A Republican filibuster in the Senate blocked the Obama administration's cyber security bill on August 2nd by a vote of 52 to 46 - just eight votes short of the 60 needed to force a final vote. Republicans led by John McCain largely opposed the bill, which would have established optional standards for the main computer systems that control the country's critical infrastructure, such as power grids, dams, and transportation. The US Chamber of Commerce joined McCain in the opposition, citing that the bill placed too much of a burden on corporations (Schmidt).
Ultimately, the parties could not agree upon what amendments would be included with the new legislation. To win over the Republican vote, including McCain, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman attempted to lessen the restrictions placed by the bill, including making all standards optional. Originally, Lieberman, who is chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee and has worked for years on passing cyber security legislation, made the standards mandatory and gave the government the power to enforce them (Schmidt).
Lieberman and McCain, who were once close allies within the Senate, recently had several heated arguments about McCain's opposition to the bill. Lieberman questioned how McCain would react if the nation ever did suffer from a cyber attack. McCain took his comments as a personal insult to his stance on national security issues (Schmidt).
Following the filibuster, the White House stated that it was "a profound disappointment" (Schmidt).
"The politics of obstructionism, driven by special interest groups seeking to avoid accountability, prevented Congress from passing legislation to better protect our nation from potentially catastrophic cyber attacks," the statement read (Schmidt). .
The Obama administration has sought to convince Senate members of the importance of cyber protection through closed-door briefings from high-ranking national security officials.
