The United States Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would provide funding to support cybersecurity job training at historically black colleges and universities, tribal institutions, minority-serving institutions and other colleges and universities that serve a high proportion of Pell Grant recipients.
The Cybersecurity Opportunity Act was sponsored in the U.S. Senate by Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.
Georgia Republican Rep. Hank Johnson (Ga-04) introduced the partnering legislation in the United States House of Representatives.
According to a news release provided by Ossoff’s office, the bill, which passed as part of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, requires that 50% of Satcher grant funds must go to HBCUs, tribal, and minority serving institutions in order to support greater diversity and equality of opportunity in the cybersecurity field.
The act will create the Dr. David Satcher Cybersecurity Education Grant Program in honor of Satcher, who was the former U.S. Surgeon General and Morehouse College's School of Medicine Dean.
“This has been a long time coming, and it’s a big win for Georgia’s HBCUs and for cybersecurity in Georgia and nationwide,” Ossoff said in a statement.
As of 2020, Georgia and Florida are home to HBCUs and minority-serving institutions.
