117th CONGRESS 1st Session |
To amend section 21 of the Small Business Act to require cyber certification for small business development center counselors, and for other purposes.
May 18, 2021
Mr. Rubio (for himself, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Risch, and Mr. Cassidy) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
To amend section 21 of the Small Business Act to require cyber certification for small business development center counselors, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “Small Business Cyber Training Act of 2021”.
SEC. 2. Duties of small business development center counselors.
(a) Cyber training.—Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(o) Cyber strategy training for small business development centers.—
“(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection—
“(A) the term ‘cyber strategy’ means resources and tactics to assist in planning for cybersecurity and defending against cyber risks and attacks; and
“(B) the term ‘lead small business development center’ means a small business development center that has received a grant from the Administration.
“(2) CERTIFICATION PROGRAM.—The Administrator shall establish a cyber counseling certification program, or designate a substantially similar existing program, to certify the employees of lead small business development centers in providing cyber planning assistance to small business concerns.
“(3) NUMBER OF CERTIFIED EMPLOYEES.—The Administrator shall ensure that the number of employees of each lead small business development center who are certified in providing cyber planning assistance is not less than the lesser of—
“(A) 5; or
“(B) 10 percent of the total number of employees of the lead small business development center.
“(4) CYBER STRATEGY.—In carrying out paragraph (2), the Administrator, to the extent practicable, shall consider any cyber strategy methods included in the Small Business Development Center Cyber Strategy developed under section 1841(a)(3)(B) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328; 130 Stat. 2662).
“(5) REIMBURSEMENT FOR CERTIFICATION.—
“(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Administrator shall reimburse a lead small business development center for costs relating to the certification of an employee of the lead small business center in providing cyber planning assistance under the program established under paragraph (2).
“(B) LIMITATION.—The total amount reimbursed by the Administrator under subparagraph (A) may not exceed $350,000 in any fiscal year.”.
(b) Implementation.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall implement paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of section 21(o) of the Small Business Act, as added by subsection (a).