Protecting Information By Local Leaders for Agency Resilience Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. OGLES. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 5078, the Protecting Information by Local Leaders for Agency Resilience Act, known as the PILLAR Act.

This legislation is about strengthening the first line of defense in our Nation's cybersecurity. While we often focus on Federal networks and high-profile national systems, the reality is that many of the services Americans depend on every single day are run by State and local governments.

When a resident pays a utility bill online, when a police department dispatches an officer, or when a hospital connects to a county network, all of those activities rely on State and local systems that are now squarely in the sights of foreign adversaries and criminal groups.

As a former county executive in Tennessee, I saw firsthand how limited budgets, aging systems, and staffing constraints can leave local governments struggling to keep up with modern cyber threats.

Many smaller jurisdictions only operate with a handful of IT staff and, in some cases, with none at all. Yet, they are expected to defend against the same nation-state actors that target major corporations and Federal agencies. That is not a fair fight, and it is not a sustainable model for national security.

The State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program at the Department of Homeland Security was created to help close that gap by providing targeted assistance to those States, territories, and local governments so that they can assess the risk, modernize outdated systems, and build real cyber resilience.

The PILLAR Act reauthorizes and strengthens this program so that it reflects the threat environment we face today and the technological landscape that State and local partners are actually operating in.

This bill makes several important updates. It ensures that the program covers not only traditional information technology systems but also operational technology and systems that incorporate artificial intelligence. That means that we are recognizing the reality that cyber risk now extends to everything from industrial control systems at water treatment plants to connected devices at public safety networks to AI- enabled tools used by local agencies.

The bill encourages the adoption of basic but powerful best practices, such as multifactor authentication and stronger identity and access management tools across State and local networks.

It promotes continuous vulnerability assessment and monitoring so that jurisdictions can detect and mitigate threats before those threats turn into major incidents. It also emphasizes the importance of good cyber hygiene, modern configuration management, and alignment with frameworks developed by CISA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Importantly, the PILLAR Act recognizes that not all communities start from the same place. It directs outreach and support to rural areas and jurisdictions with small populations, which are often the least resourced but still operate critical services.

It encourages partnerships with academic and nonprofit organizations, including cybersecurity clinics and other technical assistance providers that can help these communities develop and implement their cyber plans. This bill also guards against the use of Federal grant dollars on technology that introduces additional risk.

It prohibits the use of funds to purchase software or hardware from foreign entities of concern when those products do not align with CISA guidance, and it directs grantees to follow secure-by-design recommendations so that public money is not spent on tools that undermine security.

We also provide more predictability around cost share requirements so that States and local governments can plan over the long term.

The legislation maintains a strong Federal commitment while encouraging jurisdictions to invest in sustaining the improvements they make.

For those that implement multifactor authentication and related protections by a certain date, the bill provides additional flexibility in the Federal cost share to reward that proactive work.

This is a bipartisan bill. I am proud to have worked closely with Chairman Garbarino and Representatives Swalwell and Evans on this critical legislation, and appreciate the support it has received from Members on both sides of the aisle.

We share the same goal, which is to help our communities defend themselves against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats and to ensure continuity of essential services for the American people.

Supporting the PILLAR Act is about more than technology. It is about public trust. When a local government falls victim to ransomware and emergency services are delayed, when a school district loses student records, or when basic services are interrupted, citizens lose confidence in those institutions.

This bill helps prevent those outcomes by equipping State and local leaders with the resources and tools they need to prepare.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5078 and to stand with the State, local, Tribal, and territorial partners who are on the front lines of our cyber defense every day.

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