WASHINGTON, D.C. – Legislation authored by U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI), Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that would help recruit, develop and retain highly-skilled cybersecurity professionals in the federal workforce has passed the Senate. Agencies across the federal government face growing cyber threats, but struggle to hire and retain qualified cybersecurity employees.
“Cyber-attacks pose a significant threat to our nation and are only becoming more sophisticated and frequent. To fight back against this threat, protect American networks, and safeguard personal information – the federal government must have a highly skilled cyber workforce,” said Senator Peters. “This commonsense legislation will help provide federal cybersecurity professionals with the tools and skills to deter foreign adversaries and criminal organizations from breaching our nation’s information technology systems and disrupting the lives and livelihoods of Americans.”
Government agencies often cannot compete with the salaries and other benefits offered by tech giants in Silicon Valley, but they provide valuable opportunities to serve the country and defend our cyber front lines. The Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce Program Act creates a civilian personnel rotation program for cybersecurity professionals at federal agencies. This program would enable employees to serve across multiple government agencies, allowing them to gain experience beyond their primary assignment and expand their professional networks. The legislation will provide opportunities to help attract and retain cybersecurity experts in the federal government by offering civilian employees opportunities to enhance their careers, broaden their professional experience, and foster collaborative networks by experiencing and contributing to the cyber mission beyond their home agencies.
As Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Peters has led efforts to increase our nation’s cybersecurity defenses. His bill to enhance cybersecurity assistance to K-12 educational institutions across the country was signed into law. Peters secured several provisions in the bipartisan infrastructure law to bolster cybersecurity – including $100 million fund to help victims of a serious attack recover quickly. Peters’ bills to bolster federal cybersecurity and require critical infrastructure owners and operators to report to CISA if they experience a cyber-attack, and other organizations to notify the federal government if they make a ransom payment have advanced in the Senate.
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