Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said he will vote against the...

major flaws,” Johnson said by email. “Senator Reid was playing election-year politics and refused to allow amendments or changes to the bill,” he said. “If Senator Reid puts the same bill on the floor and refuses to allow amendments again, my vote will be the same.” Specifically, Johnson said there are concerns that the bill is both costly and fails to create an environment that “adds flexibility to address future cybersecurity threats.” He said he will again offer an amendment that requires the Congressional Budget Office to score the bill before it’s implemented. “We still don’t know how much this bill would cost if it became law,” he said in an email. “I would offer that amendment again -- it’s time for Harry Reid to be accountable for the burden he’s placing on job creators.” Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., doesn’t support S-3414 in its current form, though he’s pleased Reid offered this weekend to resurrect the debate on cybersecurity legislation in the lame-duck Congress (CD Oct 16 p5), his spokesman said. “I hope this action reflects a recognition that an Executive Order simply cannot provide the statutory authorities and protections needed to address the serious danger posed by cyber attacks,” Coats said in a written statement. “When bringing cyber security legislation to the Senate floor in November, the Senate Majority Leader should allow an open and thorough debate with the opportunity for both sides to offer amendments.” The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said it still prefers the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (HR-3523) to S-3414 which it said could impede the ability for companies to share cyberthreats with the government, said Ann Beauchesne, vice president of national security and emergency preparedness, in a blog Tuesday (http://xrl.us/bnuiwh). “It’s a hub-and-spoke model, and its strict definition of cyber threat information could erect -- not bring down -- barriers to productive information sharing,” she wrote of S-3414. Its liability protections related to voluntary information sharing are “vague, if not purposefully qualified, and would invite -— rather than deter —- lawsuits,” she said. Beauchesne argued against the bill’s baseline security standards, saying they're costly to businesses and would hinder the private sector’s ability to respond to attacks. “We need to make sure that the private sector is spending scarce resources managing risk and implementing robust and effective security measures instead of hiring more compliance officers to deal with red tape,” she said.