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119-hr-7266119th CongressWALLET

Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act

Sponsored By: Representative Miller-Meeks, Mariannette [R-IA-1]

Passed House

Summary

Reauthorizes and codifies the Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program. It creates a federal program to fund and provide technical help so small, municipal, and rural electric utilities can better protect, detect, respond, and recover from cybersecurity threats.

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  • Rural and municipal electric utilities, including investor-owned utilities that sell less than 4,000,000 megawatt hours per year, become eligible for grants, cooperative agreements, prizes, and technical assistance to deploy advanced cybersecurity technology.
  • Owners of assets critical to the reliability of the bulk-power system and defense-critical electric infrastructure receive funding priority to strengthen grid reliability and national security assets.
  • Information that utilities share with federal or state, Tribal, or local governments under the program is treated as voluntarily shared and exempt from FOIA and similar state or local disclosure laws.

*Authorizes $250 million for fiscal years 2027 through 2031 to carry out the program, increasing federal spending over that period.*

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

1 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.

Cybersecurity help for local power utilities

If enacted, this would maintain a federal program to help rural and city-owned electric utilities improve cybersecurity. The Secretary would provide grants, prizes, and technical help, and would set rules and notify eligible utilities. Priority would go to utilities with few cybersecurity resources, those with assets critical to the bulk-power system, or those that run defense-critical infrastructure. Eligible applicants would include rural electric co-ops; municipal and other local public utilities; certain nonprofits partnered with at least six such utilities; and investor-owned utilities that sell under 4 million megawatt-hours a year. Congress would authorize $250 million for fiscal years 2027 through 2031, and awards would depend on later appropriations. Information shared with governments under the program would be protected from public release.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Miller-Meeks, Mariannette [R-IA-1]

IA • R

Cosponsors

  • Rep. McClellan, Jennifer L. [D-VA-4]

    VA • D

    Sponsored 1/27/2026

  • Rep. Harshbarger, Diana [R-TN-1]

    TN • R

    Sponsored 1/30/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
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