SHOW CONGRESS THE MONEY

President Biden called for over $1.3 billion in cybersecurity funds as part of his proposed budget request sent to Congress on Friday, along with major investments in emerging technologies such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence.

The budget proposal was submitted in the wake of two of the largest cyber espionage attacks in U.S. history, including what has become known as the SolarWinds hack, which likely involved Russian hackers and compromised at least nine federal agencies and 100 private-sector groups.

In an effort to combat these rising threats, Biden requested a budget increase of $110 million for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), along with $20 million to establish a “cyber response and recovery fund” at the Department of Homeland Security.

“This funding would allow CISA to enhance its cybersecurity tools, hire highly qualified experts, and obtain support services to protect and defend Federal information technology systems,” reads Biden’s budget proposal, as submitted Friday to Congress by the Office of Management and Budget.

Additionally, the budget proposal recommends $500 million for the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) at the General Services Administration in order to strengthen federal cybersecurity and replace aging systems, and allocates $750 million for reserve funds to strengthen agency information security.