A bipartisan coalition of federal lawmakers this week urged congressional appropriators to support additional funding for mental health support to personnel at U.S. Cyber Command.

The push comes in the wake of several suicide deaths this summer at the command and the National Security Agency, which share a campus and resources at Fort Meade, Maryland. The reports have been a wakeup call for the Pentagon and Capitol Hill, which are concerned about the strain being put on military personnel and civilians as the demand for exquisite intelligence and digital warfighting remains high.

In separate letters, two groups — one composed of members from the House Armed Services cyber subcommittee, the other of federal lawmakers from Maryland — pressed the leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations panels to back an $11 million request for “High Performance Team Training” at the command.

The request was the No. 2 item on the command’s “Unfunded Priority List” sent to Congress earlier this year. The document said the training would provide “cognitive, psychological, physiological, and spiritual sustainment for high-tempo cyber operations. Without funding, burnout and force degradation will continue.”

The House approved the request in its fiscal 2027 defense spending bill, but the Senate never moved on its draft. Both chambers previously passed a short-term continuing resolution that keeps the government open until December 11; another stopgap measure is likely. 

Recorded Future News first reported that Capitol Hill is eyeing Cyber Command’s request as a way to begin addressing the summer’s troubling events.