Heritage urges Senate to reject cybersecurity bill

Heritage Action, the advocacy arm of the Heritage Foundation, urged the Senate to reject Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-CT) Cybersecurity Act, arguing it would impose burdensome regulations on businesses.

The group said it will count votes on the bill in its scorecard of lawmakers. "Congress should not rush to pass legislation without fully considering the consequences of the bill to ensure that the legislation does not do more harm than good," Heritage wrote. "The Cybersecurity Act of 2012, commonly referred to as Lieberman-Collins, falls into the 'more harm than good' category." The conservative group argued that the government moves too slowly to keep up with developments in cyberattacks, and it shouldn't be entrusted with developing even voluntary security standards. "The federal government does not have a good track record of properly regulating industries without causing harm," Heritage wrote. "They are ill-equipped to develop effective cybersecurity regulations, and would instead create a cumbersome regulatory process that would pose an undue burden to the industry."