119-hr2447

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2447 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

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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