June 09, 2015

Wyden: Republican Leaders Are Trying to Make a Bad Defense Bill Worse By Adding Flawed Cyber Amendment

Wyden Calls for Full Debate and Amendments on Cybersecurity

Washington, D.C. –Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement in response to calls to attach a flawed cybersecurity bill to the National Defense Authorization Act.

“Senate Republican leaders are trying to make a bad defense bill worse by adding a flawed cybersecurity bill,” Wyden said.

“If Senator McConnell insists on attaching the flawed CISA bill to unrelated legislation, I will be fighting to ensure the Senate has a full debate and a chance to offer amendments to add vital protections for American privacy and address the threats to our cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity threats demand thoughtful solutions, not half-baked efforts that don’t address the real problems. CISA would create a way for the government to obtain Americans’ information without a warrant, and without adequate protections to protect their privacy. Most security experts agree that encouraging private companies to share more information with the government would have done little if anything to prevent recent data breaches.”

The White House has already threatened to veto NDAA.

Wyden was the only member of the Senate Intelligence Committee to vote against CISA.