Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., said in a speech Tuesday on...

potential attack on our country. This attack is not a hijacked plane or bomb, although that remains a threat, rather it is a cyberattack,” he said. “A major attack on our cybersystems could shut down our critical infrastructure -- financial systems, communications systems, electric grids, power plants, water treatment centers, transportation systems and refineries -- that allows us to run our economy and protect the safety of Americans,” he said. Coats is a cosponsor of the SECURE IT Act (S-2151), an alternative to the stymied Senate Cybersecurity Act (S-3414). Coats said Congress “really hit a low point this year when the Senate Majority Leader rushed a cybersecurity bill [S-3414] to the floor under strained circumstances. One-fifth of the U.S. Senate -- both Republicans and Democrats -- met every day for nearly two weeks to iron out our differences on cybersecurity legislation. And with the active participation of 20 senators representing both parties and key committees of jurisdiction, we came close. Unfortunately, politics threw a wrench in our plans before a negotiated settlement was reached.” In a veiled condemnation of a rumored cybersecurity executive order Coats said: “Rather than acting alone, I call on the President to join all the members of this chamber and work together to do the right thing -- cast aside partisanship and put the security of our country above political security.” In August, John Brennan, assistant to the president for homeland security and counter-terrorism, suggested that the White House was considering an executive order to secure electrical power systems from cyberattacks. The White House did not comment.