The Rural Hospital Cybersecurity Enhancement Act would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop — within one year — a national strategy for building up the cybersecurity workforce at rural hospitals. The plan would emphasize partnerships between rural hospitals, larger healthcare systems, community colleges, and vocational schools, plus the development of training curricula tailored to rural settings. HHS would also publish free instructional materials hospital staff can use for cybersecurity training, and brief Congress annually on progress. The bill authorizes no new funding — it only directs HHS to use existing resources. Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri leads the bill, with five bipartisan co-sponsors.
Transparency & Accountability
- HHS reporting on rural-hospital cybersecurity — Annual congressional briefing required on workforce strategy progress and program effectiveness
Congressional Summary
Rural Hospital Cybersecurity Enhancement ActThis bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create a workforce development strategy to address the need for cybersecurity professionals in rural hospitals.Among other topics, the strategy must consider (1) partnerships between rural hospitals, hospitals that are not rural hospitals, educational institutions, and private nonprofit or for-profit entities; and (2) the development of a cybersecurity curriculum for use in rural educational institutions. HHS must annually brief Congress on the strategy and any programs or initiatives established thereunder.Additionally, HHS must disseminate free materials that rural hospitals may use to train staff about cybersecurity.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Reported to Senate
- Action Date
- 2026-01-28
- Date Added
- 2026-05-09
- Source
- Congress.gov →
Like reading a bill in plain English?
We're building an app that does this for every bill in Congress and lets you tell your reps how you want them to vote. We're a small team getting ready to launch, and we're trying to show investors that real people want this. Be one of them. Help us get it built. Leave your email and we'll tell you the moment the app is ready.