House Homeland Security hearing spotlights 500,000‑job cyber workforce gap and reintroduced Cyber Pivot Act

Chairman Green convened the House Committee on Homeland Security to examine what he called the nation’s top cyber challenge: a shortage of skilled cyber professionals. The chairman reintroduced the Cyber Pivot Act at the hearing and urged bipartisan work to expand training, internships and federal and private sector pathways into cybersecurity.

The bill aims to broaden scholarship and internship opportunities to technical schools, community colleges and rural critical‑infrastructure employers, and to create quicker routes for career pivots into cyber roles rather than requiring a four‑year degree. “Currently, our nation lacks about 500,000 cyber professionals,” Chairman Green said, calling the shortfall “a deficit of 1,000,000 eyes” and warning that gaps leave networks and critical infrastructure vulnerable to nation‑state and criminal actors.

Why it matters: Witnesses said workforce development is essential to maintain resilient networks across government and industry and to protect critical infrastructure in rural and urban communities alike. David Russomano, provost at the University of Memphis, told the committee that community colleges and technical schools are an underused pipeline and that many 4‑year institutions are slow to adapt curricula to workforce needs. “In high demand areas, most notably and critically in cybersecurity, the private sector may prefer to recruit experienced employees from other companies rather than creating entry level positions and hiring new graduates of post secondary institutions,” Russomano said.

Rob Rashad, vice president of Fortinet’s training institute, described firm efforts to expand K‑12 cyber awareness and to make training broadly available: Fortinet’s K‑12 curriculum operates in 43 states, he said, and the company maps its training to NICE career pathways to clarify roles for students and employers. Chris Jones, president and CEO of Middle Tennessee Electric, told members electric cooperatives struggle to recruit and retain cyber talent in rural service territories against higher urban salaries but welcomed language in the Pivot Act to extend cybersecurity internships into rural critical infrastructure. Max Steyer, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, urged government‑wide human capital reform, including better implementation of skills‑based hiring and modernizing federal pay systems.

Committee members pressed witnesses on several recurring themes: expanding CyberCorps and similar scholarship‑for‑service programs, strengthening transfer articulation between 2‑year and 4‑year institutions, reskilling veterans and midcareer workers, and scaling K‑12 outreach so students “see themselves” in cyber careers. Representative McCall noted CyberCorps funding to date — ‘‘$600,000,000 in funding, 5,000 scholarships’’ — and urged broader distribution of career fairs and internship opportunities beyond the Washington area.

Witnesses did not present a congressional or agency vote on the bill; Chairman Green said he had reintroduced the Cyber Pivot Act with multiple cosponsors and that stakeholder letters and industry endorsements had been submitted for the record. Green named organizations that sent statements of support during the hearing, including the American Association of Community Colleges, Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks, the US Chamber of Commerce and others.

The hearing closed with members and witnesses emphasizing that any successful workforce strategy must combine early education, expanded technical training, smoother transfer and career pathways, and incentives that encourage private sector participation while preserving public‑service options. Chairman Green said he intends to press the bill through the committee this Congress so the committee can scale workforce solutions faster.