Federal cybersecurity program sweetens loan forgiveness, extends service commitment
H.R. 494 — To amend the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014 to make improvements to the Federal Cyber Scholarship for Service Program, and for other purposes. · Filed by Gerald Connolly (D-VA) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jan 16, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill extends the Federal Cyber Scholarship for Service Program's service obligation from 3 years to 5 years, and clarifies that the program can forgive the full amount of federal student loans (including Stafford loans) without being limited by other federal loan-forgiveness caps or regulations. The changes make the scholarship more attractive by requiring longer service but removing barriers to complete loan forgiveness.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is to extend a federal scholarship program's service obligation and remove caps on loan forgiveness for participants. This is a targeted workforce-development measure designed to attract talent to federal cybersecurity roles.
What the text implies
- Extending service obligation to 5 years may reduce program appeal to candidates with competing job offers or family constraints, potentially offsetting the loan-forgiveness benefit.
- Removing 'other limitations' on loan forgiveness may create tension with other federal loan-forgiveness programs (PSLF, REPAYE) if participants are eligible for multiple programs simultaneously.
- The bill does not specify whether the 5-year obligation is consecutive or can be split, which may affect recruitment of mid-career professionals.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill removes barriers to loan forgiveness for participants in a federal cybersecurity workforce program, making the scholarship more valuable to borrowers while extending their service commitment. Citizens gain clearer access to debt relief in exchange for longer public service in a critical national-security field.
Who stands to gain
- Federal cybersecurity workforce participants (individuals with federal student loans)
Named in the bill
Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014, Federal Cyber Scholarship for Service Program, Higher Education Act of 1965, Part D Title IV (Stafford loans), 20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- Jan 16, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jan 16, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (725 characters) on May 21, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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