In an estimate released March 31, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said that over the next five years the Cybersecurity State Coordinator Act would cost $37 million to enact.
As part of the proposed program, which would be housed within the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, each state would have a Federally funded Cybersecurity Coordinator tasked with helping to prevent and respond to cybersecurity threats. State Coordinators would facilitate coordination between Federal, state, and local governments as well as schools, hospitals, and other entities.
In its estimate, CBO assumed that the bill would be enacted during Fiscal Year 2020 and said while CISA would incur some costs – under $500,000 – during 2020, the bulk of the costs would be incurred in FY21. CBO said that CISA would need 56 new full-time employees at an average compensation of $179,000 a year. The cost of the new hires, as well as the time needed to appoint the new coordinators, CBO estimates it would cost $37 million over the 2020-2025 time period.
The Senate bill – S. 3207 – was introduced on Jan. 16 and is sponsored by Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., John Cornyn, R-Texas, Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Gary Peters, D-Mich. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs passed the bill early last month. The legislation does not appear to have a companion bill in the House.
