,,ii #aagth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #ddic ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,june #bc1 #bjbb,ms4 ,klobuchar 7for herself and ,mr4 ,bennet7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to improve cybersecurity practices and improve digital literacy among veterans1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,veterans ,online ,information and ,cybersecurity ,empowerment ,act of #bjbb or the ,,voice ,act of #bjbb4 #b4 ,findings 7a7 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,researchers have documented persistent1 pervasive1 and coordinated online targeting of members of the ,armed ,forces1 veterans1 and their families by foreign adversaries seeking to undermine ,united ,states democracy in part because of public trust placed in these communities4 ,government agencies and researchers have also documented the targeting of veterans by fraudsters1 especially online scammers1 seeking to steal their government benefits4 7#b7 ,according to the ,federal ,trade ,commission1 fraud costs veterans1 members of the ,armed ,forces1 and their families #bfg1jjj1jjj in #bjba4 ,this was a #afb-percent increase from #bjbj and the median loss for these scam victims was #fjj1 #bj percent higher than for the median loss for the general public4 ,according to a #bjag survey conducted by the ,american ,association of ,retired ,persons 7,,aarp7 veterans are twice as likely to unknowingly participate in a scam compared to the general population and an estimated #af percent of veterans report having losing some money to fraud1 while #gh percent report encountering scams that have explicitly designed to exploit their military service4 7#c7 ,at the same time1 adversaries from ,russia1 ,china1 and ,iran are using information warfare to influence democracies across the world1 and extremist organizations often use digital communications to recruit members4 ,influence campaigns from foreign adversaries reached tens of millions of voters during the #bjaf and #bjah elections with racially and divisively targeted messages4 ,the ,united ,states can fight these influences by ensuring that citizens of the ,united ,states possess the necessary skills to discern disinformation and misinformation and protect themselves from foreign influence campaigns4 7#d7 ,the ,select ,committee on ,intelligence of the ,senate found in its investigation of the interference in the #bjaf election that social media posts by the ,internet ,research ,agency 7,,ira7 of ,russia reached tens of millions of voters in #bjaf and were meant to pit the people of the ,united ,states against one another and sow discord4 ,volume ,,ii of the ,committee's investigation found that the ,internet ,research ,agency's ,instagram account with the second largest reach used the handle american4veterans and was aimed at patriotic1 conservative audiences1 collected #bae1fhj followers1 and generated nearly #ah4e million engagements44 7#e7 ,a #bjai investigative report by the ,vietnam ,veterans of ,america 7,,vva7 titled ,an ,investigation into ,foreign ,entities who are ,targeting ,troops and ,veterans ,online1 found that the ,internet ,research ,agency targeted veterans and the followers of several congressionally chartered veterans service organizations with at least #aac advertisements during and following the #bjaf election and that this represents a fraction of the ,russian activity that targeted this community with divisive propaganda44 ,the report also found that foreign actors have been impersonating veterans through social-media accounts and interacting with veterans and veterans groups on social media to spread propaganda and disinformation4 ,to counter these acts1 ,vietnam ,veterans of ,america recommended that the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs immediately develop plans to make the cyber-hygiene of veterans an urgent priority within the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs4 ,the ,,va must educate and train veterans on personal cybersecurity3 how to mitigate vulnerabilities1 vigilantly maintain safe practices1 and recognize threats1 including how to identify instances of online manipulation44 7#f7 ,the ,cyberspace ,solarium ,commission1 a bicameral and bipartisan commission1 established by section #afeb of the ,john ,s4 ,mc,cain ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjai 7,public ,law #aae-bcb71 concluded in its finished report that the ,u4,s4 government should promote digital literacy1 civics education1 and public awareness to build societal resilience to foreign1 malign cyber-enabled information operations and that the ,u4,s4 government must ensure that individual ,americans have both the digital literacy tools and the civics education they need to secure their networks and their democracy from cyber-enabled information operations44 ,the report recommended that ,congress authorize grant programs to do this4 #c4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that1 given the threat foreign influence campaigns pose for ,united ,states democracy1 the effect of online scams on veterans and their families1 and the findings and recommendations of ,congress1 ,federal agencies1 and experts1 ,congress should immediately act to pass legislative measures to increase digital and media literacy1 as well as cybersecurity best practices among veterans of the ,united ,states4 #d4 ,veterans ,cybersecurity and ,digital ,literacy ,grant ,program 7a7 ,program required ,the ,secretary shall establish a program to promote digital citizenship and media literacy1 through which the ,secretary shall award grants to eligible entities to enable those eligible entities to carry out the activities described in subsection 7c74 7b7 ,application ,an eligible entity seeking a grant under the program required by subsection 7a7 shall submit to the ,secretary an application therefor at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,secretary may require1 including1 at a minimum the following3 7#a7 ,a description of the activities the eligible entity intends to carry out with the grant funds4 7#b7 ,an estimate of the costs associated with such activities4 7#c7 ,such other information and assurances as the ,secretary may require4 7c7 ,activities ,an eligible entity shall use the amount of a grant awarded under the program required by subsection 7a7 to carry out one or more of the following activities to promote cybersecurity best practices and increase digital and media literacy among veterans3 7#a7 ,develop competencies in cybersecurity best practices4 7#b7 ,develop media literacy and digital citizenship competencies by promoting veterans'-- 7,a7 research and information fluency2 7,b7 critical thinking and problem solving skills2 7,c7 technology operations and concepts2 7,d7 information and technological literacy2 7,e7 concepts of media and digital representation and stereotyping2 7,f7 understanding of explicit and implicit media and digital messages2 7,g7 understanding of values and points of view that are included and excluded in media and digital content2 7,h7 understanding of how media and digital content may influence ideas and behaviors2 7,i7 understanding of the importance of obtaining information from multiple media sources and evaluating sources for quality2 7,j7 understanding how information on digital platforms can be altered through algorithms1 editing1 and augmented reality2 7,k7 ability to create media and digital content in civically and socially responsible ways2 and 7,l7 understanding of influence campaigns conducted by foreign adversaries and the tactics employed by foreign adversaries for conducting influence campaigns4 7d7 ,reporting 7#a7 ,reports by grant recipients ,each recipient of a grant under the program required by subsection 7a7 shall1 not later than one year after the date on which the recipient first receives funds pursuant to the grant1 submit to the ,secretary a report describing the activities the recipient carried out using grant funds and the effectiveness of those activities4 7#b7 ,report by the ,secretary ,not later than #ij days after the date on which the ,secretary receives the last report the ,secretary expects to receive under paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress a report describing the activities carried out under this section and the effectiveness of those activities4 7e7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that the ,secretary should-- 7#a7 establish and maintain a list of eligible entities that receive a grant under the program required by subsection 7a71 and individuals designated by those eligible entities as participating individuals2 and 7#b7 make that list available to those eligible entities and participating individuals in order to promote communication and further exchange of information regarding sound digital citizenship and media literacy practices among recipients of grants under the program required by subsection 7a74 7f7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section #bj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjbc1 #bjbe1 and #bjbg4 7g7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,cybersecurity best practices ,the term cybersecurity best practices means practices and steps that users of computers and other internet-connected devices take to maintain and improve online security1 maintain the proper functioning of computers devices1 and protect computers and devices from cyberattacks and unauthorized use4 7#b7 ,digital citizenship ,the term digital citizenship means the ability to-- 7,a7 safely1 responsibly1 and ethically use communication technologies and digital information technology tools and platforms2 7,b7 create and share media content using principles of social and civic responsibility and with awareness of the legal and ethical issues involved2 and 7,c7 participate in the political1 economic1 social1 and cultural aspects of life related to technology1 communications1 and the digital world by consuming and creating digital content1 including media4 7#c7 ,eligible entity ,the term eligible entity means-- 7,a7 a civil society organization1 including community groups1 nongovernmental organizations1 nonprofit organization1 labor organizations1 indigenous groups1 charitable organizations1 professional associations1 and foundations2 and 7,b7 congressionally chartered veterans service organizations4 7#d7 ,media literacy ,the term media literacy means the ability to-- 7,a7 access relevant and accurate information through media in a variety of forms2 7,b7 critically analyze media content and the influences of different forms of media2 7,c7 evaluate the comprehensiveness1 relevance1 credibility1 authority1 and accuracy of information2 7,d7 make educated decisions based on information obtained from media and digital sources2 7,e7 operate various forms of technology and digital tools2 and 7,f7 reflect on how the use of media and technology may affect private and public life4 7#e7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs4