United States 119th Congress Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 1 D · 1 R cosponsors

S 1018 — Cybersecurity for Rural Water Systems Act

Last action — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced March 13, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Prognosis

Advancing 34% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 2 sponsors

    1 primary, 1 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (1 D · 1 R) — cross-party backing.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Cybersecurity for Rural Water Systems Act This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a cybersecurity circuit rider program to provide cybersecurity technical assistance for rural water and wastewater systems.The program must be structured similarly to the USDA Circuit Rider Program. Under this program, USDA provides technical assistance to rural water systems that serve areas with populations of 10,000 or fewer people and are experiencing day-to-day operational, financial, or managerial issues.Specifically, the cybersecurity circuit rider program must provide technical assistance to rural water or wastewater systems toprovide rapid assessments of the system's current ability or inability to respond to cybersecurity threats and protect cyber infrastructure,develop reasonable protocols to enhance cybersecurity protection,provide assistance to address inadequate cyber protection plans, anddocument a system's current state of water supply cyber protection.

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

13 changes Share ↗

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill establishes a new cybersecurity circuit rider program to assist rural water and wastewater systems in enhancing their cybersecurity measures.

  • 7 U.S.C. 1926(a)

    (23) Rural water and wastewater cybersecurity circuit rider program.--

    This adds a new program for cybersecurity assistance to existing law.

  • 7 U.S.C. 1926(a)

    (A) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a cybersecurity circuit rider program, which shall be structured similarly to the circuit rider program under paragraph (22), to provide technical assistance to associations described in paragraph (1) that operate rural water or wastewater systems--

    It assigns the Secretary the task of creating a program for rural system cybersecurity assistance.

  • 7 U.S.C. 1926(a)

    (i) to provide rapid assessments of the current ability or inability of those associations--

    The program will include provisions for assessing cybersecurity preparedness.

  • 7 U.S.C. 1926(a)

    (I) to respond to cybersecurity threats; and

    It specifies that the assessments will cover responses to cybersecurity threats.

  • 7 U.S.C. 1926(a)

    (II) to protect the cyberinfrastructure of those associations and public health;

    The program also focuses on protecting the cyber infrastructure and public health.

  • 7 U.S.C. 1926(a)

    (ii) to develop reasonable protocols to enhance cybersecurity protection;

    It includes the development of protocols for cybersecurity enhancements.

  • 7 U.S.C. 1926(a)

    (iii) to provide assistance to address inadequate cyber protection plans;

    The program will assist in improving inadequate cybersecurity plans.

  • 7 U.S.C. 1926(a)

    (iv) to document the state of cyber protection with respect to the water supplies of those associations.

    It mandates documentation of the current state of cybersecurity protection.

  • 7 U.S.C. 1926(a)

    (B) Report requirement.--A circuit rider that receives funding under this paragraph shall submit to the Secretary a report documenting--

    It establishes reporting requirements for circuit riders funded by the program.

  • 7 U.S.C. 1926(a)

    (i) the associations served by the circuit rider under this paragraph; and

    The report will include a list of associations served.

  • 7 U.S.C. 1926(a)

    (ii) the activities performed by the circuit rider under this paragraph.

    It requires documentation of activities carried out by the circuit rider.

  • 7 U.S.C. 1926(a)

    (C) Requirements for circuit riders.--To provide technical assistance under subparagraph (A), a circuit rider shall possess the necessary experience and certification to effectively carry out the activities described in that subparagraph, as determined by the Secretary.

    It sets qualification requirements for circuit riders involved in the program.

  • 7 U.S.C. 1926(a)

    (D) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this paragraph $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.

    It authorizes funding for the cybersecurity circuit rider program for specific fiscal years.

Action History

  1. Introduced in Senate

  2. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 1 co-sponsors · 545 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (1)

Not signed on (545)

545 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 545 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety environment technology agriculture
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does S 1018 do?
Cybersecurity for Rural Water Systems Act This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a cybersecurity circuit rider program to provide cybersecurity technical assistance for rural water and wastewater systems.The program must be structured similarly to the USDA Circuit Rider Program. Under this program, USDA provides technical assistance to rural water systems that serve areas with populations of 10,000 or fewer people and are experiencing day-to-day operational, financial, or managerial issues.Specifically, the cybersecurity circuit rider program must provide technical assistance to rural water or wastewater systems toprovide rapid assessments of the system's current ability or inability to respond to cybersecurity threats and protect cyber infrastructure,develop reasonable protocols to enhance cybersecurity protection,provide assistance to address inadequate cyber protection plans, anddocument a system's current state of water supply cyber protection.
Who sponsors S 1018?
S 1018 is sponsored by Cortez Masto, Catherine (Democratic) and Rounds, Mike (Republican).
What is the current status of S 1018?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced March 13, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track S 1018?
Track S 1018 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on S 1018

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of S 1018

Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →