[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 263 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 263
To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a program
to award grants to institutions of higher education for the
establishment or expansion of cybersecurity professional development
programs, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 5, 2007
Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Science and Technology, and in addition to
the Committees on Education and Labor and Homeland Security, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a program
to award grants to institutions of higher education for the
establishment or expansion of cybersecurity professional development
programs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Cybersecurity Education Enhancement
Act of 2007''.
SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY CYBERSECURITY TRAINING PROGRAMS
AND EQUIPMENT.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through
the Assistant Secretary of Cybersecurity, shall establish, in
conjunction with the National Science Foundation, a program to award
grants to institutions of higher education (and consortia thereof)
for--
(1) the establishment or expansion of cybersecurity
professional development programs;
(2) the establishment or expansion (or both) of associate
degree programs in cybersecurity; and
(3) the purchase of equipment to provide training in
cybersecurity for either professional development programs or
degree programs.
(b) Roles.--
(1) Department of homeland security.--The Secretary, acting
through the Assistant Secretary and in consultation with the
Director of the National Science Foundation, shall establish
the goals for the program established under this section and
the criteria for awarding grants.
(2) National science foundation.--The Director of the
National Science Foundation shall operate the program
established under this section consistent with the goals and
criteria established under paragraph (1), including soliciting
applicants, reviewing applications, and making and
administering awards. The Director may consult with the
Assistant Secretary in selecting awardees.
(3) Funding.--The Secretary shall transfer to the National
Science Foundation the funds necessary to carry out this
section.
(c) Awards.--
(1) Peer review.--All awards under this section shall be
provided on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis.
(2) Focus.--In making awards under this section, the
Director shall, to the extent practicable, ensure geographic
diversity and the participation of women and underrepresented
minorities.
(3) Preference.--In making awards under this section, the
Director--
(A) shall give preference to applications submitted
by consortia of institutions, to encourage as many
students and professionals as possible to benefit from
the program established under this section; and
(B) shall give preference to any application
submitted by a consortium of institutions that includes
at least one institution that is eligible to receive
funds under title III or V of the Higher Education Act
of 1965.
(d) Institution of Higher Education Defined.--In this section the
term ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given that
term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1001(a)).
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary for carrying out this section $3,700,000
for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009.
SEC. 3. E-SECURITY FELLOWS PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment of Program.--Subtitle C of title II of the
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 121 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 226. E-SECURITY FELLOWS PROGRAM.
``(a) Establishment.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a
fellowship program in accordance with this section for the
purpose of bringing State, local, tribal, and private sector
officials to participate in the work of the National
Cybersecurity Division in order to become familiar with the
Department's stated cybersecurity missions and capabilities,
including but not limited to--
``(A) enhancing Federal, State, local, and tribal
government cybersecurity;
``(B) developing partnerships with other Federal
agencies, State, local, and tribal governments, and the
private sector;
``(C) improving and enhancing public/private
information sharing involving cyber attacks, threats,
and vulnerabilities;
``(D) providing and coordinating incident response
and recovery planning efforts; and
``(E) fostering training and certification.
``(2) Program name.--The program under this section shall
be known as the E-Security Fellows Program.
``(b) Eligibility.--In order to be eligible for selection as a
fellow under the program, an individual must--
``(1) have cybersecurity-related responsibilities; and
``(2) be eligible to possess an appropriate national
security clearance.
``(c) Limitations.--The Secretary--
``(1) may conduct up to 2 iterations of the program each
year, each of which shall be 180 days in duration; and
``(2) shall ensure that the number of fellows selected for
each iteration does not impede the activities of the Division.
``(d) Condition.--As a condition of selecting an individual as a
fellow under the program, the Secretary shall require that the
individual's employer agree to continue to pay the individual's salary
and benefits during the period of the fellowship.
``(e) Stipend.--During the period of the fellowship of an
individual under the program, the Secretary shall, subject to the
availability of appropriations, provide to the individual a stipend to
cover the individual's reasonable living expenses during the period of
the fellowship.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of
such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to such
subtitle the following:
``Sec. 226. E-Security Fellows Program.''.
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