Sponsors (2)
The bill invests in building and diversifying the energy-sector cybersecurity workforce and accelerating grid security R&D, improving preparedness and jobs at the cost of increased federal spending and potential funding trade-offs that may unevenly benefit larger institutions.
Students and early-career researchers across the U.S. will receive scholarships, fellowships, and paid trainee placements at National Laboratories and utilities, lowering education costs and improving job readiness for energy-sector cybersecurity roles.
Underrepresented students at HBCUs, Tribal Colleges, and other minority-serving institutions will gain increased access to energy–cybersecurity training and funding, expanding career pathways and promoting greater diversity in the sector.
Utilities, energy companies, and researchers will benefit from DOE-supported R&D projects and partnerships that can accelerate development and deployment of cybersecurity solutions for the power grid and other energy infrastructure.
Taxpayers will face increased federal spending to support expanded DOE scholarships, fellowships, and R&D, which raises the fiscal cost of the program unless offset elsewhere.
DOE funding focused on energy–cybersecurity may divert limited research dollars and awards away from other DOE priorities or university programs, potentially crowding out alternate research areas or shortchanging other fields.
Smaller institutions or universities without established energy or cybersecurity programs may struggle to compete for awards and placements despite outreach efforts, limiting the bill’s equal-access goals in practice.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a DOE program to fund scholarships, fellowships, R&D, and traineeships connecting cybersecurity and energy disciplines with outreach to HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs.
Introduced April 21, 2025 by Deborah K. Ross · Last progress April 21, 2025
Creates a Department of Energy program to fund graduate and postdoctoral training that blends cybersecurity and energy infrastructure disciplines. The program will provide competitive scholarships, fellowships, and research support, arrange traineeship experiences at National Laboratories and utilities, conduct targeted outreach to HBCUs, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and minority-serving institutions, and must report to Congress on program development and implementation within one year.