Title: National Defense Cybersecurity Consortia Act of 2019
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
National Defense Cybersecurity Consortia Act of 2019
This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to establish one or more consortia, comprising certain universities, to advise and assist on matters relating to cybersecurity. DOD must establish procedures for organizations within DOD to access such expertise.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2234 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2234

  To establish a consortia of universities to advise the Secretary of 
       Defense on cybersecurity matters, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 23, 2019

Mr. Rounds (for himself and Mr. Peters) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish a consortia of universities to advise the Secretary of 
       Defense on cybersecurity matters, 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 ``National Defense Cybersecurity 
Consortia Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. CONSORTIA OF UNIVERSITIES TO ADVISE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ON 
              CYBERSECURITY MATTERS.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Defense shall establish one or 
more consortia to advise and assist the Secretary on matters relating 
to cybersecurity.
    (b) Membership.--The consortium or consortia established under 
subsection (a) shall consist of universities that have been designated 
as centers of academic excellence by the Director of the National 
Security Agency or the Secretary of Homeland Security.
    (c) Organization.--
            (1) Designation of administrative chair and terms.--For 
        each consortium established under subsection (a), the 
        Secretary, based on recommendations from the members of the 
        consortium, shall designate one member of the consortium to 
        function as an administrative chair of the consortium for a 
        term with a specific duration specified by the Secretary.
            (2) Subsequent terms.--No member of a consortium designated 
        under paragraph (1) may serve as the administrative chair of 
        that consortium for two consecutive terms.
            (3) Duties of administrative chair.--Each administrative 
        chair designated under paragraph (1) for a consortium shall--
                    (A) act as the leader of the consortium for the 
                term specified by the Secretary under paragraph (1);
                    (B) be the liaison between the consortium and the 
                Secretary;
                    (C) distribute requests from the Secretary for 
                advice and assistance to appropriate members of the 
                consortium and coordinate responses back to the 
                Secretary; and
                    (D) act as a clearinghouse for Department of 
                Defense requests relating to advice and assistance on 
                matters relating to cybersecurity and to provide 
                feedback to the Secretary from members of the 
                consortium.
    (d) Functions.--The functions of a consortium established under 
subsection (a) are as follows:
            (1) To provide to the Secretary access to the expertise of 
        the members of the consortium on matters relating to 
        cybersecurity.
            (2) To align the efforts of such members in support of the 
        Department.
            (3) To act as a facilitator in responding to Department 
        requests relating to advice and assistance on matters relating 
        to cybersecurity and to provide feedback to the Secretary from 
        members of the consortium.
    (e) Procedures.--The Secretary shall establish procedures for 
organizations within the Department to access the work product produced 
by and the research, capabilities, and expertise of a consortium 
established under subsection (a) and the universities that constitute 
the consortium.
                                 <all>