Technology

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he’s open to having amendments to the cybersecurity bill and hopes to vote on them next week.

“There’s plenty of room for changes,” Reid said on the floor Thursday. “Let’s have as many amendments as people feel appropriate.”

Next on the Senate docket is a bipartisan cybersecurity bill.

The Cybersecurity Act aims to protect American from cyber attacks against the Web, electrical grid, banking systems, military operations, transportation networks and others.

Sens. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) teamed up to introduce a bill Thursday that would protect consumers from online fraud.

Pryor and Ayotte said they were concerned that current tools used to combat global Internet scams are set to expire next year. The Undertaking Spam, Spyware and Fraud Enforcement With Enforcers Beyond Borders Act (U.S. SAFE WEB Act) will extend current authorities until 2020.

House and Senate Democrats proposed legislation on Thursday that would establish federal grants to help create forensic-science standards, in an effort to help reduce wrongful convictions based on flawed forensic results.

The Forensic Science and Standards Act, from Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), would provide $200 million over the next five years in grants that boost forensic science research, and nearly $100 million in that same period that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) would use to develop standards in the field.

A group of GOP senators introduced a new version of their cybersecurity bill, the Secure IT Act, on Wednesday.

The bill, backed by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and others, is similar to the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) that passed the House in April. The bill is an alternative to the measure favored by the Senate Democratic leadership and the White House. 

Like CISPA, Secure IT would remove legal barriers that prevent companies from sharing information about cyber threats with one another and with the government.

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) urged the Senate to pass his cybersecurity bill in a floor speech on Wednesday, warning that July could be the final opportunity to address the issue.

He predicted that the lame-duck session following the election will be consumed by budget and tax issues. 

"The truth is, if we don't take it up in July and see if we've got the votes … we're not going to be able to pass this legislation in a way that's timely and allows us to go to conference, reach an agreement and send the bill to the president," Lieberman said.

Paul's bill is aimed at preventing "unwarranted governmental intrusion" through the use of drones, according to the lawmaker.

"I put everyone on notice: We are going to move to this bill” soon, the Senate majority leader said.

Sen. Schumer has been derided for his bill aimed at punishing people who renounce their citizenship to avoid taxes.

Two House Democrats have proposed legislation that would prohibit employers from asking employees to provide passwords to the social networking sites they use as a condition of keeping their jobs, or of being hired in the first place.

"There have been a number of reports about employers requiring new applicants to give their username and password as part of the hiring process," said Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.). "The same has occurred at some schools and universities."