War over CISPA

The debate over the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) amounts to a high-stakes battle over national security and rising online threats that could easily spill into congressional elections and the race for the White House.

Aides to Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney did not respond to requests for comment on where he stands on the issue, but House Republicans are confident they can win the spin war and some Democrats worry that they're right. But Republicans believe they have an ace in the hole in Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD). The top Intelligence Committee member in the president's own party is working to whip up support on his side of the aisle. Ruppersberger gave a private presentation on the bill to fellow House Democrats, and he and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) put out a statement to counter the White House veto threat. Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) raised the specter of government entrance into the largely unregulated world of Internet communications. “The president wants the government to set the standards and to write the law for what cybersecurity’s going to look like,” Speaker Boehner said. “You want to get the American people a little exercised, put the government in charge of the Internet.” Many tech industry players prefer the House’s approach rather than a Senate bill, which would impose new requirements on private companies and utilities.