Sponsors (2)
Want to know what is actually in this bill?
This is not an official government website.
Copyright © 2026 PLEJ LC. All rights reserved.
Establishes a Rural Water and Wastewater Cybersecurity Circuit Rider Program to give hands-on cybersecurity help to associations that operate rural water and wastewater systems. The program will fund trained "circuit riders" to perform risk assessments, planning, documentation, and other technical assistance, require experience and certification for circuit riders, and require service reporting. It authorizes $10,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2025–2029 to carry out the program.
Adds a new paragraph (23) to Section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish a Rural Water and Wastewater Cybersecurity Circuit Rider Program.
The Secretary shall establish a cybersecurity circuit rider program, structured similarly to the circuit rider program under paragraph (22), to provide technical assistance to associations described in paragraph (1) that operate rural water or wastewater systems.
Provide rapid assessments of the associations' ability or inability to respond to cybersecurity threats and to protect their cyberinfrastructure and public health (subparagraph (A)(i)(I) and (II)).
Develop reasonable protocols to enhance cybersecurity protection for the associations (subparagraph (A)(ii)).
Provide assistance to address inadequate cyber protection plans for those associations (subparagraph (A)(iii)).
Primary beneficiaries are associations that operate rural water and wastewater systems and the rural communities they serve. The circuit riders will deliver direct technical help—cybersecurity assessments, planning, and documentation—which should improve detection, prevention, and response to cyber threats for small systems that lack in-house expertise. Public health and service continuity are likely to improve as systems adopt stronger cyber protections. The Secretary (federal implementer) will handle program setup, define certification and experience standards, and manage reporting requirements. The authorized funding ($10M per year, FY2025–2029) enables hiring/contracting circuit riders and program administration but only becomes available if Congress appropriates those amounts. Administrative burden includes establishing certification standards, selection and oversight of circuit riders, and tracking/reporting service delivery. The provision does not impose new unfunded obligations on states or localities; participation is voluntary and assistance-focused. Overall, the program is a targeted capacity-building measure for small, rural water-sector operators to address cybersecurity gaps.
Expand sections to see detailed analysis
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Introduced March 13, 2025 by Catherine Marie Cortez Masto · Last progress March 13, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Introduced in Senate