Dhs Cybersecurity On-The-Job Training Program Act

Floor Speech

During Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee's two decades in Congress serving on the Homeland Security Committee, one of her top priorities was strengthening our Nation's cyber defenses.

She consistently prioritized expanding our cybersecurity workforce, recognized that investing in cybersecurity education and training would make our Nation more secure.

At a time when few Members of Congress were focused on cybersecurity back in 2005, Congresswoman Jackson Lee introduced the Cybersecurity Education Enhancement Act to provide funding for expanded cybersecurity education programs across the country.

With her trademark persistence, Congresswoman Jackson Lee kept on fighting to expand the talent pool of trained cybersecurity professionals, most recently with the introduction last year of this legislation that we are considering today, the DHS Cybersecurity On- the-Job Training Program Act.

This bill will direct the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, to provide cybersecurity training to Department of Homeland Security existing employees with the goal of training existing personnel to fill cybersecurity job vacancies at the Department.

According to testimony before the Homeland Security Committee in June, there are nearly 2,000 cybersecurity vacancies at DHS today.

With cybersecurity threats from adversaries like Russia and China only further increasing, filling these vacancies is a national security imperative.

While DHS has taken important steps to address this challenge, private-sector competition for talent and the slow Federal hiring process have continued to hamper our efforts at DHS to eliminate this shortfall.

Training existing DHS personnel who have already been vetted and onboarded by the Department is a critical part of ensuring that DHS has the cybersecurity talent on payroll today to fulfill its critical cybersecurity mission.

This legislation builds on CISA's existing Federal Cyber Defense Skilling Academy and ensures that CISA continues its efforts to leverage cybersecurity expertise to support DHS' broader workforce.

I urge my colleagues to continue Congresswoman Jackson Lee's legacy on this most important issue and support H.R. 3208.

Across DHS' many component agencies, there is a critical need for cybersecurity expertise to help defend our homeland.

So long as key cybersecurity positions sit vacant, we are at greater risk for damaging cyberattacks that expose our sensitive information or disrupt critical infrastructure.

Passing Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee's legislation will ensure DHS employees get the training necessary to fill cybersecurity job vacancies, and also, we will be honoring her legacy of fighting for a stronger cybersecurity workforce.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3208, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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