasked with coordinating the implementation of national cyber policy and strategy and it is crucial that it has the funding and resources needed in order to effectively and efficiently develop national cyber policies that best protect federal networks, data, and critical infrastructure.”
Chris Inglis was confirmed by the Senate in June to be the first NCD.
The Senate in July passed a bill that would allow Inglis to hire temporary staff from federal agencies on a non-reimbursable basis for up to three years. The bill is awaiting House approval.
The infrastructure package also includes a new grant program, the State and Local Cybersecurity Improvement Act, which is sponsored by Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and includes $1 billion to create a four-year program that would be administered by the Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency provide resources to state and local governments to strengthen their cyber defenses.
Hassan’s provision also calls for the DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to provide subject matter expertise in support of the grants.
“State and local governments need more resources to prevent cyberattacks that can devastate their ability to carry out day-to-day functions that citizens rely on, from protecting school data to keeping utilities up and running,” Hassan said in a statement.