CISPA Passes the House, Despite Obama's "Kick in the Solar Plexus"
Last night the House voted to approve CISPA, the first of four cybersecurity bills that are under consideration in that chamber this week, despite President Obama's veto threat. The bill's sponsor, Dutch Ruppersberger, called the threat "a kick in the solar plexus," but acknowledged that the bill is not perfect. From Brendan Sasso's coverage at The Hill:
Ruppersberger said he actually agrees with many of the White House's complaints.
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Last night the House voted to approve CISPA, the first of four cybersecurity bills that are under consideration in that chamber this week, despite President Obama's veto threat. The bill's sponsor, Dutch Ruppersberger, called the threat "a kick in the solar plexus," but acknowledged that the bill is not perfect. From Brendan Sasso's coverage at The Hill:
Ruppersberger said he actually agrees with many of the White House's complaints. But he said that new regulations for critical infrastructure and tougher privacy protections will not make it through the GOP-controlled House. "I'm in the minority, and I'm doing the best that I can," Ruppersberger said. He emphasized that if Congress fails to pass cybersecurity legislation, the nation could suffer a devastating attack. "We weren't ready for 9/11. But we have an opportunity to be ready for this," he said.Only one Republican joined Democrats in the motion to recommit the bill: Walter Jones of North Carolina. Pete Kasperowitz at The Hill provides this recap of the debate and the vote, and indicates that President Obama's veto threat (which has not been withdrawn despite the House's approval) may have peeled a few Democrats off the yea votes. The roll call vote was 248-168, with 15 members not voting. Of those 248 yea votes, 42 were Democrats; 28 Republicans voted against passage. The transcript of the debate yesterday is not yet available, but we'll post it as soon as it becomes available. While the House still will debate the other three cybersecurity bills, it is likely that, as usual, it is the Senate's consideration that will likely formulate the ultimate agreement (or lackthereof).
Raffaela Wakeman is a Senior Director at In-Q-Tel. She started her career at the Brookings Institution, where she spent five years conducting research on national security, election reform, and Congress. During this time she was also the Associate Editor of Lawfare. From there, Raffaela practiced law at the U.S. Department of Defense for four years, advising her clients on privacy and surveillance law, cybersecurity, and foreign liaison relationships. She departed DoD in 2019 to join the Majority Staff of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where she oversaw the Intelligence Community’s science and technology portfolios, cybersecurity, and surveillance activities. She left HPSCI in May 2021 to join IQT.
Raffaela received her BS and MS in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009 and her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 2015, where she was recognized for her commitment to public service with the Joyce Chiang Memorial Award. While at the Department of Defense, she was the inaugural recipient of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s General Counsel Award for exhibiting the highest standards of leadership, professional conduct, and integrity.
