,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #eib  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,march #i1 #bjag    
,mr4 ,kaine 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,rounds1 
and ,mr4 ,perdue7 introduced the        
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,armed   
,services  ,a ,,bill  ,to amend title   
#aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 to support  
meeting the increasing needs of the     
,united ,states for a cybersecurity and 
information assurance workforce by      
reinvigorating and modifying the        
,information ,assurance ,scholarship    
,program of the ,department of ,defense1
 and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short    
title  ,this ,act may be cited as the   
,department of ,defense ,cyber          
,scholarship ,program ,act of #bjag4    
#b4 ,reinvigorating and modifying the   
,information ,assurance ,scholarship    
,program  7a7 ,findings and sense of    
,congress  7#a7 ,findings ,congress     
makes the following findings3 7,a7      
,cyber threats to ,united ,states       

interests posed by state and non-state  
actors are growing as the ,united       
,states becomes increasingly reliant on 
the ,internet and cyberspace for        
critical services4  7,b7 ,a well-trained
 workforce is essential to meeting the  
increasing cybersecurity needs of the   
,united ,states4  7,c7 ,the ,department 
of ,defense ,cyber ,strategy1 issued in 
,april #bjae1 cites building the cyber  
workforce among its objectives for      
achieving the essential strategic goal  
of building and maintaining ready forces
 and capabilities to conduct cyberspace 
operations4  7,d7 ,specifically1 the    
strategy stresses the importance of     
improving civilian recruitment and      
retention for fulfilling the cyber      
missions of the ,department of ,defense4
  7,e7 ,many community colleges offer   
degrees or industry-recognized          
credentials in cybersecurity and related
 fields that prepare students to fill   
high demand cybersecurity jobs4  7,f7   
,the ,information ,assurance            

,scholarship ,program of the ,department
 of ,defense and the ,national ,security
 ,agency promotes recruitment1          
education1 and retention of             
cybersecurity professionals4  7,g7      
,since #bjja1 the ,information          
,assurance ,scholarship ,program has    
supported individuals pursuing          
cybersecurity education and training in 
exchange for government service4  7,h7  
,since #bjac1 budgetary considerations  
have resulted in reductions to funding  
for ,information ,assurance ,scholarship
 ,program4  7,i7 ,the efforts of the    
,department of ,defense to build a      
cybersecurity workforce capable of      
defending against and responding to     
cyber threats should include            
reinvigorating the ,information         
,assurance ,scholarship ,program and    
supporting cybersecurity degree programs
 at ,united ,states educational         
institutions4  7#b7 ,sense of ,congress 
,it is the sense of ,congress that the  
,secretary of ,defense should-- 7,a7    

consider the ,information ,assurance    
,scholarship ,program to be a critical  
cybersecurity effort of the ,chief      
,information ,officer of the ,department
 of ,defense2  7,b7 continue to support 
programs at #b-year institutions of     
higher education that help students     
develop skills necessary to support the 
cybersecurity missions of the ,united   
,states2 and  7,c7 restore funding to   
the program to recruit and retain new   
scholarship recipients and build        
capacity at institutions of higher      
education4  7b7 ,modification of        
,information ,assurance ,scholarship    
,program  7#a7 ,designation of program  
,section #bbjj;a of title #aj1 ,united  
,states ,code1 is amended by adding at  
the end the following new subsection3   
7h7 ,designation of program ,a program  
under which the ,secretary provides     
financial assistance under subsection   
7a7 of this section and grants under    
section #bbjj;b of this title shall be  
known as the ,department of ,defense    

,cyber ,scholarship ,program4  4  7#b7  
,allocation of funding ,subsection 7f7  
of such section is amended-- 7,a7 by    
inserting 7#a7 before ,not less2 and    
7,b7 by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph3  7#b7 ,not less than five
 percent of the amount available for    
financial assistance under this section 
for a fiscal year shall be available for
 providing financial assistance for the 
pursuit of an associate degree4  4  7c7 
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
is authorized to be appropriated to the 
,secretary of ,defense to provide       
financial assistance under section      
#bbjj;a of such title1 as amended by    
subsection 7b71 and grants under section
 #bbjj;b of such title1 #aj1jjj1jjj for 
fiscal year #bjah4  7d7 ,reinvigoration 
plan required ,not later than ,september
 #cj1 #bjah1 the ,secretary of ,defense 
shall submit to the congressional       
defense committees 7as defined in       
section #aja7;a7 of such title7 a plan  
for reinvigorating the ,department of   

,defense ,cyber ,scholarship ,program1  
as designated by section #bbjj;a7h7 of  
such title1 as added by subsection      
7b77#a7 of this section4