To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish a cybersecurity circuit rider program to provide cybersecurity-related technical assistance to certain entities that operate rural water or wastewater systems.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Cortez Masto (for herself and Mr. Rounds) introduced the …
Summary
What This Bill Does:
This bill creates a new program called the "Cybersecurity for Rural Water Systems Act". It aims to improve cybersecurity in rural water and wastewater systems by providing expert help, known as "circuit riders", who will assess current security levels, develop protection plans, and train staff.
Who Benefits and How:
- Rural communities: They'll have better-protected water supplies, ensuring public health.
- Water associations: They receive free technical assistance to enhance cybersecurity and create emergency response protocols.
Who Bears the Burden and How:
- Taxpayers: The bill authorizes $10 million each year from 2024 to 2028 for this program, which will be funded through general revenues.
- Circuit riders: They must have necessary experience and certification to participate in the program.
Key Provisions:
- The Secretary of Agriculture establishes a cybersecurity circuit rider program.
- Circuit riders assess current security levels, develop protection plans, and train staff in rural water associations.
- Each circuit rider submits reports on served associations and activities performed.
- The bill authorizes $10 million annually from 2024 to 2028 for this program.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
This bill amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish a cybersecurity circuit rider program, providing technical assistance to rural water or wastewater systems.
Policy Domains
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Systems that provide water or wastewater services in rural areas.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology