Analyst Brief June 26, 2026

H.R. 7266 — Rural and Municipal Utility Security Act, as amended

Current Status

Suspension Calendar

Executive Summary

H.R. 7266 reauthorizes the Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program, originally established under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The bill provides $250 million over fiscal years 2027 through 2031 to help smaller, under-resourced utilities—such as rural cooperatives and municipal providers—defend against escalating nation-state and criminal cyber threats. Crucially, it incentivizes participation in federal threat-sharing programs by exempting voluntarily shared cybersecurity information from federal FOIA and state sunshine laws.

Bill Data

Primary Sponsor

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks

Bill Number

H.R. 7266

Session

119th

Co-Sponsors

Rep. Jennifer McClellan
View on Congress.gov ↗

Arguments For

  • National Security Imperative: Hardens vulnerable critical infrastructure against sophisticated nation-state cyber attacks, addressing a widely recognized blind spot in grid security.
  • Protects Under-Resourced Utilities: Provides direct financial and technical support to rural and municipal utilities that lack the capital and rate-bases of major investor-owned utilities to fund advanced cyber defenses.
  • Removes Threat-Sharing Friction: The FOIA exemption removes a major legal and reputational hurdle, encouraging private utilities to share critical threat intelligence with the federal government without fear of public exposure.

Likely Supporters

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)American Public Power Association (APPA)Cybersecurity vendors and contractors

Arguments Against

  • Fiscal Concerns: Adds $250 million in new authorized spending, which fiscal conservatives may argue should be funded by the utilities themselves through rate structures rather than federal taxpayers.
  • Transparency Objections: Broad exemptions from FOIA and state sunshine laws frequently draw opposition from press associations and government watchdog groups who argue it shields corporate negligence from public scrutiny.

Likely Opponents

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)Project On Government Oversight (POGO)Press and transparency advocacy groups

📋 Key Provisions

  • Authorizes $250 million in appropriations for the period of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.
  • Directs the Secretary to provide grants, cooperative agreements, and prizes to eligible entities to deploy advanced cybersecurity technologies.
  • Defines eligible entities to include rural electric cooperatives, municipal utilities, and small investor-owned utilities selling less than 4,000,000 megawatt hours of electricity per year.
  • Prioritizes funding for utilities that have limited cybersecurity resources, own assets critical to bulk-power system reliability, or operate defense critical electric infrastructure.
  • Exempts voluntarily shared cybersecurity information from disclosure under federal FOIA and state, Tribal, or local open records laws.
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Claim Analysis Page 6, Line 6

Authorizes $250 million for fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

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"out this section $250,000,000 for the period"

Claim Analysis Page 5, Line 22

Exempts shared cybersecurity information from FOIA and open records laws.

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"deemed voluntarily shared information and exempt from"

Claim Analysis Page 3, Line 16

Limits eligible investor-owned utilities to those selling under 4 million megawatt hours annually.

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"sells less than 4,000,000 megawatt hours of"

Claim Analysis Page 5, Line 14

Prioritizes entities with limited cybersecurity resources.

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"has limited cybersecurity resources;"