HR 4502 United States House · 118th Congress

Modernizing the Acquisition of Cybersecurity Experts Act of 2023

This bill changes how federal agencies set education requirements for cybersecurity jobs. It restricts agencies from requiring specific degrees unless that education is legally required in the location where the work is performed, and limits education consideration to only what directly matches job competencies. The bill defines covered positions as those in the competitive service under the GS-2210 IT series or designated as "cybersecurity" under the NICE Framework. The Office of Personnel Management must publish annual data on educational attainment for these roles to increase transparency. It directly affects federal agencies hiring cybersecurity staff and aims to make hiring more flexible and competency-focused.

Issues: ✓ Technology

Sub-Topics: Cybersecurity

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jul 2023

Committee Review

Oct 2023

House Passage

Oct 2023

Senate Passage

President

Introduced Jul 10, 2023 Last action Oct 3, 2023

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced in House → Engrossed in House · 3 edits · Oct 2, 2023

MINOR

The Engrossed version of HR 4502 makes primarily technical and formatting changes compared to the Introduced version. The most notable substantive change is adding 'of 2023' to the act's short title and updating the cross-reference in the publication requirement accordingly. The remaining changes involve reorganizing amendment instructions (adding an '(a) In general' subsection heading) and inserting blank lines for readability.

TECHNICAL

The short title of the act was changed from 'Modernizing the Acquisition of Cybersecurity Experts Act' to 'Modernizing the Acquisition of Cybersecurity Experts Act of 2023', adding a year designation.

The publication requirement in subsection (b)(2) was updated to reference the new short title with 'of 2023' appended.

The amendment instruction for section 3308 was restructured to introduce an '(a) In general' subsection heading, clarifying that the existing OPM language is being placed under a new subsection (a) rather than simply replacing text inline.

Floor votes · House Oct 2, 2023

How they voted

394–1

Passed · 38 other

Total votes 433

Oct 2, 2023

D Democratic212

196 Yea 16

92% Yea

I Independent1

1 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican220

197 Yea 1 Nay 22

89% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Oct 3, 2023

Committee

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

upper

Oct 2, 2023

Introduced

The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.

lower

Oct 2, 2023

Introduced

On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 394 - 1 (Roll no. 515). (text: CR H4944)

lower

Oct 2, 2023

Lower · Passed

Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 394 - 1 (Roll no. 515). (text: CR H4944)

lower

Oct 2, 2023

Introduced

Mr. Comer moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.

lower

Jul 12, 2023

Introduced

Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 40 - 0.

lower

Jul 12, 2023

Lower · Passed

Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held

lower

Jul 10, 2023

Committee

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

lower

Jul 10, 2023

Introduced

Introduced in House

lower

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor