Jen Easterly, nominee to be the Director of the Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on June 10, 2021 in Washington, DC. Easterly will be responsible for overseeing the defense of national cyber attacks. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Agencies could apply to use part of the $3 billion through fiscal 2022 specifically for "technology-related modernization activities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus."
Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, center, is flanked by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford and acting Undersecretary of Defense David Norquist at a May 1, 2019, hearing of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. (DOD / Lisa Ferdinando)
With Democrats in charge of the panel now, the message is still the same as it was in 2018: Appropriators want more information about why the Pentagon…