Cybersecurity Bill ‘Off the Rails’ Ahead of Reid’s Lame-Duck Push
Cybersecurity could be one of the few telecom issues that sees action during the lame-duck Congress, industry officials told us. But a cybersecurity expert at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged lawmakers Friday to punt the bill and make a “fresh start” in the 113th Congress. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said last month he'll again bring cybersecurity legislation to the Senate floor when Congress reconvenes after the election (WID Oct 16 p1). Legislators and administration officials have said the White House is consulting with stakeholders to develop a cybersecurity executive order to harden the nation’s networks against attack.
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Cybersecurity has become the “number one issue” on the telecom agenda following the election, and a cybersecurity executive order is a “certainty,” said a former Obama administration official. “The administration will not sit around, nor should it, and do nothing on cybersecurity issues waiting for the Hill to make up its mind. It would be reckless to do nothing, and on these kinds of issues in particular, the administration is not reckless."
A former Senate Democrat agreed that cybersecurity will likely remain a big focus of President Barack Obama’s telecom agenda in the second term, he said. “I think you're going to see the president’s commitment to the issue [of cybersecurity], and leadership, and the challenge to be more pronounced than it was in the last couple of years.”
The election may create some new opportunities for movement on the Hill, the former administration official said. “This is an issue where the partisan divide ought not to be that great, and the truth is it was issues that were on the margins that ran cybersecurity off the rails. In light of the election, I don’t think they are going to let it stay off the rails. It is simply too high-profile of an issue and too important of an issue. I am confident that there will be some kind of compromise."
The House passed four cybersecurity bills during its spring “cyberweek,” but Democrats and Republicans in the upper chamber have been unable to come to an accord over which agencies and what rules should govern the nation’s cybersecurity effort. Though senators voted 52-46 against cloture on the Senate Cybersecurity Act (S-3414) in August, Reid was able to keep the bill on the Senate calendar by voting against cloture and immediately moving to reconsider the bill.
Compromise from the private sector seemed unlikely Friday after the Chamber said it continues to oppose S-3414. “Our members disagree with several elements of the bill, but we are committed to finding a solution and think it would be constructive for the Senate to take a fresh start on cybersecurity legislation in the next Congress,” Ann Beauchesne, vice president-national security and emergency preparedness, said by email. In August, the Chamber opposed S-3414 because it said the bill would give the federal government too much control over what actions the business community could take to protect its computers and networks (WID Aug 3 p1).
Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., is widely expected to carry the cybersecurity torch for Democrats if legislation fails to pass in the lame duck, industry officials said. Carper “remains hopeful that stakeholders and members who opposed comprehensive Cybersecurity legislation in July will reconsider,” his spokesman said by email. Carper “stands ready to work with them to address concerns that they might have, but he also believes that we shouldn’t put off addressing this serious threat any longer,” the spokesman said. An aide to Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., doesn’t think the Senate will be able to pass S-3414 if Reid brings the bill to a vote in the lame duck (WID Oct 23 p1). Reid’s spokesman and other sponsors of S-3414 did not comment.