"Because the threat is so real I think everyone realizes we have to do everything we can to come together to pass a bill to protect our citizens," said Dutch Ruppersberger, ranking Democrat of the House Intelligence Committee
WASHINGTON -- Backers of a cybersecurity bill which stalled in Congress last year offered changes Monday in an effort to ease concerns of privacy and civil liberties activists.
The two top lawmakers on the House Intelligence Committee said the panel would meet Wednesday to vote on the Cyber Intelligence and Sharing Protection Act, a measure which passed the House last year but died in the Senate.
The lawmakers said they would propose several amendments to the bill, under which internet companies can give the government information about what they see as potential security threats and they are protected from liability for providing the information.
Last year, the measure provoked a storm of protests from Internet and civil liberties activists, and the White House threatened a veto.
Civil libertarians claim such laws could allow too much government snooping and conservatives say they would create new bureaucracy.
House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers and ranking Democrat Dutch Ruppersberger said lawmakers were listening to those concerns, but that the issue has become more pressing in the past year with revelations about new cyber threats.
"We've made some significant improvements," Rogers told a conference call Monday, saying that he and Ruppersberger were backing amendments addressing key fears.
Ruppersberger said the White House "is still not behind our bill, but we are working with them and with the privacy groups."
The lawmakers said they would insert a more narrow definition of national security in the bill.
