A grant program for testbeds simulating grid-scale cyberattacks — to national laboratories and universities for fiscal 2026 through 2030
H.R.7696, the AI Cyber Grid Protection Resilient Development Act of 2026, establishes a grant program supporting the development of secure artificial intelligence cyber-physical testbeds that simulate grid-scale cyberattacks. The Director of CISA and the Secretary of Homeland Security establish it jointly for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
Bill overview (primary data)
- Bill numberH.R. 7696
- TypeHouse Bill
- Congress119th Congress
- Latest actionReferred to the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection.（2026-02-26）
Key points
- H.R.7696 establishes a grant program to develop secure AI cyber-physical testbeds simulating grid-scale cyberattacks.
- CISA and the Secretary of Homeland Security establish it jointly within 180 days of enactment, for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
- Eligible recipients are limited to national laboratories and institutions of higher education.
- The design follows from the fact that attacks cannot be tried on a real grid, combining physical equipment with simulation.
- Together with Executive Order 14421 covered on this site, it shows policy applied to the grid from both supply chain and resilience-testing angles.
1The real grid cannot be used for testing
The surest way to confirm readiness against a cyberattack is to be attacked. On an electrical grid that cannot be done. An actual outage causes harm, and taking the system down for a test is not permitted in the first place.
The cyber-physical testbeds this bill funds exist to get around that constraint, combining physical equipment with computational simulation so that attack and defense can be tried without stopping the real thing.
2The shape of the program
- 1Deadline to establishNot later than 180 days after enactment
- 2Who establishes itThe Director of CISA and the Secretary of Homeland Security jointly
- 3Fiscal years coveredEach of fiscal years 2026 through 2030
- 4Who receives awardsNational laboratories and institutions of higher education
- 5PurposeDevelop secure AI cyber-physical testbeds to simulate grid-scale cyberattacks and train
Limiting recipients to national laboratories and universities says something about the program character. Simulating attacks calls for a controlled setting, and the results should accumulate as public knowledge rather than belonging to particular companies. Covering five fiscal years at once reflects that facilities of this kind cannot be built within a single year.
3Overlapping policy on the grid
This site also covers Executive Order 14421 on the bulk-power system, which intervenes in the procurement of foreign-made equipment under a national emergency framework — an approach from the supply chain side. This bill approaches from the preparedness side, building a place to test how the system holds up when attacked. Two angles of policy, supply chain control and resilience testing, are being applied to the same object.
4The subcommittee stage
The latest status is referral to the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection. A referred bill going on to a specialized subcommittee is ordinary procedure, but the distance back to the full committee and an order to report remains. Of the 120 bills this site holds as of 2026-09-02, 94 (78 percent) remain referred to committee, and this bill is at that stage.
Why it matters
For utilities and control equipment suppliers, whether public testbeds exist changes the burden of maintaining verification environments in house. The two-angle structure of supply chain control and resilience testing is also worth holding onto.
FAQ
Why is a testbed needed?
Why limit who can receive awards?
Sources (primary)
Source: Congress.gov (Library of Congress; U.S. legislative materials, public domain). Links go to the official site.
- Congress.gov (bill page, original)
- H.R. 7696（119th Congress）