GOP senators slam Democrats on cybersecurity stall

A group of Republican senators hit back against Senate Democrats' claims that Republicans put national security at risk by blocking a sweeping cybersecurity bill earlier this month. Nine Republican senators -- including Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX -- issued a statement that pointed fingers at Democrats for holding the Senate back from moving on legislation aimed at boosting the security of computer systems and networks of critical infrastructure.

They also took a swipe at Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV) commitment to national security for not bringing the defense authorization bill up for consideration before the August recess. The nine senators are co-sponsors of a rival cybersecurity measure — the Secure IT Act — to the legislation championed by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) that the Senate took up earlier this month. Their comments signal that the partisan war over cybersecurity legislation is still fuming, and it's unclear whether the two sides will be able to reach a compromise on the issue before the end of recess.