A bill to require the Secretary of Defense to establish a pilot program on Department of Defense partnerships with institutions of higher education recognized in the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity program for Cyber Research, and for other purposes.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5504 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5504

  To require the Secretary of Defense to establish a pilot program on 
    Department of Defense partnerships with institutions of higher 
education recognized in the National Centers of Academic Excellence in 
   Cybersecurity program for Cyber Research, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 24, 2026

  Ms. Rosen (for herself and Mr. Budd) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To require the Secretary of Defense to establish a pilot program on 
    Department of Defense partnerships with institutions of higher 
education recognized in the National Centers of Academic Excellence in 
   Cybersecurity program for Cyber Research, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. PILOT PROGRAM ON DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PARTNERSHIPS WITH 
              INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION RECOGNIZED IN THE 
              NATIONAL CENTERS OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE IN CYBERSECURITY 
              PROGRAM FOR CYBER RESEARCH.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall establish a pilot 
program under the Defense Cyber Workforce Framework to assess the 
feasibility of partnering advanced cyberspace operations and 
information aggressor units of the Department of Defense with 
institutions of higher education recognized in the National Centers of 
Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity program for Cyber Research (CAE-
R), Cyber Defense (CAE-CD), or Cyber Operations (CAE-CO) by the 
National Security Agency--
            (1) to improve the cyber workforce pipeline of the United 
        States;
            (2) to enhance military cyber training through academic 
        collaboration, research, cyber range exercises, and create 
        direct pathways for students into Federal cybersecurity 
        careers;
            (3) to leverage existing scholarship and fellowship 
        opportunities, such as the Cyber Service Academy, the Science, 
        Mathematics and Research for Transformation, and other cyber 
        scholarship for service programs; and
            (4) to improve coordination, guidance, and counseling for 
        participating students seeking to pursue careers in 
        cybersecurity or cyber operations in the Department of Defense 
        or elsewhere in the Federal Government.
    (b) Elements.--The pilot program required by subsection (a) shall 
include the following:
            (1) Establishment of a research cell supporting aggressor 
        operations through open-source intelligence, emerging threat 
        analysis, and development of adversary emulation playbooks.
            (2) Creation of an assessment framework for determining the 
        impact of the pilot program, including a cost-benefit analysis 
        for partnering students with operational units, that--
                    (A) determines the time to clear students for 
                participation in the program; and
                    (B) determines the time and cost necessary to get 
                students access to networks required to provide 
                operational support to military cyber operators.
            (3) Assessment of the curricula for participating students 
        to determine if such coursework is relevant and impactful in 
        preparing such students to directly support operational 
        military cyber operators.
            (4) Tracking students participating in the pilot program to 
        determine how the pilot program affects potential future 
        employment with the Department of Defense or the Federal 
        Government.
    (c) Sunset.--The pilot program established under subsection (a) 
shall terminate on September 30, 2031.
                                 <all>