Cybersecurity Act of 2012 -- Cloture Vote Fails
And so it ends, not with a bang but with a whimper. Despite letters from the Director of NSA, General Alexander and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dempsey the motion to close the debate on the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 failed on a vote of 52-46 (60 aye votes were required). [I may have mis-heard but I think that Senator Reid voted "no"
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And so it ends, not with a bang but with a whimper. Despite letters from the Director of NSA, General Alexander and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dempsey the motion to close the debate on the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 failed on a vote of 52-46 (60 aye votes were required). [I may have mis-heard but I think that Senator Reid voted "no" so that he could bring this issue back up later in the term, thus the "nays" were overstated by one vote.]
Next steps? First, there is a slim possibility that the Senate will continue negotiations over the August recess and revisit the issue in September. Second, I expect the Administration to adopt as much of the Act's requirements as they reasonably can through executive order, much as they have in other areas where Congressional inaction has frustrated them.
Paul Rosenzweig is the founder of Red Branch Consulting PLLC, a homeland security consulting company and a Senior Advisor to The Chertoff Group. Mr. Rosenzweig formerly served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy in the Department of Homeland Security. He is a Professorial Lecturer in Law at George Washington University, a Senior Fellow in the Tech, Law & Security program at American University, and a Board Member of the Journal of National Security Law and Policy.
