Description:
S. 2775 would require the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to expand its efforts under the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education. The bill would require the agency to coordinate federal research on the skills cybersecurity workers need in critical infrastructure sectors and to measure the effectiveness of federal programs directed at expanding and advancing the cybersecurity workforce. The bill also would require NIST to identify career pathways for cybersecurity professionals in government and private industry. Under S. 2775, NIST would award grants each year to entities to form public-private partnerships to expand and advance the cybersecurity workforce at the local level. CBO estimates that implementing S. 2775 would cost $57 million over the 2020-2025 period, assuming appropriation of the estimated amounts. The costs of the bill, detailed in Table 1, fall within budget function 370 (commerce and housing credit). For this estimate, CBO assumes that the bill will be enacted in fiscal year 2020. Under that assumption, the agency could incur some costs in 2020, but CBO expects that most of the costs would be incurred in 2021 and later.
