HR 5078 Introduced – PILLAR Act

Last month Rep Ogles (R,TN) introduced HR 5078, the Protecting Information by Local Leaders for Agency Resilience (PILLAR) Act. The bill would reauthorize CISA’s State and local cybersecurity grant program through 2035 (the program terminated on September 30^th, 2025), including updating 6 USC 665g. Changes include clarifying that the grant program could be used to support operational technology, as well as information systems. There is no specific funding provided in this reauthorization, instead the funding would be “subject to the availability of appropriations”.

Definitions

The bill would add the following new definitions to those currently existing in §665g(a):

• Artificial intelligence,

• Artificial intelligence system,

• Foreign entity of concern, and

• Multi-factor authentication.

Operational Technology

While the definition of the term ‘information system’ used in §653g derives from 6 USC 650(14), which specifically includes industrial control systems, the crafters of this bill made specific attempts to reinforce that inclusion. They amended the wording of §653g in several places to substitute the phrase ‘information systems or operational technology systems’ for the phrase ‘information systems’. Places where this change was made include:

• §653g(e)(2)(A),

• §653g(e)(2)(B) in multiple clauses,

• §653g(g)(5),

• §653g(i)(4),

• §653g(j)(1),

• §653g(r)(1)(A), and

• §653g(r)(2)(E).

Interestingly, the bill does not include a definition of ‘operational technology systems’.

Funding

The current (now expired) funding for this grant program was set in §653g(r)(1), with the FY 2025 spending set at $100 million. As mentioned earlier, this bill does not set a dollar authorization amount for the program. Instead, it amends the language in the now subsection (s)(1) to read:

“The activities under this section are subject to the availability of appropriations.”

This would leave the decision on funding each year to the spending bill process.

Markup Hearing

On September 9^th, 2025, the House Homeland Security Committee held a business meeting that considered seven bills, including HR 5078. The bill was ordered reported favorably by a strongly bipartisan vote of 21 to 1. The Committee Report has not yet been published.

Moving Forward

The bipartisan support in Committee almost guarantees that the bill will be considered in the full House under the suspension of the rules process. While this process restricts debate, prohibits floor amendments, and requires a supermajority for passage, it also increases the chance that the bill will be considered; more bills are considered under the suspension process than are considered under regular order.