The Senate is set to vote today or tomorrow on a motion to proceed to comprehensive cybersecurity legislation (S 3414), but the success or failure of that vote remains very much up in the air. Homeland Security Chairman Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., the bill's chief sponsor, expressed confidence that he has the 60 votes needed to bring the bill to the floor. Adding to that confidence are the latest talks between Lieberman's group and the opposition led by John McCain, R-Ariz., which has sponsored its own bill (S 3342). The two sides met Wednesday and were scheduled to speak again today in hopes of finding common ground.
Lieberman and his colleagues softened their bill considerably by removing proposed security regulations for critical infrastructure providers, but Republicans and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are still concerned the bill contains a back door to regulation. McCain and his supporters have also expressed strong reservations about putting the Department of Homeland Security in charge of civilian cybersecurity. They previously pushed for greater military and intelligence community involvement, but now may be appeased by placing the Department of Commerce in charge. The Chamber also has concerns (PDF) about changes to the bill's information sharing provisions made at the behest of privacy advocates.
The ground will likely shift several more times in the coming days, as both sides do their utmost to reach a deal. We remain optimistic that the legislation will reach the Senate floor, given the importance of the issue and lawmakers' general tendency to cooperate on national security issues. Passage will be more difficult, and drawing the House into serious discussion of a compromise appears to be a non-starter at the moment. Even if the Senate passes a bill in the next few days, it is difficult to see new cybersecurity laws being signed this year. We will be tracking the debate closely in the coming days,. Watch this space for updates.
Integration of Pentagon, VA Health Records Taking Too Long: The leaders of the House Armed Services and Veterans' Affairs committees criticized the Pentagon and VA on Wednesday over delays in integrating their medical-records databases. VA is facing a backlog of almost 1 million unprocessed claims from veterans seeking benefits, with that number likely to climb as troops continue to come home from Afghanistan. The federal government's information technology systems have been historically stove-piped, meaning each office or agency often has its own systems, and they aren't integrated with similar systems in other agencies. Lawmakers have called on VA and the Pentagon to share information with each other for more than a decade, but technology problems are at the root of the delays. Implementing new financial management systems or other large IT projects in the government is similar to majors infrastructure or construction projects in the private sector. They take years and typically exceed both their cost and schedule parameters significantly. Updating and integrating the health records systems at the two agencies is akin to building an aircraft carrier, and therefore political pressure is unlikely to earn a quick response. Confirmation Hearing for Antitrust Nominee: The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a confirmation hearing after lunch on the nomination of William Joseph Baer to head the Justice Department's Antitrust Division. If confirmed, Baer would likely take a lead role in antitrust probes of the cable and e-book publishing industries, among others. Google also is facing an antitrust probe by the Federal Trade Commission after recently settling similar charges in Europe. If the FTC probe widens, DOJ could get involved. The Economist on Data Privacy: This week's newspaper argues that there should be tighter rules on what data governments can demand from communications providers, pointing to the massive number of requests wireless providers and Web firms such as Google receive from American law enforcement officials. Such requests have risen 15 percent in the past five years, forcing telecom companies to employ personnel just to manage the requests. Similar issues have arisen in Europe as well. While such requests make it easier to prosecute criminals, they also jeopardize privacy. The Economist would like to see digital files stored in private email accounts given the same protection as goods kept under a physical lock and key. That would mean requiring a warrant from law enforcement. Privacy advocates have pushed for similar controls, but Congress hasn't been responsive to such requests in the past, fearful of impeding the investigation of terrorists or other dangerous criminals. Lawmakers are likely to take up the issue again next year; perhaps this time, the drumbeat for digital privacy protections will be loud enough to prompt some action.