House appropriators debate cuts to CISA and cyber programs as members warn of growing threats

Republican and Democratic members of the Appropriations subcommittee sparred over proposed cuts to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) during the Homeland Security markup, with multiple members warning that reductions would leave U.S. networks more vulnerable.

Members’ concerns: Ranking members and a number of Democrats said the bill underfunds cybersecurity by hundreds of millions of dollars and that CISA had lost significant staffing. Rep. Cheri Bustos, Rep. Raúl Grijalva and others cited recent events and the potential for state actors to exploit any reductions. Representative Underwood said the bill “adopts DOGE staffing cuts to CISA and FEMA personnel by roughly $130,000,000 and $93,000,000 respectively,” and warned that less funding makes the U.S. more vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Amendment activity: Rep. Andrew Clyde offered an amendment to cut CISA to the president’s requested level and argued the agency had been improperly involved in content moderation and “misinformation” activities. That amendment was withdrawn on the floor after discussion; committee leaders said CISA’s mission should be refocused on core cyber defense and critical infrastructure protection but that the subcommittee intended to assess funding decisions with the agency.

Why it matters: Members argued that cybersecurity and infrastructure protection are frontline national security priorities. Several members cited recent staffing losses at CISA and urged greater investment in federal and state cyber defenses and election security efforts.

Ending: The committee did not adopt a sweeping reduction to CISA during markup, and some members pledged to press the appropriations and authorizing committees to clarify CISA’s mission and staffing needs ahead of floor debate and continuing appropriations work.