Bipartisan Thompson bill would ramp up cybersecurity education, workforce

U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) on Oct. 30 sponsored a bipartisan bill that would establish a federal pilot program to award competitive grants for the integration of cybersecurity education.

“Our society is increasingly reliant on cyber technologies for our most critical infrastructure,” said Rep. Thompson, co-chair of the congressional Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus. “As bad actors increase cyberattacks, we must ensure we are protecting our most sensitive data.”

Along with fellow CTE Caucus co-chair U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Rep. Thompson offered the Cybersecurity Skills Integration Act, H.R. 6124, which would create a pilot program within the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) to award competitive grants to CTE programs that integrate cybersecurity into their curriculum.

“This legislation empowers the next generation of learners to have the most sophisticated and comprehensive education to better protect our essential systems and assets for years to come,” Rep. Thompson said.

When awarding grants under H.R. 6124, the DOE also would be required to coordinate with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the defense of the nation’s 16 critical infrastructure sectors, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which promotes a robust ecosystem of cybersecurity education and training.

“Growing the cybersecurity workforce will help protect sensitive data and critical infrastructure from bad actors,” said Rep. Bonamici. “The bipartisan Cybersecurity Skills Integration Act will provide more students with access to cybersecurity education programs and give them the skills to fill high-wage, in-demand jobs. I’m pleased to join my colleague Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson to update CTE programs to meet the needs of our modern workforce.”

H.R. 6124 has garnered support from the Consortium for School Networking, the Association for Career and Technical Education, Advance CTE, IBM Corp., SANS Institute/GIAC Certifications, and Palo Alto Networks.