Fiscal Agreement and Cybersecurity Information Sharing Bill

Floor Speech

Mr. President, as colleagues have no doubt already noted, a fiscal agreement has been filed that addresses a number of important issues. Members currently have the opportunity to review it. I hope they will take that opportunity. I will certainly have more to say on the matter later. But for now, I encourage all our colleagues to examine the agreement.

On the legislation before the Senate today, the challenges posed by cyber attacks are real and they are growing. They don't just threaten governments and businesses; they threaten individuals as well. Everyone understands that a cyber attack can be a deeply invasive attack on personal privacy. Everyone understands that a cyber attack can be financially crippling. That is why everyone should want to see the bipartisan cyber security bill before us pass today.

Its voluntary information sharing provisions are key to defeating cyber attacks and protecting the personal information of the people we represent. We also know the bill contains measures to protect civil liberties and individual privacy.

It is no wonder the Senate voted to advance it by a large bipartisan vote of 83 to 14 last week. I want to thank Chairman Burr and Vice Chairman Feinstein of the Intelligence Committee for their continued hard work on this legislation. We will consider a number of amendments from both sides of the aisle today. Then we will proceed to a final vote on the underlying bill. I urge every colleague to join me in voting to protect the personal data, privacy, and property of the American people.

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