Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2012
Latest action. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2012 - Title I: Research and Development - (Sec. 103) Directs specified federal agencies participating in the National High-Performance Computing Program to: (1) transmit to Congress a cybersecurity strategic research and development plan and triennial updates, and (2) develop and annually update an implementation roadmap for such plan.
Instructs the participating agencies, in developing and updating the strategic plan, to solicit recommendations and advice from the advisory committee on high-performance computing and a wide range of specified stakeholders.
(Sec. 104) Provides for the award of computer and network security research grants by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the research areas of social and behavioral factors, including human-computer interactions, identity management, as well as the detection, investigation, and prosecution of cyber-crimes involving organized crime and crimes against children. Authorizes appropriations for FY2013-FY2015 for such grants.
(Sec. 105) Requires applications for the establishment of Computer and Network Security Research Centers to include a description of how such Centers will partner with government laboratories, for-profit entities, other institutions of higher education, or nonprofit research institutions. Authorizes appropriations for FY2013-FY2015 for such Centers.
Authorizes appropriations to NSF for FY2013-FY2015 for: (1) computer and network security capacity building grants, (2) grants under the Scientific and Advanced Technology Act for the national advanced scientific and technical education program and national centers of scientific and technical education, and (3) grants for graduate traineeships programs in computer and network security research.
Repeals the Cyber Security Faculty Development Traineeship Program.
(Sec. 106) Requires the NSF Director to continue carrying out a Scholarship for Service program under the Cyber Security Research and Development Act to recruit and train the next generation of federal cybersecurity professionals and to increase the capacity of the higher education system to produce an information technology workforce with the skills necessary to enhance the security of the nation's communications and information infrastructure.
Requires the program to: (1) provide scholarships for tuition, fees, and a stipend for up to two years to students pursuing a bachelor's or master's degree and up to three years to students pursuing a doctoral degree in a cybersecurity field upon condition that a scholarship recipient, upon the completion of the degree, serves as a cybersecurity professional within the federal workforce (or in another specified cybersecurity capacity) for a specified period of time; (2) provide scholarship recipients with summer internships or other temporary appointments in the federal information technology workforce; and (3) increase, through competitive grants, the capacity of U.S. higher education institutions to produce highly qualified cybersecurity professionals.
The summary continues for 12 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House amended" stage on April 27, 2012. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on May 7, 2012: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Michael McCaul (R-TX) introduced it on June 2, 2011, and 7 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 3 Democrats, 4 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 2, 2011, 5579 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5239 days ago, on May 7, 2012.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers