Senate leaders sketch outlines of cyber deal

Senate leaders have proposed a tentative deal that would limit Democrats to offering 12 amendments on a major cybersecurity bill the Senate is trying to move before it begins its August recess, people involved with the negotiations have confirmed.

If approved by both parties, the pact would be a major step toward getting the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) to a final vote before lawmakers take off at the end of this week for a monthlong break.

{mosads}But the agreement is missing some essential components, meaning a quick approval might be a long shot.

While the preliminary pact settles on 12 amendments, it does not yet specify what those offerings would be. Republicans have also not yet settled on how many amendments they would offer.

CISA is meant to enhance cyber threat information sharing between the public and private sectors.

Supporters, including industry groups and a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, argue such an exchange is necessary to better understand and thwart potential cyberattacks. But privacy advocates, led by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), see it as another vehicle for government intelligence agencies to collect sensitive data on Americans.

Lawmakers will try to hammer out more details of the deal during the regular party lunches that occur Tuesday afternoon.

The content of those 12 amendments will be critical to winning over support of skeptical Democrats such as Wyden and Sens. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) alluded to the upcoming negotiations during a floor speech shortly before the upper chamber broke for lunch.

“Hopefully at our lunches today we’ll have an opportunity to talk to our members,” he said.