By DONNA CASSATA
Associated Press
WASHINGTON
The House, despite White House objections, has passed a cybersecurity bill aimed at helping stop electronic attacks on critical U.S. infrastructure and companies.
The vote was 248-168 on Thursday. The measure would encourage companies and government to share information collected through the Internet to stop electronic attacks from foreign governments, terrorists and cybercriminals.
The information sharing would be voluntary.
The White House has threatened a veto, saying the bill fails to protect Americans’ privacy. The administration prefers a Senate measure that would give the Homeland Security Department the primary role in overseeing domestic cybersecurity and the ability to set security standards.
The Senate bill remains stalled, facing opposition from some senior Republicans.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
House Speaker John Boehner on Thursday defended a cybersecurity bill as a common-sense approach to stopping electronic attacks on critical infrastructure and companies. He rejected the Obama administration’s criticism that the measure could lead to invasion of Americans’ privacy.
The administration has threatened to veto the bill, which the House debated and planned to vote on Thursday. The bipartisan bill would encourage corporations and the government to share information collected through the Internet to thwart attacks from foreign governments, terrorists and criminals. The information sharing would be voluntary.
The administration says the bill falls short of preserving individual privacy by failing to set security standards and broadly allowing liability protection for companies that share information. The administration wants the Homeland Security Department to have the primary role in overseeing domestic cybersecurity.
During the debate, Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., complained that the measure would allow companies to share information with the government, including the National Security Agency. The legislation, Polis said, would create a “false choice between security and liberty.”
Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said the bill was necessary to stop the potential threat of computer attacks from Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. He disputed claims that the measure would lead to spying on Americans.
Rogers and the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger of Maryland, planned to add an amendment that would limit the government’s use of threat information to five specific purposes: cybersecurity; investigation and prosecution of cybersecurity crimes; protection of individuals from death or serious bodily harm; protection of minors from child pornography; and the protection of national security.
Still, some liberals and conservatives adamantly opposed the measure.
A coalition of groups and individuals, including the American Civil Liberties Union and former Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga., expressed concern that the legislation would allow companies that hold personal information about an employee to share it with the government. The information could come from Internet use or emails and be relayed to defense and intelligence agencies, such as the NSA.
White House and outside groups’ opposition is not expected to derail the House bill, which has bipartisan support.
The administration backs a Senate bill sponsored by Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, giving Homeland Security the authority to establish security standards.
But that legislation is stalled and faces opposition from senior Senate Republicans.
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Associated Press writer Alan Fram contributed to this report.
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