Senate Expected to Consider DHS-Centric Cyber Bill This Week
The Senate is likely to consider two cybersecurity bills this week -- the National Cybersecurity Protection Act (S-2519) and the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (S-2521) -- as the lame-duck session draws to a close, an industry lobbyist told us.…
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The timing of final votes on the two bills was fluid amid wrangling by the bills’ Senate supporters, though it was possible a vote on S-2519 could occur as early as Monday night after our deadline, the lobbyist said. Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Tom Carper, D-Del., has been circulating the revised version of S-2519, originally called the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center Act, in recent days in the form of a manager’s amendment, the industry lobbyist said. The revised S-2519 would combine many elements of the original S-2519 and some language from the House-passed National Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection Act (HR-3696), the manager's amendment said. S-2519 would codify the Department of Homeland Security’s current cybersecurity role, particularly via DHS's National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center. Senate Homeland Security originally cleared the bill in June (see 1406270036). Senate Homeland Security didn’t comment. The revised S-2519 doesn’t include provisions in HR-3696 that would have amended the Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies (SAFETY) Act of 2002 to allow companies to seek liability protections for sharing cybersecurity information with DHS. S-2519 does include language from HR-3696 urging security clearances be provided to critical infrastructure owners and operators, as well as requiring the DHS secretary to submit a report six months after the bill’s enactment on facilitating information sharing. The American Civil Liberties Union endorsed HR-3696 but has criticized the stalled Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (S-2588) and its House-passed counterpart, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (HR-624).