{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-hassan-kelly-reintroduce-bipartisan-bill-to-strengthen-rural-hospital-cybersecurity/", "Hawley, Hassan, Kelly Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Strengthen Rural Hospital Cybersecurity", "2025-06-25", "2025", "2025-06", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "Today, U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) reintroduced the Rural Hospital Cybersecurity Enhancement Act, which directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop a comprehensive strategy to address the growing need for skilled cybersecurity professionals in rural hospitals. The strategy aims to improve cybersecurity preparedness and create a robust workforce to protect vulnerable critical infrastructure\u2014rural hospitals\u2014from cyber threats. This legislation unanimously passed out of a Senate committee last Congress.\n\n\u201cNearly half of the hospitals in my state are rural. I grew up in a town of 4,000 people\u2014I have lived this firsthand,\u201d said Senator Hawley. \u201cCongress must take action to shore up the ability of small-town hospitals to protect working Americans\u2019 health records from debilitating cyberattacks.\u201d\n\n\u201cCyberattacks on hospitals can put at risk people\u2019s medical information, and also sometimes shut the hospital down as it recovers, putting lifesaving care at risk,\u201d said Senator Hassan. \u201cThis bipartisan legislation is an important step toward ensuring that rural hospitals have the resources, tools, and training that they need to keep patients safe and protect hospitals from attacks from cybercriminals.\u201d\n\n\u201cRural hospitals are on the frontlines of care for so many Arizonans, but too often they\u2019re underfunded and overexposed to cyber threats that can jeopardize patient safety. We saw this firsthand in Yuma, where a ransomware attack disrupted operations and put hundreds of thousands of patients at risk,\u201d said Senator Kelly. \u201cWe are giving rural hospitals the tools and workforce they need to strengthen their security and keep delivering care, especially as they navigate new digital reporting requirements.\u201d\n\nUnlike larger urban hospitals, rural hospitals often have little to no full-time cybersecurity personnel and are particularly exposed to cyberattacks. Vulnerabilities in rural hospitals\u2019 cybersecurity defenses can also be used as entry points to disrupt larger healthcare systems, potentially compromising the sensitive medical and personal data of hundreds of thousands of American patients at once.\n\nThe Rural Hospital Cybersecurity Enhancement Act would require HHS to:\n\nDevelop a comprehensive rural hospital cybersecurity workforce development strategy that, at a minimum, considers public-private partnerships, development of curricula and training resources, and policy recommendations.\n\nMake available instructional materials for rural hospitals to train staff on fundamental cybersecurity measures.\n\nReport annually to congressional committees with updates regarding the strategy and any programs that have been implemented pursuant to the strategy.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:34:38Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-hassan-kelly-reintroduce-bipartisan-bill-to-strengthen-rural-hospital-cybersecurity/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8482933044433594, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}