CISA budget bill would require agency to maintain ‘sufficient’ staffing levels

Lawmakers expect the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to use part of the funding provided in Tuesday’s minibus package to expand its workforce and sustain election security efforts, according to a congressional statement accompanying the bill.

The funding directive, laid out in a joint explanatory statement, appears to highlight contrasts between congressional priorities and the Trump administration’s approach to CISA, with lawmakers using appropriations language to reaffirm support for the agency’s staffing and election security mission even as the administration moved last year to scale back the size and scope of CISA’s workforce.

The funding package supports the Department of Homeland Security — which houses CISA — and a slew of other agencies through the end of the 2026 fiscal year in September.

“CISA shall maintain a workforce consistent with the personnel and FTE funded by the pay and non-pay amounts provided in this Act. CISA shall not ...