U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s, R-Fla., “Small Business Cyber Training Act” is gaining traction on Capitol Hill.
Rubio first teamed up with U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, on the “Small Business Cyber Training Act” in 2019. He brought the bill back in May 2021 with the support of U.S. Sens Bill Cassidy, R-La. Maggie Hassan, D-NH, Jim Risch, R-Id. and Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH.
“This bill would create a training program for small business development centers (SBDCs) to prepare counselors in cyber planning assistance. Specifically, the bill would require SBDCs to employees certified in cyber strategy counseling for small businesses,” Rubio’s office noted.
This week, the U.S. Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee passed the bill without opposition.
“As cyber threats from foreign adversaries continue to rise, it is extremely important to ensure our small businesses are protected,” Rubio said. “I am pleased that my bill was passed by the committee, and I am hopeful the full Senate will do the same soon.”
The bill now heads to the full Senate.
Over in the U.S. House, .U.S. Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-NY, introduced a similar bill which cleared the chamber in November on a 409-14 vote with all the opposition coming from the GOP ranks. Every member of the Florida delegation backed the bill.
