I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1609 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to support meeting the increasing 
needs of the United States for a cybersecurity and information assurance 
workforce by reinvigorating and modifying the Information Assurance 
Scholarship Program of the Department of Defense, and for other pur-
poses. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 17, 2017 
Mr. LANGEVIN (for himself, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. 
AGUILAR, Mr. RATCLIFFE, and Mr. TED LIEU of California) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Serv-
ices 
A BILL 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to support meeting 
the increasing needs of the United States for a cyberse-
curity and information assurance workforce by reinvigo-
rating and modifying the Information Assurance Scholar-
ship Program of the Department of Defense, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Defense 
Cyber Scholarship Program Act of 2017’’. 
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SEC. 2. REINVIGORATING AND MODIFYING THE INFORMA-
TION ASSURANCE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. 
(a) FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS.— 
(1) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following 
findings: 
(A) Cyber threats to United States inter-
ests posed by state and non-state actors are 
growing as the United States becomes increas-
ingly reliant on the Internet and cyberspace for 
critical services. 
(B) A well-trained workforce is essential to 
meeting the increasing cybersecurity needs of 
the United States. 
(C) The Department of Defense Cyber 
Strategy, issued in April 2015, cites building 
the cyber workforce among its objectives for 
achieving the essential strategic goal of building 
and maintaining ready forces and capabilities to 
conduct cyberspace operations. 
(D) Specifically, the strategy stresses the 
importance of improving civilian recruitment 
and retention for fulfilling the cyber missions of 
the Department of Defense. 
(E) Many community colleges offer degrees 
or industry-recognized credentials in cybersecu-
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rity and related fields that prepare students to 
fill high demand cybersecurity jobs. 
(F) The Information Assurance Scholar-
ship Program of the Department of Defense 
and the National Security Agency promotes re-
cruitment, education, and retention of cyberse-
curity professionals. 
(G) Since 2001, the Information Assurance 
Scholarship Program has supported individuals 
pursuing cybersecurity education and training 
in exchange for government service. 
(H) Since 2013, budgetary considerations 
have resulted in reductions to funding for Infor-
mation Assurance Scholarship Program. 
(I) The efforts of the Department of De-
fense to build a cybersecurity workforce capable 
of defending against and responding to cyber 
threats should include reinvigorating the Infor-
mation Assurance Scholarship Program and 
supporting cybersecurity degree programs at 
United States educational institutions. 
(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 
Congress that the Secretary of Defense should— 
(A) consider the Information Assurance 
Scholarship Program to be a critical cybersecu-
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rity effort of the Chief Information Officer of 
the Department of Defense; 
(B) continue to support programs at 2- 
year institutions of higher education that help 
students develop skills necessary to support the 
cybersecurity missions of the United States; 
and 
(C) restore funding to the program to re-
cruit and retain new scholarship recipients and 
build capacity at institutions of higher edu-
cation. 
(b) MODIFICATION
OF INFORMATION ASSURANCE 
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.— 
(1) 
DESIGNATION
OF
PROGRAM.—Section 
2200a of title 10, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(h) DESIGNATION OF PROGRAM.—A program under 
which the Secretary provides financial assistance under 
subsection (a) of this section and grants under section 
2200b of this title shall be known as the ‘Department of 
Defense Cyber Scholarship Program’.’’. 
(2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING.—Subsection (f) 
of such section is amended— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘Not less’’; 
and 
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(B) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(2) Not less than five percent of the amount avail-
able for financial assistance under this section for a fiscal 
year shall be available for providing financial assistance 
for the pursuit of an associate degree.’’. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Defense 
to provide financial assistance under section 2200a of such 
title, as amended by subsection (b), and grants under sec-
tion 2200b of such title, $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2018. 
(d) REINVIGORATION PLAN REQUIRED.—Not later 
than September 30, 2018, the Secretary of Defense shall 
submit to the congressional defense committees (as de-
fined in section 101(a) of such title) a plan for reinvigo-
rating the Department of Defense Cyber Scholarship Pro-
gram, as designated by section 2200a(h) of such title, as 
added by subsection (b)(1) of this section. 
Æ 
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