Panel Passes Cyber Workforce Reform

The House Science and Technology's Research and Science Education Subcommittee passed legislation on Wednesday that would strengthen the federal cybersecurity research and development portfolio by improving training for the IT workforce and facilitating better partnerships between the private sector and government. The bill would require federal agencies to create a roadmap detailing its role and the level of funding required to fulfill research objectives, and would require the National Science Foundation to support research on the social and behavioral aspects of cybersecurity.

An amendment sponsored by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, also would make the Cyber Scholarship for Service program more inclusive of minority students. "In recent decades, we have seen the growing importance of cybersecurity," Johnson said in a statement. "We will only attract the strongest candidates to this field if we recruit from as large a group of young people as possible. Programs that encourage diversity help to strengthen our workforce and keep us safe."