President Joe Biden released his first discretionary funding request to Congress for the fiscal year 2022, outlining major budget increases to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency as well as increases in health technology modernization.
The request was released April 9 and asked for a budget of $2.1 billion for CISA, a $110 million increase from the current level. The extra funding is supposed to allow CISA to enhance its cybersecurity tools, hire qualified experts and obtain support services to protect the federal technology system.
The request will provide $20 million for a Cyber Response and Recovery Fund to mitigate challenges brought on by cyberattacks.
The outline sets aside $4.8 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs' Office of Information Technology to pilot modernization efforts for the cloud and improve other technology services.
The request also includes $2.7 billion to continue modernizing the VA's EHR to ensure veterans receive "world-class" healthcare.
Continued cybersecurity incidents highlight the need to modernize federal technology, the request said. The request asks for $500 million for the Technology Modernization Fund to strengthen federal cybersecurity and retire legacy systems.
The budget requests an increase of $1.6 billion for the CDC budget, bringing the total to $8.7 billion. The CDC would use these funds to support public health capacity improvements, modernize health data collection and train public health experts to support state public health efforts.