Rep. Obernolte bill to address U.S. cyber weaknesses passes U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. Congressman Jay Obernolte’s (R-Hesperia) bill to establish career pathways in computer science within the federal government passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday – the first legislation introduced by Rep. Obernolte to pass as a stand-alone bill. The Federal Career Opportunities in Computer Science Work Act, H.R. 3533, improves national security and speeds technological advancement by improving the federal government’s ability to recruit and retain computer technology experts.
REP. OBERNOLTE: “I along with most of the country was horrified by the recent cyber attacks against critical parts of our nation’s infrastructure. It has become increasingly clear that to deal with these threats will require highly trained professionals in the computer sciences and the data sciences as part of not just our civilian workforce but also our federal workforce. This is bipartisan legislation, it’s an easy and common-sense solution to this problem.”
Currently, the federal government employment structure does not include occupations that allow civilians to focus on software development, data science or artificial intelligence outside of pure research and development. This lack of federal career paths has stunted the government’s ability to track and manage its digital workforce, attract new technical talent, and create new positions to meet the growing demands of the cyber age. The Federal Career Opportunities in Computer Science Work Act addresses these problems by establishing computer science-specific occupational series within the federal government employment structure.