Veterans Online Information and Cybersecurity Empowerment Act of 2022
Bill: S.4493 | Sponsor: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy (D-MN)
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Veterans Online Information and Cybersecurity Empowerment Act of 2022 or the VOICE Act of 2022
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a program to promote digital citizenship and media literacy among veterans by awarding grants to eligible entities, which include civil society organizations and congressionally chartered veterans service organizations.

To improve cybersecurity practices and improve digital literacy among 
                   veterans, 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 ``Veterans Online Information and 
Cybersecurity Empowerment Act of 2022'' or the ``VOICE Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Researchers have documented persistent, pervasive, and 
        coordinated online targeting of members of the Armed Forces, 
        veterans, and their families by foreign adversaries seeking to 
        undermine United States democracy in part because of public 
        trust placed in these communities. Government agencies and 
        researchers have also documented the targeting of veterans by 
        fraudsters, especially online scammers, seeking to steal their 
        government benefits.
            (2) According to the Federal Trade Commission, fraud costs 
        veterans, members of the Armed Forces, and their families 
        $267,000,000 in 2021. This was a 162-percent increase from 2020 
        and the median loss for these scam victims was $600, 20 percent 
        higher than for the median loss for the general public. 
        According to a 2017 survey conducted by the American 
        Association of Retired Persons (AARP) veterans are twice as 
        likely to unknowingly participate in a scam compared to the 
        general population and an estimated 16 percent of veterans 
        report having losing some money to fraud, while 78 percent 
        report encountering scams that have explicitly designed to 
        exploit their military service.
            (3) At the same time, adversaries from Russia, China, and 
        Iran are using information warfare to influence democracies 
        across the world, and extremist organizations often use digital 
        communications to recruit members. Influence campaigns from 
        foreign adversaries reached tens of millions of voters during 
        the 2016 and 2018 elections with racially and divisively 
        targeted messages. The United States can fight these influences 
        by ensuring that citizens of the United States possess the 
        necessary skills to discern disinformation and misinformation 
        and protect themselves from foreign influence campaigns.
            (4) The Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate 
        found in its investigation of the interference in the 2016 
        election that social media posts by the Internet Research 
        Agency (IRA) of Russia reached tens of millions of voters in 
        2016 and were meant to pit the people of the United States 
        against one another and sow discord. Volume II of the 
        Committee's investigation found that the Internet Research 
        Agency's Instagram account with the second largest reach used 
        the handle ``@american.veterans'' and was ``aimed at patriotic, 
        conservative audiences, collected 215,680 followers, and 
        generated nearly 18.5 million engagements.''.
            (5) A 2019 investigative report by the Vietnam Veterans of 
        America (VVA) titled ``An Investigation into Foreign Entities 
        who are Targeting Troops and Veterans Online'', found that the 
        Internet Research Agency targeted veterans and the followers of 
        several congressionally chartered veterans service 
        organizations with at least 113 advertisements during and 
        following the 2016 election and that ``this represents a 
        fraction of the Russian activity that targeted this community 
        with divisive propaganda.''. The report also found that foreign 
        actors have been impersonating veterans through social-media 
        accounts and interacting with veterans and veterans groups on 
        social media to spread propaganda and disinformation. To 
        counter these acts, Vietnam Veterans of America recommended 
        that the Department of Veterans Affairs ``immediately develop 
        plans to make the cyber-hygiene of veterans an urgent priority 
        within the Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA must educate 
        and train veterans on personal cybersecurity: how to mitigate 
        vulnerabilities, vigilantly maintain safe practices, and 
        recognize threats, including how to identify instances of 
        online manipulation.''.
            (6) The Cyberspace Solarium Commission, a bicameral and 
        bipartisan commission, established by section 1652 of the John 
        S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
        2019 (Public Law 115-232), concluded in its finished report 
        that the ``U.S. government should promote digital literacy, 
        civics education, and public awareness to build societal 
        resilience to foreign, malign cyber-enabled information 
        operations and that the U.S. government must ensure that 
        individual Americans have both the digital literacy tools and 
        the civics education they need to secure their networks and 
        their democracy from cyber-enabled information operations.''. 
        The report recommended that Congress authorize grant programs 
        to do this.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that, given the threat foreign 
influence campaigns pose for United States democracy, the effect of 
online scams on veterans and their families, and the findings and 
recommendations of Congress, Federal agencies, and experts, Congress 
should immediately act to pass legislative measures to increase digital 
and media literacy, as well as cybersecurity best practices among 
veterans of the United States.

SEC. 4. VETERANS CYBERSECURITY AND DIGITAL LITERACY GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Program Required.--The Secretary shall establish a program to 
promote digital citizenship and media literacy, through which the 
Secretary shall award grants to eligible entities to enable those 
eligible entities to carry out the activities described in subsection 
(c).
    (b) Application.--An eligible entity seeking a grant under the 
program required by subsection (a) shall submit to the Secretary an 
application therefor at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may require, including, at a minimum the 
following:
            (1) A description of the activities the eligible entity 
        intends to carry out with the grant funds.
            (2) An estimate of the costs associated with such 
        activities.
            (3) Such other information and assurances as the Secretary 
        may require.
    (c) Activities.--An eligible entity shall use the amount of a grant 
awarded under the program required by subsection (a) to carry out one 
or more of the following activities to promote cybersecurity best 
practices and increase digital and media literacy among veterans:
            (1) Develop competencies in cybersecurity best practices.
            (2) Develop media literacy and digital citizenship 
        competencies by promoting veterans'--
                    (A) research and information fluency;
                    (B) critical thinking and problem solving skills;
                    (C) technology operations and concepts;
                    (D) information and technological literacy;
                    (E) concepts of media and digital representation 
                and stereotyping;
                    (F) understanding of explicit and implicit media 
                and digital messages;
                    (G) understanding of values and points of view that 
                are included and excluded in media and digital content;
                    (H) understanding of how media and digital content 
                may influence ideas and behaviors;
                    (I) understanding of the importance of obtaining 
                information from multiple media sources and evaluating 
                sources for quality;
                    (J) understanding how information on digital 
                platforms can be altered through algorithms, editing, 
                and augmented reality;
                    (K) ability to create media and digital content in 
                civically and socially responsible ways; and
                    (L) understanding of influence campaigns conducted 
                by foreign adversaries and the tactics employed by 
                foreign adversaries for conducting influence campaigns.
    (d) Reporting.--
            (1) Reports by grant recipients.--Each recipient of a grant 
        under the program required by subsection (a) shall, not later 
        than one year after the date on which the recipient first 
        receives funds pursuant to the grant, submit to the Secretary a 
        report describing the activities the recipient carried out 
        using grant funds and the effectiveness of those activities.
            (2) Report by the secretary.--Not later than 90 days after 
        the date on which the Secretary receives the last report the 
        Secretary expects to receive under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
        shall submit to Congress a report describing the activities 
        carried out under this section and the effectiveness of those 
        activities.
    (e) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
Secretary should--
            (1) establish and maintain a list of eligible entities that 
        receive a grant under the program required by subsection (a), 
        and individuals designated by those eligible entities as 
        participating individuals; and
            (2) make that list available to those eligible entities and 
        participating individuals in order to promote communication and 
        further exchange of information regarding sound digital 
        citizenship and media literacy practices among recipients of 
        grants under the program required by subsection (a).
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $20,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2023, 2025, and 2027.
    (g) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Cybersecurity best practices.--The term ``cybersecurity 
        best practices'' means practices and steps that users of 
        computers and other internet-connected devices take to maintain 
        and improve online security, maintain the proper functioning of 
        computers devices, and protect computers and devices from 
        cyberattacks and unauthorized use.
            (2) Digital citizenship.--The term ``digital citizenship'' 
        means the ability to--
                    (A) safely, responsibly, and ethically use 
                communication technologies and digital information 
                technology tools and platforms;
                    (B) create and share media content using principles 
                of social and civic responsibility and with awareness 
                of the legal and ethical issues involved; and
                    (C) participate in the political, economic, social, 
                and cultural aspects of life related to technology, 
                communications, and the digital world by consuming and 
                creating digital content, including media.
            (3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
                    (A) a civil society organization, including 
                community groups, nongovernmental organizations, 
                nonprofit organization, labor organizations, indigenous 
                groups, charitable organizations, professional 
                associations, and foundations; and
                    (B) congressionally chartered veterans service 
                organizations.
            (4) Media literacy.--The term ``media literacy'' means the 
        ability to--
                    (A) access relevant and accurate information 
                through media in a variety of forms;
                    (B) critically analyze media content and the 
                influences of different forms of media;
                    (C) evaluate the comprehensiveness, relevance, 
                credibility, authority, and accuracy of information;
                    (D) make educated decisions based on information 
                obtained from media and digital sources;
                    (E) operate various forms of technology and digital 
                tools; and
                    (F) reflect on how the use of media and technology 
                may affect private and public life.
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Veterans Affairs.
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