After years of debate and dire warnings about the threat of cyberattacks, the Senate will finally take up cybersecurity legislation in the coming days. Last night, the comprehensive cybersecurity bill (S 3414) favored by Senate Leadership and the White House was called up for a second reading. Today at noon, the chief sponsors of that bill, which include Senate Homeland Security Chairman Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., will hold a news conference to explain the revisions to their legislation, which were made in hopes of gaining enough support to break cloture and pass the Senate.
But Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who has led the opposition to the comprehensive cybersecurity package, took to the Senate floor yesterday to lambaste Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., for prioritizing the cyber bill ahead of the fiscal 2012 National Defense Authorization Act. McCain called the Lieberman-Collins-Rockefeller bill flawed and said the legislation has never undergone a markup or passed through the normal committee process. He also noted that the defense authorization measure includes several cybersecurity provisions and claimed the Lieberman-Collins-Rockefeller legislation "has zero chance of passing the House or ever being signed into law."
McCain's comment are in line with what we're hearing as well; even though Lieberman and his colleagues stripped any regulatory mandates for critical infrastructure providers from their legislation, the bill would still likely meet stiff opposition in the House. House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity Chairman Dan Lungren, R-Calif., similarly removed any regulatory provisions from his cybersecurity legislation, only to see it languish without a floor vote anyway. There's been no sign to date that House leaders have softened their position at all since then. Regardless, the next step is for the Senate to debate the legislation, and that looks likely to begin in the next 48 hours. We'll bring you full coverage as the situation continues to develop.
Quotable: "Based on the procedures the Senate has been following over the past few years, with little or no opportunity for debate and amendments, the Majority Leader apparently intends to rush through the Senate a flawed piece of legislation. The cybersecurity bill that he intends to call up later this week is greatly in need of improvement, both in the area of information sharing among all federal agencies and the appropriate approach to ensuring critical infrastructure protection. Without significant amendment, the current bill the Majority Leader intends to push through the Senate has zero chance of passing in the House or ever being signed into law. When there are less than 27 days of possible legislative session before the election recess, I find it difficult to understand why the Majority Leader would be willing to tie up the Senate’s time on this flawed bill." -- Sen. McCain. House Members Tell FCC Not to Expand Carriage Rules: The leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee warned the FCC on Monday to avoid expanding its program carriage rules, which dictate the channels that cable providers must carry. Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and 33 of his colleagues sent a letter (PDF) to FCC chairman Julius Genachowski arguing that rising competition from online video providers such as Netflix and Hulu means cable providers should have flexibility to select how to package their content for subscribers. They argue that recent interpretations of the rules by the FCC would constitute a broad expansion of the Commission's authority in that area, leading to higher costs. The House Republicans' arguments fall largely in line with those that will be offered by the cable companies on today's Senate Commerce hearing on the future of the Cable Act. Intelligence Authorization Bill Targets Leaks: The Senate Intelligence Committee will mark up its annual authorization bill today, and the measure will include several provisions aimed at cracking down on unauthorized national security leaks, according to Chairwoman Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. Feinstein told an audience at the National Press Club on Monday that such leaks have been egregious, and she became the first Democrat to suggest that the White House shares some of the blame. Feinstein was apparently alluding to recent leaks on classified drone strikes and cyberweapons programs, which have drawn heavy criticism from Republicans. The GOP has accused the White House of sanctioning the leaks for political purposes. Feinstein said her bill would establish procedures for internal spy agency investigations, require notification to Congress when the executive branch declassifies something and impose new restrictions on spy agency background briefings for the press. House leaders have shown support for such measures, giving them a solid chance of becoming law this year. Amazon.com Survey Shows Conservatives Back Online Sales Tax: Amazon.com released a survey on Monday touting conservative support for Internet sales tax legislation (HR 3179), one day before the House Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on the bill. The survey appears to be an attempt to mollify GOP lawmakers who fear a backlash if they support a tax bill just ahead of the fall elections. Sixty-seven percent of Republican voters surveyed and 69 percent of overall respondents expressed support for allowing businesses to "collect sales taxes already owed." Amazon.com's about-face on the online sales tax issue has given significant momentum to proponents of forcing Web companies to collect the tax. Some tech trade groups and sites like eBay argue that collecting sales taxes online would unfairly burden some small businesses, but the Senate bill would exempt companies with less than $500,000 in annual sales. The House version sets the bar at $1 million, but neither has appeased critics.