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S 2169

Relates to the authorization of certain municipalities to participate in a community-wide energy aggregation program

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Kevin Parker

HHS must develop and transmit a rural hospital cybersecurity workforce strategy within 1 year and provide training materials for rural staff, with annual congressional briefings.

REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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Bill Summary · S 2169

Summary — S.2169 (119th Congress) — “Rural Hospital Cybersecurity Enhancement Act”

Note on sources: the package of documents provided includes multiple, partly conflicting items (a federal S.2169 text concerning rural hospital cybersecurity, and separate state-level materials using the same number). This summary is based on the federal bill text titled the “Rural Hospital Cybersecurity Enhancement Act” (introduced June 25, 2025, and referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).

Purpose

Require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop and report a comprehensive workforce development strategy to increase the number of skilled cybersecurity professionals serving rural hospitals, and to provide related instructional materials for rural hospital staff.

Key provisions

  • Definitions: establishes terms including “rural hospital” (located in a non‑urbanized area and providing inpatient/outpatient primary, emergency and diagnostic services), “geographic division” (one of the 9 U.S. Census geographic divisions), and “Secretary” (HHS).
  • Strategy development (Section 3):
    • Deadline: HHS must develop and transmit the rural hospital cybersecurity workforce development strategy to the appropriate Congressional committees within 1 year of enactment.
    • Consultation: HHS may consult with CISA, Education, Labor, and other agencies; must consult with at least 2 representatives of rural healthcare providers from each Census geographic division.
    • Required components: at minimum, the strategy must consider
    • Partnerships (rural hospitals, non‑rural systems, educational institutions, private sector, nonprofits) to create/expand education and training.
    • Development of curriculum and teaching resources tailored for community colleges, vocational schools, and other rural educational institutions.
    • Identification of workforce challenges specific to rural hospitals and common mitigation practices.
    • Recommendations for legislation, rulemaking, or guidance to implement the strategy.
    • Annual briefings: beginning the first full fiscal year after transmission, HHS must brief the appropriate committees within 60 days after each fiscal year ends, including updates, program metrics (e.g., number trained), further recommendations, and an assessment of effectiveness.
  • Instructional materials (Section 4):
    • Deadline: HHS must make available instructional materials for training rural hospital staff on fundamental cybersecurity efforts within 1 year of enactment.
    • Duties: consult with federal agencies and subject matter experts; identify/adapt existing materials and create new materials as needed; conduct an awareness campaign to promote availability.
  • Funding (Section 5): No additional funds are authorized to carry out the Act — activities must be conducted within existing resources.

Who is affected

  • Primary: rural hospitals and their clinical and IT staff.
  • Secondary: community colleges, vocational schools, training providers, state/local health agencies, CISA and other federal agencies involved in consultation, private-sector and nonprofit partners that would participate in partnerships.
  • Congress/oversight: Senate HELP Committee and House Energy & Commerce Committee receive the strategy and annual briefings.

Potential impact and limitations

  • Potential benefits: creation of targeted curricula, stronger partnerships to develop a rural cybersecurity workforce pipeline, better awareness and basic staff training in cybersecurity, and concrete recommendations for legislative or regulatory action.
  • Limitations: the bill authorizes no new funding, which may limit the scope or speed of implementation; actual program creation and scale will depend on HHS priorities and available agency resources. The strategy and materials could, however, inform subsequent funded programs or legislation.

Status (as provided)

  • Introduced in the Senate and read twice; referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on June 25, 2025.
  • (Documents provided contain other actions and state-level items using the same bill number; those are separate and not part of this federal measure.)

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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