RURAL AND MUNICIPAL UTILITY CYBERSECURITY ACT

On 2026-06-29, Representative Jennifer L. McClellan (D-VA-4) delivered a floor speech titled "RURAL AND MUNICIPAL UTILITY CYBERSECURITY ACT" in the House.

RURAL AND MUNICIPAL UTILITY CYBERSECURITY ACT

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 108 (Monday, June 29, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 108 (Monday, June 29, 2026)] [House] [Pages H4299-H4300] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] RURAL AND MUNICIPAL UTILITY CYBERSECURITY ACT Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7266) to amend the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to reauthorize the Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program, and for other purposes, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 7266 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act''. SEC. 2. RURAL AND MUNICIPAL UTILITY ADVANCED CYBERSECURITY GRANT AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. Section 40124 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (42 U.S.C. 18723) is amended to read as follows: ``SEC. 40124. RURAL AND MUNICIPAL UTILITY ADVANCED CYBERSECURITY GRANT AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. ``(a) Definitions.--In this section: ``(1) Advanced cybersecurity technology.--The term `advanced cybersecurity technology' means any technology, operational capability, or service, including computer hardware, software, or a related asset, that enhances the security posture of electric utilities through improvements in the ability to protect against, detect, respond to, or recover from a cybersecurity threat. ``(2) Bulk-power system.--The term `bulk-power system' has the meaning given the term in section 215(a) of the Federal Power Act. ``(3) Cybersecurity threat.--The term `cybersecurity threat' has the meaning given the term in section 2200 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. ``(4) Defense critical electric infrastructure.--The term `defense critical electric infrastructure' has the meaning given the term in section 215A(a) of the Federal Power Act. ``(5) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means-- ``(A) a rural electric cooperative; ``(B) an electric utility owned by a political subdivision of a State, such as a municipally owned electric utility; ``(C) an electric utility owned by any agency, authority, corporation, or instrumentality of 1 or more political subdivisions of a State; ``(D) a not-for-profit entity that is in a partnership with not fewer than 6 entities described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C); and ``(E) an investor-owned electric utility that sells less than 4,000,000 megawatt hours of electricity per year. ``(6) Program.--The term `Program' means the Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program established under subsection (b). ``(b) Establishment.--The Secretary shall maintain a program, to be known as the Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program, to provide technical assistance and award funding, including grants, cooperative agreements, and prizes, to eligible entities to protect against, detect, respond to, and recover from cybersecurity threats. ``(c) Objectives.--The objectives of the Program shall be-- ``(1) to deploy advanced cybersecurity technologies for electric utility systems; and ``(2) to increase the participation of eligible entities in cybersecurity threat information sharing programs. ``(d) Awards.-- ``(1) In general.--In carrying out the Program, the Secretary-- ``(A) shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, provide technical assistance, and award funding, including grants, cooperative agreements, and prizes, to eligible entities on a competitive or noncompetitive basis; ``(B) shall develop criteria for providing such technical assistance and awarding such funding; ``(C) may enter into agreements that can facilitate the objectives described in subsection (c) with eligible entities to provide technical assistance or award funding, including grants, cooperative agreements, and prizes; and ``(D) shall establish a process to ensure, to the extent practicable, that all eligible entities are informed about opportunities to receive technical assistance or funding, including grants, cooperative agreements, and prizes. ``(2) Priority for funding and technical assistance.--In providing technical assistance and awarding funding, including grants, cooperative agreements, and prizes, under the Program, the Secretary shall give priority to an eligible entity that, as determined by the Secretary-- ``(A) has limited cybersecurity resources; ``(B) owns assets critical to the reliability of the bulk- power system; or ``(C) owns or operates defense critical electric infrastructure. ``(e) Protection of Information.--Information shared by or with the Federal Government or a State, Tribal, or local government under the Program shall be deemed voluntarily shared information and exempt from disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Freedom of Information Act), or any provision of any State, Tribal, or local freedom of information law, open government law, open meetings law, open records law, sunshine law, or similar law requiring the disclosure of information or records. ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $250,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky. General Leave Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the legislation and to include extraneous material on H.R. 7266. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Kentucky? There was no objection. Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 7266, the Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act, sponsored by Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks from Iowa's First Congressional District. Throughout the 119th Congress, the Energy and Commerce Committee has held several hearings examining the state of our Nation's energy system and the persistent threats facing critical infrastructure. We heard directly from industry experts and administration officials about the ability of adversarial nations to exploit vulnerabilities in our energy infrastructure. We know that rising energy demands and a growing reliance on intricate networks of energy delivery systems could widen attack surfaces and opportunities to cause harm and sow chaos in the daily lives of hardworking Americans. These threats are uniquely concerning for rural communities and small utility operators that do not have the same resources as their investor-owned counterparts. These rural cooperatives and municipal utilities are economic drivers for small towns and remote areas of our country to ensure they can participate in the 21st century economy. H.R. 7266 reauthorizes the Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program for 5 years to equip small utilities with the resources necessary to secure their systems and keep the lights on for their communities. Importantly, the RMUC Act streamlines burdensome grant application practices at the Department of Energy to reduce unnecessary regulatory bureaucracy. By simplifying the funding process, we can get dollars from the agency into the hands of cybersecurity professionals in a way that meets the urgency needed to address our system needs. In addition, this program will leverage the expertise of the Department of Energy by providing targeted technical assistance to cybersecurity operators to enhance threat visibility and implement security protections. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 7266, the Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act, sponsored by the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. McClellan) and the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks), reauthorizes a critical program from the bipartisan infrastructure law. This initiative is designed to aid municipal utilities, rural electric cooperatives, and small investor-owned utilities. The reason this is important is that the cyber threats to our Nation's power grid are growing every day, from sophisticated cyberattacks from nation-state actors to AI-enhanced cyberattacks from single criminals. The offensive capabilities of people who would attack our power grid are growing. [[Page H4300]] {time} 1630 The only solution is an investment in a robust defense of the grid. While larger utilities may have more resources to invest in cybersecurity, the smaller utilities and nonprofit cooperatives and municipal utilities may not have the resources to spend on sophisticated cyber defenses. The rural and municipal utility cybersecurity program steps in to fill the gap, ensuring that those smaller entities get the assistance and the guidance they need from the Department of Energy. In addition to reauthorizing this important initiative, the bill makes it easier for smaller utilities to access DOE's technical assistance programs, a tweak that should result in more eligible utilities gaining access to DOE's knowledge and resources. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative McClellan for her work as the co-lead on this bill. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks), who has been a leader in this issue. She stands before us to protect rural and small-t

Referenced legislation: HR7266, HR7266