Democratic Senators to Sen McConnelll: Tying Hacking Measure With Defense Bill Is 'Ridiculous'

Senate Democratic leadership wrote to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to urge him to back down from his "ridiculous" plan to attach cybersecurity legislation to an annual defense policy bill. The letter, signed by Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Sens Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Patty Murray (D-WA), asks Majority Leader McConnell to not tack the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act on as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which is generally viewed as "must-pass" legislation.

"Adding CISA to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in a manner that allows neither debate nor amendment is ridiculous," the Democratic Senators wrote. "This is especially true given the President's commitment to veto the NDAA for unrelated reasons. This is a pure political ploy that does nothing to advance America's national security. We urge you to reconsider your efforts to jam through this important legislation in a manner that renders it meaningless." Majority Leader McConnell announced that he would add CISA -- which passed the Senate Intelligence Committee in March on a 14-1 vote -- as an amendment to NDAA, noting the recent hack of the Office of Personnel Management that exposed the personal information of some four million current and former federal employees. But that tactic has put Majority Leader McConnell under siege from Democrats, some of whom are generally supportive of the cybersecurity legislation but question the merits and motives of the majority leader's process.