The Hill: House lawmakers roll out bill to invest $500 million in state and local cybersecurity

A group of bipartisan House lawmakers on Wednesday rolled out legislation that would provide state and local governments with $500 million annually to defend against cyberattacks, which have escalated over the past year during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The State and Local Cybersecurity Improvement Act, led by House Homeland Security Committee cybersecurity subcommittee Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), would create a grant program to provide $500 million annually to state and local governments over the next five years for cybersecurity needs.

The legislation, provided to The Hill to review Wednesday, would also require state and local governments to submit plans for securing their systems against cyber threats in order to obtain the funding, and establish committees to implement the plans...

The bill is a major bipartisan effort, with House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), ranking member Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.) and cybersecurity subcommittee ranking member Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) among the sponsors...

"While we all can agree more resources for our state and local governments are necessary, we must also ensure these funds are spent responsibly, and effectuate meaningful impacts on risk reduction," Garbarino testified at the hearing. "This important bill is a tremendous step forward in our fight, but we can’t stop there."