Reauthorize the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program

Action Needed

Urge your Members of Congress to support legislation to reauthorize the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP). On November 18, the U.S. House of Representatives passed by unanimous consent H.R. 5078 (The PILLAR Act), and on December 1, the U.S. Senate introduced companion legislation under S. 3251 (State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program Reauthorization Act), which has been referred to the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs.

The SLCGP has provided critical cybersecurity funding support to state and local governments throughout the country, providing resources to counties to assess where their networks and services are most vulnerable, helping smaller counties begin to implement basic cybersecurity protocols and allowing counties to utilize many of the offerings from their state governments to improve security.

Background

The State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP), passed as a part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021, provided a total of $1 billion across four years to support state and local cybersecurity planning and implementation efforts. Local governments have received benefits that increased minimum benchmarks for local government cybersecurity readiness, while contributing to state efforts to enhance existing cybersecurity plans or create new plans that address the evolving cybersecurity landscape.

As the SLCGP completes its final Fiscal Year of operation, it is imperative that Congress reauthorizes the program to ensure operational readiness to respond to a cybersecurity threat or breach. Local governments in the 21st century must assume an increased role in preserving the safety of residents’ information and the security of our critical infrastructure, and a robust intergovernmental partnership is essential for the success of that model.

As Congress deliberates future iterations of cybersecurity funding sources for state and local governments, they should provide flexibility in the use of funds across different levels of local government to ensure that funding is addressing areas of respective need.

Key Talking Points

• The SLCGP has provided a funding source dedicated to state and local government to improve our cybersecurity readiness posture, and the SLCGP should be reauthorized to continue these efforts.
• Rising cybersecurity demands on local government necessitate a federal funding source that is reliable and flexible for the varied needs of state and local governments.