II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 754 

To support meeting our Nation’s growing cybersecurity workforce needs by 

expanding the cybersecurity education pipeline. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 28, 2017 

Mr. KAINE (for himself, Mr. WICKER, and Mrs. MURRAY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To support meeting our Nation’s growing cybersecurity workforce needs by expanding the cybersecurity education 

pipeline. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cyber Scholarship Op5 portunities Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) A well-trained workforce is essential to 

9 meeting the Nation’s growing cybersecurity needs. 


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1 (2) A 2015 report by the National Academy of 

2 Public Administration found that the United States 

3 faces a severe shortage of properly trained and 

4 equipped cybersecurity professionals. 

5 (3) A 2015 study of the information security 

6 workforce found that the information security work7 force shortfall is widening. 

8 (4) The National Science Foundation’s Cyber9 Corps: Scholarship-for-Service program is a success10 ful effort to support capacity building in institutions 

11 of higher education and scholarships for students to 

12 pursue cybersecurity careers. 

13 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

14 It is the sense of Congress that— 

15 (1) given the current need for cybersecurity 

16 professionals in the public and private sectors, Con17 gress and the Federal Government should support 

18 existing programs to boost their success; 

19 (2) the Federal Government should also build 

20 upon and develop existing programs to meet emerg21 ing challenges, such as the need to protect critical 

22 infrastructure and the greater need for cybersecurity 

23 professionals of various skill levels; 

24 (3) there is a need for greater engagement with 

25 students at the kindergarten through grade 12 level 


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1 to recruit young people to pursue career paths in cy2 bersecurity; 

3 (4) many community colleges offer degrees or 

4 industry-recognized credentials in cybersecurity and 

5 related fields that prepare students to fill high-de6 mand cybersecurity jobs, and the Federal Govern7 ment should support programs at 2-year institutions 

8 of higher education that help students develop skills 

9 necessary to support the Nation’s cybersecurity mis10 sions; and 

11 (5) the Federal Government should expand ex12 isting programs to support re-training mid-career in13 dividuals, such as veterans of the Armed Forces, to 

14 fill cybersecurity positions. 

15 SEC. 4. FEDERAL CYBER SCHOLARSHIP-FOR-SERVICE PRO16 GRAM. 

17 Section 302 of the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act 

18 of 2014 (15 U.S.C. 7442) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

20 following: ‘‘Not less than 5 percent of scholarships 

21 provided under this section shall be provided to eligi22 ble students who are pursuing an associate’s degree 

23 in a cybersecurity field without the intent of trans24 ferring to a bachelor’s degree program and either 


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1 have a bachelor’s degree already or are veterans of 

2 the Armed Forces.’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the 

4 following: ‘‘In the case of a scholarship recipient who 

5 is pursuing a doctoral or master’s degree, such 

6 agreement may include (if determined appropriate 

7 on a case-by-case basis by the Director of the Na8 tional Science Foundation) an agreement for the re9 cipient to work at an institution of higher education 

10 or for a local educational agency teaching cybersecu11 rity skills for a period equal to the length of the 

12 scholarship following receipt of such degree.’’; 

13 (3) in subsection (f)— 

14 (A) by striking paragraph (3) and insert15 ing the following: 

16 ‘‘(3) have demonstrated a high level of com17 petency in relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities, 

18 as described in the national cybersecurity awareness 

19 and education program under section 401;’’; and 

20 (B) by striking paragraph (4) and insert21 ing the following: 

22 ‘‘(4) be a student in an eligible degree program 

23 at a qualified institution of higher education, as de24 termined by the Director of the National Science 

25 Foundation, who is— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a full-time student; or 

2 ‘‘(B) a student who is enrolled for study 

3 leading to a degree on a less than full-time 

4 basis but not less than half-time basis; and’’; 

5 (4) by striking subsection (m) and inserting the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(m) EVALUATION AND REPORT.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Na9 tional Science Foundation shall evaluate and make 

10 public, in a manner that protects the personally 

11 identifiable information of scholarship recipients, in12 formation on the success of recruiting individuals for 

13 scholarships under this section and on hiring and re14 taining those individuals in the public sector work15 force, including on— 

16 ‘‘(A) placement rates; 

17 ‘‘(B) where students are placed; 

18 ‘‘(C) student salary ranges for students 

19 not released from obligations under this section; 

20 ‘‘(D) how long after graduation they are 

21 placed; 

22 ‘‘(E) how long they stay in the positions 

23 they enter upon graduation; 

24 ‘‘(F) how many students are released from 

25 obligations; and 


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1 ‘‘(G) what (if any) remedial training needs 

2 are required. 

3 ‘‘(2) REGULAR REPORTS.—The Director of the 

4 National Science Foundation shall submit reports to 

5 Congress under paragraph (1) not less often than 

6 once every 5 years.’’; and 

7 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(n) RESOURCES.—The Director of the National 

9 Science Foundation shall work with the Director of the 

10 Office of Personnel Management to provide adequate re11 sources to the CyberCorps community in the form of an 

12 online resource center, where all other relevant websites 

13 will be consolidated or eliminated, if possible. To the ex14 tent applicable, such websites shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) present up-to-date, accurate information 

16 about existing scholarship programs and job oppor17 tunities; 

18 ‘‘(2) present a modernized view of cybersecurity 

19 careers; 

20 ‘‘(3) improve user friendliness; and 

21 ‘‘(4) allow prospective job applicants to search 

22 positions by State, salary, and title. 

23 ‘‘(o) ADVERTISEMENTS.—The Director of the Na24 tional Science Foundation shall work with the Director of 

25 the Office of Personnel Management and State, local, and 


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1 tribal agencies to advertise cybersecurity positions to 

2 scholarship recipients under this section, such as by 

3 hosting, in coordination with such office and agencies, a 

4 virtual job fair for scholarship recipients. 

5 ‘‘(p) CYBERSECURITY AT KINDERGARTEN THROUGH

6 GRADE 12 LEVEL.—The Director of the National Science 

7 Foundation, in coordination with other Federal agencies 

8 as necessary, shall carry out a program to grow and im9 prove cybersecurity education at the kindergarten through 

10 grade 12 level that— 

11 ‘‘(1) increases interest in cybersecurity careers; 

12 ‘‘(2) helps students practice correct and safe 

13 online behavior and understand the foundational 

14 principles of cybersecurity; and 

15 ‘‘(3) improves teaching methods for delivering 

16 cybersecurity content for kindergarten through 

17 grade 12 computer science curricula. 

18 ‘‘(q) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION.— 

19 Due to the need for skilled cybersecurity professionals to 

20 protect the Nation’s critical infrastructure, the Director 

21 of the National Science Foundation may— 

22 ‘‘(1) grant exceptions to students for fulfilling 

23 post-award employment obligations under this sec24 tion (on a case-by-case basis and in coordination 

25 with other Federal agencies) who agree to work in 


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1 a critical infrastructure mission at a Federal Gov2 ernment corporation or a State, local, or tribal gov3 ernment-affiliated asset, system, or network that is 

4 considered to be part of a critical infrastructure sec5 tor as described in Presidential Policy Directive–21, 

6 issued February 12, 2013 (related to critical infra7 structure security and resilience), or any successor; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(2) develop a pilot program to enhance critical 

10 infrastructure protection training for students pur11 suing careers in cybersecurity. 

12 ‘‘(r) STUDY.—The Director of the National Science 

13 Foundation, in coordination with the Director of the Of14 fice of Personnel Management, shall assess the potential 

15 benefits and feasibility of granting scholarship awards 

16 under this section to students who do not possess a bach17 elor’s degree to pursue an associate’s degree or an indus18 try-recognized credential in a cybersecurity field.’’. 

Æ 


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