Congress extends cybersecurity funding for states and cities through 2026
S. 3251 — State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program Reauthorization Act · Filed by Maggie Hassan (D-NH) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Nov 20, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill extends and funds a federal cybersecurity grant program for state and local governments through fiscal year 2026. It increases the federal government's cost-share contribution to 60–70% (depending on the grant type), authorizes $300 million in appropriations for FY 2026, and delays the program's expiration by one year.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative function is to reauthorize and fund a federal grant program for state and local cybersecurity capacity-building. It is a straightforward appropriations and program-extension measure with no hidden mechanisms or riders.
What the text implies
- Higher federal cost-share (60–70%) may incentivize states to expand cybersecurity programs beyond what they would fund independently, creating long-term dependency on federal appropriations.
- The $300M authorization for FY 2026 does not guarantee appropriation; Congress must still pass a separate appropriations bill to fund it.
- Program expires again Sept 30, 2026 unless reauthorized again; this is a one-year extension, not a permanent fix.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
State and local governments gain continued federal funding for cybersecurity infrastructure and workforce, which protects citizens' digital systems and critical infrastructure from cyber threats. Higher federal cost-sharing reduces the burden on state and local taxpayers to fund these protections.
Who stands to gain
- state and local government cybersecurity agencies
- cybersecurity contractors and vendors serving state/local governments
Named in the bill
Department of Homeland Security, State and local governments, Homeland Security Act of 2002, Section 2220A
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- Nov 20, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Nov 20, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
9 lobbying clients named this bill on 14 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $2,770,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 10 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 89% of bills with at least one filing.
Maggie Hassan, the sponsor, reported $608,285 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle. $5,000 of that came from 1 PAC tied to these lobbying clients.
- Information Technology Industry Council — $1,440,000 on 2 filings
- Tenable Inc — $330,000 on 2 filings
- Fdd Action — $290,000 on 1 filing
- American Water Works Association — $200,000 on 1 filing
- Microsoft Corporation — $180,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,065 characters) on Jun 8, 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.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Congress extends cybersecurity funding for states and cities through 2026” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s3251 Report an error
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