$1.7 Trillion Omnibus Bill Signed by Biden Significantly Increases Funding for Cybersecurity and Tech

Written by Nihal Krishan
December 30, 2022 | FEDSCOOP

The $1.7 trillion comprehensive government spending package signed by President Joe Biden on Thursday includes a significant increase in federal funding for cybersecurity and science and technology programs.

The bipartisan 2023 blanket spending agreement includes $2.9 billion for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a $313 million increase over the current budget, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) includes $1.6 billion, an increase of $397. million for agency.

cyber security

The spending package includes $1.3 billion for CISA’s cybersecurity program, representing a year-on-year increase of $230 million, but the bill does not include quarterly congressional briefings. It also contains the unusual language of a daily fine of $50,000 for late arrivals.

CISA is one year behind in presenting to Congress its organizational plan, staffing, and budget document known as the Force Structure Assessment.

If Congress does not immediately have a document to assess CISA’s budgeting, Congressman Jim Langevin, DR.I.

The omnibus also includes $200 million to the Department of Energy’s Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) Office, $20 million more than last year, and $100 million to the Treasury’s Cybersecurity Enhancement Account. We plan to allocate funds.

This spending package specifically targets cybercrime from foreign adversaries, allocating $50 million to address cybersecurity threats emanating from Russia and other adversaries, addressing cybersecurity and employment initiatives has allocated $422 million to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to According to the Senate Republican bill outline, the bill includes provisions that require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to collect and report international cyberattacks by foreign actors, particularly China, The focus is on items from Iran, North Korea and Russia. .

Omnibus will also provide $22 million to the White House Office of the Director of National Cyber. This is the first time the new office will receive resources through an appropriation bill. The office plans to publish a new national cyber strategy and cybersecurity workforce, training, and education plan in 2023.

Science and technology

Congress passed the Create Helpful Incentives for Semiconductor Manufacturing (CHIPS) and Science Act in August to encourage domestic semiconductor manufacturing and help the U.S. compete with China in developing cutting-edge technologies.

Omnibus’ spending package fell short of providing the largest amount of funding approved under the CHIPS Act, but nevertheless provided significant funding to NIST, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science. approved an increase in funding.

The $1.6 billion allocated to NIST includes $953 million for science and technology research and up to $462 million for the construction of new research facilities.

NIST’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program also received $175 million, an increase of $17 million, and an additional $4 million to establish the NIST Center of Excellence to measure climate change and its impact on the country. Reserved to develop standards.