[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2447 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2447
To increase cybersecurity education and job growth, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 27, 2025
Mr. Lieu (for himself, Ms. Tokuda, and Mrs. Torres of California)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the Committees on
Ways and Means, Education and Workforce, and Oversight and Government
Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To increase cybersecurity education and job growth, 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. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``New Collar Jobs
Act of 2025''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Employee cybersecurity education.
Sec. 4. Student loan repayment for certain cybersecurity employees.
Sec. 5. CyberCorps scholarship-for-service program.
Sec. 6. Increased funding for Advanced Technology Education program.
Sec. 7. Cybersecurity training incentive for Government contracts.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress find the following:
(1) Domestic factory output has increased by 21 percent
since June 2009, but manufacturing employment has only
increased 5 percent during that time, and has been flat since
late 2014.
(2) As manufacturers leverage new technologies from
robotics to distributed control systems to create modern
factories and industrial plants, different employment
requirements have emerged including the need for cybersecurity
talent.
(3) Leading cybersecurity experts have reported a spike of
250 percent in industrial automation and control system cyber-
incidents occurring during the period between 2011 and 2015 and
as a result are seeking personnel with knowledge of their
industry coupled with knowledge of security technology to
prevent their organization from becoming victims of cyber-
attacks.
SEC. 3. EMPLOYEE CYBERSECURITY EDUCATION.
(a) In General.--Subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end
the following new section:
``SEC. 45BB. EMPLOYEE CYBERSECURITY EDUCATION.
``(a) In General.--For purposes of section 38, the employee
cybersecurity education credit determined under this section for the
taxable year is an amount equal to 50 percent of the aggregate
qualified employee cybersecurity education expenses paid or incurred by
the employer during such taxable year.
``(b) Limitation.--The amount allowed as a credit under subsection
(a) for the taxable year with respect to an employee shall not exceed
$5,000.
``(c) Qualified Employee Cybersecurity Education Expenses.--For
purposes of this section, the term `qualified employee cybersecurity
education expenses' means amounts paid or incurred for each employee
who earns a certificate or degree at the undergraduate or graduate
level or industry-recognized certification relating to those specialty
areas and work roles that are listed in NCWF Work Roles in the document
entitled, `NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework (NCWF)', published by
the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) of the
National Institute of Standards and Technology.
``(d) Certain Rules To Apply.--Rules similar to the rules of
subsections (i)(1) and (k) of section 51 shall apply for purposes of
this section.''.
(b) Credit Made Part of General Business Credit.--Subsection (b) of
section 38 of such Code is amended--
(1) by striking ``plus'' at the end of paragraph (40),
(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (41) and
inserting a comma, and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (41) the following new
paragraph:
``(42) the employee cybersecurity education credit
determined under section 45BB(a), plus''.
(c) Denial of Double Benefit.--Subsection (a) of section 280C of
such Code is amended by inserting ``45BB(a),'' after ``45S(a),''.
(d) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for subpart D of
part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by adding
at the end the following new item:
``Sec. 45BB. Employee cybersecurity education.''.
(e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to individuals commencing apprenticeship programs after the date
of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT FOR CERTAIN CYBERSECURITY EMPLOYEES.
Section 455 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(q) Loan Repayment for Cybersecurity Workers in Economically
Distressed Area.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall cancel the amount
described in paragraph (2) of the balance of interest and
principal due, in accordance with such paragraph, on any
eligible Federal Direct Loan not in default for a borrower
who--
``(A) makes 36 consecutive monthly payments on the
eligible Federal Direct Loan after the date of the
enactment of this section pursuant to any one or a
combination of the following--
``(i) payments under an income-based
repayment plan under section 493C;
``(ii) payments under a standard repayment
plan under subsection (d)(1)(A), based on a 10-
year repayment period;
``(iii) monthly payments under a repayment
plan under subsection (d)(1) or (g) of not less
than the monthly amount calculated under
subsection (d)(1)(A), based on a 10-year
repayment period; or
``(iv) payments under an income contingent
repayment plan under subsection (d)(1)(D); and
``(B) during the period in which the borrower makes
each of the 36 consecutive monthly payments described
in subparagraph (A), has been employed in a
cybersecurity job--
``(i) located in an area that, for at least
12 of such consecutive monthly payments is an
economically distressed area; and
``(ii) that requires that the borrower work
in the economically distressed area no less
than 60 percent of total work hours.
``(2) Cancellation amount.--After the conclusion of the
employment period described in paragraph (1), the Secretary
shall cancel the lesser of the following:
``(A) The obligation to repay the balance of
principal and interest due as of the time of such
cancellation, on the eligible Federal Direct Loans made
to the borrower under this part.
``(B) $25,000.
``(3) Ineligibility of double benefits.--No borrower may,
for the same service, receive a reduction of loan obligations
under both this subsection and--
``(A) subsection (m); or
``(B) section 428J, 428K, 428L, or 460.
``(4) Definitions.--In this section:
``(A) Cybersecurity job.--The term `cybersecurity
job' means--
``(i) a skill role as defined in the NCWF
Work Roles by the National Initiative for
Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Cybersecurity
Workforce Framework (NCWF) of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology, Special
Publication 800-181, or any successor document;
or
``(ii) teaching a cybersecurity course for
a skill role described in clause (i).
``(B) Economically distressed area.--The term
`economically distressed area' means an area that meets
one or more criteria under section 301(a) of the Public
Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C.
3161(a)).''.
SEC. 5. CYBERCORPS SCHOLARSHIP-FOR-SERVICE PROGRAM.
(a) Funding Increase.--It is the sense of the Congress that the
number of scholarships awarded by the National Science Foundation for
scholarships awarded under the Federal cyber scholarship-for-service
program established by section 302 of the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act
of 2014 for fiscal year 2026 and each succeeding fiscal year should be
not less than double the number of such scholarships awarded for fiscal
year 2024.
(b) Cybersecurity Course Instruction.--Section 302 of the
Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014 (15 U.S.C. 7442) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``and security
managers'' and inserting ``security managers, and cybersecurity
course instructors,''; and
(2) in subsection (d), by adding after paragraph (6) the
following:
``Such work may include teaching a cybersecurity course for a skill
role as defined in the NCWF Work Roles by the National Initiative for
Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Cybersecurity Workforce Framework (NCWF)
of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Special
Publication 800-181, or any successor document.''.
(c) Elimination of Priority for Federal Government Employment
Placements.--Section 302(b) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 7442(b)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), by adding ``and'' at the end;
(2) by striking paragraph (3); and
(3) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (3).
SEC. 6. INCREASED FUNDING FOR ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION PROGRAM.
It is the sense of the Congress that the amount expended for the
Information Technology and Cybersecurity Division of the Advanced
Technological Education program of the National Science Foundation
established by section 3(a) of the Scientific and Advanced-Technology
Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-476) for fiscal year 2026 should be an
amount equal to not less than 110 percent of the amount expended for
such division for fiscal year 2024.
SEC. 7. CYBERSECURITY TRAINING INCENTIVE FOR GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS.
(a) In General.--The head of an executive agency shall award a five
percent score increase to each competitive proposal submitted by a
qualified offeror for the evaluation of a competitive proposal received
in response to a solicitation for a contract valued in excess of
$5,000,000.
(b) Applicability.--This section shall apply with respect to any
solicitation issued on an after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Executive agency.--The term ``executive agency'' has
the meaning given that term in section 102 of title 40, United
States Code.
(2) Qualified offeror.--The term ``qualified offeror''
means a business that has claimed the employee cybersecurity
education credit under section 45BB of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as added by section 3, at least once within the
three-year period preceding the date on which the business
submits a competitive proposal for a contract valued in excess
of $5,000,000.
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