President Joe Biden released his budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2025 today, allocating $13 billion in cybersecurity funding across the Federal government. This request includes an additional $103 million for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
The March 11 document for FY2025 comes as Congress continues to work to pass spending bills for FY2024. President Biden signed six of the appropriations bills into law over the weekend, narrowly avoiding a partial government shutdown. Congress has until March 22 to pass the remaining six bills for FY24.
The FY2025 budget released today includes a five-page section – “Creating a Government That Delivers for the American People” – that features topline spending numbers on Federal IT, including AI, cybersecurity, and the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF).
“To build on the historic progress made under President Biden’s leadership, the American people need a modern and effective government,” the FY2025 budget document states. “A high-performing Federal government – staffed by expert civil servants – plays a critical role in ensuring Americans have reliable services and resources, from helping the American people file taxes and apply for benefits, to confronting the risks and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence.”
To protect against foreign adversaries and safeguard Federal systems, Biden’s proposed budget bolsters cybersecurity by providing $13 billion in cybersecurity funding across civilian departments and agencies – a slight increase from Biden’s FY24 $12.7 billion request.
The budget provides $3 billion for CISA to advance the administration’s commitment to making cyberspace more resilient and defensible, an increase of $103 million compared to the FY23 enacted budget. This includes: $470 million to deploy Federal network tools, including endpoint detection and response capabilities; $394 million for CISA’s internal cybersecurity and analytical capabilities; $41 million for critical infrastructure security coordination, and $116 million for critical infrastructure cyber event reporting.
Notably, Biden’s FY25 budget includes $75 million for TMF, a major cut from last year’s request of $200 million. For FY24, Congress has worked to claw back funding for the TMF, which is administered by the General Services Administration (GSA).
On the AI front, Biden allocated $65 million to the Commerce Department in FY25 for responsible innovation of the technology, further funding the department’s component agency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to stand up its AI Safety Institute – which was allocated $10 million by Congress for FY24.
Also in line with his AI Executive Order released in the fall of 2023, Biden’s budget requests additional funding for Federal agencies to establish agency Chief AI Officers accountable for their agency’s use of AI.
In addition to this AI funding, the budget also includes $32 million for the U.S. Digital Service (USDS), GSA, and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to support the National AI Talent Surge across the Federal government.
The budget also includes “robust legislative and funding proposals” that would ensure agencies and their Inspectors General have the resources and authorities they need for appropriate oversight of programs such as the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.
“For example, the budget includes new proposals for modernizing, protecting, and strengthening the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program that would help states develop and test fraud-prevention tools and strategies and increase investigations of fraud rings targeting the UI program,” the document states. “Further, the budget ensures additional resources and time for investigations and prosecution of those engaged in major or systemic pandemic fraud, invests in identity theft and fraud prevention to stop fraud before funds are ever paid out, and provides much-needed help for innocent victims recovering from having their identities and benefits stolen.”
The budget demonstrates Biden’s commitment to make decisions guided by science and data by investing in and bolstering capacity for evidence-based programs. The proposed budget expands skilled statisticians and infrastructure to equip agencies with tools for ensuring high-quality data and robust data confidentiality protections, as well as creating a seamless data user experience.
FY25 Budget Proposal Enhances Workforce, CX
While it doesn’t provide specific numbers, the FY2025 budget proposal notes that it continues to support OPM’s programs in making progress on streamlining hiring and serving as a centralized leader in human resources.
The budget directs agencies to take part in collaborative cross-government shared hiring actions that enable them to quickly hire on a larger scale, allowing applicants to submit one Federal job application and be considered for many opportunities. Additionally, the budget advances the administration’s focus on the expansion of early career talent pipelines, including the development of strategic and targeted apprenticeships, increased volume of student and early career opportunities, and equitable access to paid internships.
The budget sustains investment in the USDS to continue bringing world-class technology talent into the Federal government – helping agencies confront some of their hardest issues. It also further advances work to address government-wide compensation challenges, such as proposing a 2 percent pay raise for Federal employees in FY25.
On the customer experience (CX) front, the budget funds the expertise and tools necessary to ensure excellent service delivery and CX across the Federal government.
Specifically, the budget invests in teams of specialized CX and digital services professionals in 10 Federal departments and critical subagencies that serve millions of customers. It also provides funding for new “Voice of Customer” programs at eight Federal agencies to collect and report performance data on key drivers of CX. Biden is also supporting specific service delivery enhancements, such as the Transportation Security Administration’s pilot program to deploy CX strategists at airports to streamline passenger screening and the Department of State’s efforts to build an online passport renewal.
Biden’s proposed budget also advances efforts to better serve the American people by providing funding for interagency teams to build digital service capacity.
Finally, the document notes that it will specifically support cross-agency life experience projects, which aim to leverage technology to help streamline service delivery by the Federal government at some of the most critical moments in people’s lives.
