Congress presses CISA on workforce capacity and biotech cyber defenses

In one week, lawmakers introduced a bill ordering a top-to-bottom CISA workforce assessment after roughly 1,000 departures, and bipartisan House and Senate members proposed two bills directing DHS and CISA to protect biotech infrastructure and biological data.

Congress moved on two fronts to reshape CISA's mission. On Sept. 21, 2026, three House Democrats — Reps. James Walkinshaw, Bennie Thompson, and Delia Ramirez — introduced the CISA Force Structure Assessment Act, requiring the agency to assess whether it retains the personnel, skills, training, and certifications needed for its missions after roughly 1,000 employees left during President Trump's second term. The review would span federal IT security, state and local support, AI and quantum risks, threat hunting and incident response, critical infrastructure and operational technology, the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative, and international cooperation. The bill comes as CISA is seeking to hire hundreds of staff even though its latest budget blueprint calls for further funding cuts. Three days later, on Sept. 24, 2026, bipartisan sponsors in both chambers — Senators Todd Young and Maggie Hassan and Representatives Ro Khanna, Stephanie Bice, and Scott Peters — introduced the Protecting Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing as Critical Infrastructure Act and the Protecting Biological Data Act. Those bills would direct DHS to plan protection for biotech and biomanufacturing within existing critical infrastructure sectors rather than creating a new sector, update the National Infrastructure Protection Plan for biotech, and require CISA to cover genomic and biometric data through strategy, exercises, and added personnel. The article notes that Boston Scientific and Amgen recently disclosed cyberattacks.

• Roughly 1,000 CISA employees left during President Trump's second term, according to CyberScoop (2026-09-21).
• The CISA Force Structure Assessment Act was introduced by House Democrats James Walkinshaw, Bennie Thompson, and Delia Ramirez.
• The workforce review would cover federal IT security, state and local support, AI and quantum risks, threat hunting and incident response, critical infrastructure and operational technology, the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative, and…
• CISA is seeking to hire hundreds of staff while its latest budget blueprint calls for further funding cuts.
• Two bipartisan bills were introduced: the Protecting Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing as Critical Infrastructure Act and the Protecting Biological Data Act.
• Biotech bill sponsors: Senators Todd Young and Maggie Hassan; Representatives Ro Khanna, Stephanie Bice, and Scott Peters.
• The bills would not add a seventeenth critical infrastructure sector; DHS would instead update the National Infrastructure Protection Plan for biotech within existing sectors.
• CISA would be required to cover genomic sequences and sensitive biometric data through strategy, exercises, and added personnel.