[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5211 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5211
To require the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and the Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to submit a strategy for cyber cooperation
in the Indo-Pacific region, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 3, 2026
Mr. Rounds (for himself and Ms. Duckworth) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign
Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and the Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to submit a strategy for cyber cooperation
in the Indo-Pacific region, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. STRATEGY FOR CYBER COOPERATION IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and
the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in coordination with the
Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command and the Commander
of the United States Cyber Command, shall develop, submit to the
congressional defense committees (as defined in section 101 of title
10, United States Code), and commence implementation of a strategy to
enhance and institutionalize cyber cooperation between the Department
of Defense and allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
(b) Elements.--The strategy required by subsection (a) shall
include the following:
(1) An identification of the current and projected cyber
cooperation requirements of the Department of Defense in the
Indo-Pacific region through 2040, including requirements
identified in theater security cooperation plans, relating to--
(A) defensive cyberspace operations;
(B) offensive cyber operations;
(C) secure information sharing;
(D) cyber training, exercises, and workforce
development;
(E) protection of critical infrastructure,
communications networks, and defense industrial base
networks;
(F) joint planning and operational integration; and
(G) command and control structures for joint cyber
integration.
(2) An identification of existing cyber cooperation
activities, agreements, and capability gaps between the
Department of Defense and allies and partners in the Indo-
Pacific region.
(3) A strategic review of the cybersecurity capacity and
cyber resilience of allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific
region that includes the following:
(A) With respect to each such ally or partner--
(i) an assessment of the extent to which
the ally or partner has expressed interest or
has participated in existing United States
Government or Department of Defense programs to
assist in the the expansion of cybersecurity
capacity across policies, technical
architecture, and practices of the ally or
partner, the results of any such participation,
and an identification of any barriers to
effective participation;
(ii) an assessment of the extent to which
the responsibility for cybersecurity
capabilities and any exposure resulting from
gaps in such capabilities lie with the
military, another government entity, or the
commercial sector of the ally or partner, and
an assessment of the manner in which the
structure contributes to opportunities for, or
risks to, collaboration with the United States
Armed Forces;
(iii) an identification of the
cybersecurity standards used by each ally or
partner, and an assessment of the extent to
which such standards overlap with United States
cybersecurity standards; and
(iv) in the case of an ally or partner that
does not have shared cybersecurity standards
with the United States, a review of the
differences between standards, the manner in
which such differences may create barriers to
interoperability and collaboration with the
Department of Defense, existing Department of
Defense mitigation measures to ensure
collaboration, and recommendations for more
permanent solutions.
(B) An identification of additional resources or
authorities required to help address gaps in the
cybersecurity architecture or practices of such allies
and partners, including with respect to the National
Guard's State Partnership Program and consultations
provided by the Department of State and the Department
of Homeland Security.
(C) An identification of any capability gaps of
such allies and partners with respect to cybersecurity
capacity and cyber resilience that the Department of
Defense may be able to address through security
cooperation initiatives.
(4) An identification of--
(A) actions necessary to strengthen cyber
cooperation, interoperability, intelligence and
information sharing, cyber defense and cybersecurity
integration, and combined cyber planning with such
allies and partners;
(B) any authorities, force posture adjustments,
organizational changes, or legislative actions required
to improve cybersecurity in the Indo-Pacific region;
and
(C) opportunities--
(i) to expand bilateral and multilateral
cyber exercises, cyber workforce exchanges,
cyber capacity-building initiatives, and
operational collaboration with such allies and
partners;
(ii) to leverage existing security
cooperation mechanisms and multilateral
partnerships to support the objectives of the
strategy; and
(iii) to enhance collaboration between the
Joint Staff, the Office of the Secretary of
Defense, the United States Cyber Command, and
the United States Indo-Pacific Command on
cybersecurity cooperation with allies and
partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
(c) Funding Plan.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and
the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in coordination with the
Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command and the Commander
of the United States Cyber Command, shall submit to the congressional
defense committees a report that includes--
(1) a plan for funding and resourcing the implementation of
the strategy developed under subsection (a) across the period
covered by the most recent future-years defense program
submitted to Congress under section 221 of title 10, United
States Code, as of the date of the report; and
(2) an identification of any resource gaps that would
impede implementation of such strategy.
(d) Briefing.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and
the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall provide the
congressional defense committees with a briefing on the strategy
required by subsection (a).
(e) Implementation Report.--Not later than March 15, 2028, the
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and the Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff shall submit to the congressional defense committees a
report on the progress of the implementation of such strategy,
including--
(1) a description of actions taken to implement the
strategy;
(2) an assessment of remaining operational and capability
gaps;
(3) an identification of any barriers to implementation;
and
(4) recommendations for any additional authorities or
resources required to carry out the strategy.
(f) Form.--The strategy, briefing, and report required by this
section shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a
classified annex.
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