Senate Intel leaders to huddle on cyber bill

Senate Intelligence Committee leaders will huddle soon to determine the path forward for a much-debated cybersecurity bill, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the panel’s ranking member, told The Hill Thursday.

Feinstein is backing the bill, intended to boost the public-private exchange of data on hackers, with Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.).

{mosads}The two recently split over how to move the measure, known as the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA), through the upper chamber, making its path to passage unclear.

“I have to talk to Sen. Burr,” Feinstein said about a possible CISA timeline, adding that the conversation would occur “soon.”

In the wake of the mega government data breach that has exposed up to 14 million people’s information, Burr and Senate Republicans tried to speed the measure through the Senate by attaching it as an amendment to an annual defense authorization bill.

But Feinstein and her fellow Democrats blocked the maneuver, upset that they wouldn’t be able to offer privacy-enhancing amendments.

The partisan fight briefly fractured what had been bipartisan support for the measure.

“I wanted to let a little bit of time go by,” Feinstein said.

With a week gone since the contentious vote, Feinstein said it’s almost time to discuss with Burr when the Senate might take up CISA as a standalone bill.

“Matter of fact I’ll try and do that soon and see exactly where we are,” she said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said the upper chamber will next tackle a defense appropriations bill now that it has wrapped up the defense policy measure.

Democrats on Thursday blocked a procedural vote on the appropriations measure, signaling a long fight ahead. 

Tags Dianne Feinstein Richard Burr

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