The House of Representatives passed legislation, with a vote of 394-1 on Oct. 2, that would focus on limiting the amount of education that Federal employees would need to be able to work a cybersecurity position.
The bipartisan bill – dubbed the Modernizing the Acquisition of Cybersecurity Experts Act or MACE Act – was brought forth by Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Katie Porter, D-Calif, and would outline the bare minimum requirements to work at Federal agencies.
“An agency may consider education in determining a candidate’s satisfaction of any other minimum qualification only if the candidate’s education directly reflects the competencies necessary to satisfy that qualification and perform the duties of the position,” the bill says.
If the legislation becomes law, it will require the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to post changes to bare qualifications for job positions on the office’s website.
“This bill solves a simple problem — you can’t deem one applicant more qualified for a Federal cybersecurity job solely because he or she has a degree in underwater basket weaving,” said Rep. Porter.
“No part of the Federal government should disqualify an individual from winning the competition for a Federal job based on whether they have one type of educational credential,” said Rep. Mace.
Rep. Mace also alluded to the Federal government’s need to attract younger employees, as the average age for many cybersecurity experts in the government is rising.
“This bill mirrors an executive order that was issued under President Trump and that President Biden has chosen to keep on the books today,” said Rep. Porter. “It has worked under administrations of both parties, and now we need to make it permanent in our law. I urge my Democratic and Republican colleagues to support this bill.”
“We can only have the best Federal cybersecurity professionals that we’ve had the chance to consider all of the qualified candidates, and the MACE Act will give us this chance,” concluded Rep. Porter.
