House approves cybersecurity overhaul in bipartisan vote

The House approved cybersecurity legislation that sets up a framework for companies and the federal government to share information about threats. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), H.R. 624, was approved in a 288-127 vote despite ongoing fears from some lawmakers and privacy advocates that the measure could give the government access to private information about consumers.

Ninety-two Democrats voted with Republicans in favor of the bill and just 29 Republicans opposed it. The bill secured enough votes to override a veto. That's greater support than last year, when a similar bill passed 248-168 with the support of 42 Democrats. Twenty-eight Republicans opposed that bill. President Barack Obama has threatened to veto the House bill and Senate Democrats have not said whether they would consider the bill at all. In an effort to address fears about the sharing of information with the government, members agreed to a last-minute amendment that would make it more likely that companies would share threat data with the Homeland Security and Justice departments. It would establish that a center within the DHS has the federal hub for cyber threat information-sharing efforts, and designate the Justice Department as the hub for all cybercrime information. That amendment passed in a 409-5 vote; the "no" votes came from Republicans. Supporters stressed that this change would help ensure this data is run through civilian government agencies before going right to the military.