August 02, 2012

Wyden Statement on Vote Against Cloture of the Cybersecurity Act

Washington, D.C. – U. S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement today regarding his vote against the motion to invoke cloture on the Cybersecurity Act:

“Today’s vote was one in which Senators were asked to sacrifice Internet users’ privacy and civil liberties for weak proposals to improve cyber security; I voted no.  In its current form, the Cybersecurity Act does not sufficiently safeguard Internet users’ privacy and civil liberties, nor would it create the correct incentives to adequately protect the nation’s critical infrastructure from cyber threats.  It’s unfortunate that there was not a clear path forward on enabling Senators to amend and improve the proposal, as there was strong bipartisan support for amendments that would have addressed many of the outstanding concerns.  

I want to recognize Senator Lieberman's efforts to work with privacy advocates and other members, particularly Senator Franken, to identify amendments that could alleviate some of our concerns.  Had we been able to reach a bipartisan agreement on germane amendments I believe that their efforts would have resulted in a greatly improved bill.  I hope that the Senate will return to this issue soon after addressing both the privacy and security short-comings of the current legislation.”