Federal Cybersecurity Scholarship Program Aims to Build 10,000-Strong Public Workforce

What it does

This bill creates the PIVOTT Program, a federal scholarship and training initiative run by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to recruit and train cybersecurity workers at community colleges and technical schools. Students receive full-ride scholarships covering tuition, fees, living expenses, and internships in exchange for a two-year commitment to work in a cyber role for federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial government—or in the military. The program aims to grow from 250 students in year one to 10,000 per year within a decade, filling a critical shortage of cybersecurity talent in the public sector.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is a federal scholarship and training program designed to address a documented shortage of cybersecurity workers in government. It is structured as a public investment in human capital with explicit service obligations, not a subsidy or carve-out for private interests.

What the text implies

• The bill creates a two-year service obligation that binds scholarship recipients to government cyber roles, effectively creating a federal talent pipeline that may reduce private-sector recruitment of trained cybersecurity workers and could affect labor market dynamics in the cybersecurity industry.
• Internship placements include 'critical infrastructure owner or operator' entities in rural or high-risk sectors, potentially creating pathways for federal oversight or coordination with private infrastructure operators on cybersecurity standards.
• The program's growth target of 10,000 students per year within a decade represents a substantial federal commitment to workforce development; if appropriations fall short, the program's scale and impact could be significantly constrained.
• Scholarship recipients who fail to meet service obligations face loan repayment requirements treated as Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans, creating a debt-collection mechanism that may disproportionately affect lower-income participants who cannot secure government positions.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Ordinary citizens benefit from a publicly funded workforce development program that expands access to high-skill, well-paying careers without debt burden, strengthens government cybersecurity capacity to protect critical infrastructure and citizen data, and creates a talent pipeline for public-sector cyber defense. The service obligation ensures public return on investment and directs trained workers into roles that serve the public interest.

Who stands to gain

• Community colleges and technical schools (institutional partnerships, potential administrative fees
• Cybersecurity certification providers (voucher-funded certifications for program completers)
• Federal agencies and state/local governments (access to trained cyber workforce at no direct recruit

Named in the bill

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE), National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C), Department of Defense, Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Security Agency, Office of the National Cyber Director, Community colleges and technical schools, Critical infrastructure operators

Where it stands

12 cosponsors: 12 Republicans.

• Feb 5, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Feb 5, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Education and Workforce and House Committee on Homeland Security · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection”
• Feb 26, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Feb 26, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 17 - 8”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

7 lobbying clients named this bill on 8 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $26,800,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 38 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 86% of bills with at least one filing.

Mark Green, the sponsor, reported $29,535 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Chamber of Commerce of the U.S.A. — $17,960,000 on 1 filing
• Google Client Services LLC — $6,920,000 on 2 filings
• National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (nreca) — $770,000 on 1 filing
• Information Technology Industry Council — $720,000 on 1 filing
• Business Software Alliance — $320,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.