"Despite good faith efforts to reach a compromise and major concessions on our part, those opposed to the legislation were able to defeat progress on the bill. While efforts to reach consensus continue, I fear that the Congress will be unable to pass meaningful cybersecurity legislation this year," she wrote. "I believe the time has come for you to use your full authority to protect the U.S. economy and the networks we depend on from future cyber attack."
Jim Halpert, a data privacy lawyer at DLA Piper who has drafted several federal laws dealing with the Internet, says an executive order would likely be the first step towards additional cybersecurity legislation.
"There's been a stalemate on this for a long time in the Senate, and it appears there's a virtual certainty that Congress will not act this session," he says. "An order might shake things up so legislation moves through next year. This is the beginning of the conversation rather than the conclusion."
Jason Koebler is a science and technology reporter for U.S. News & World Report. You can follow him on Twitter or reach him at jkoebler@usnews.com
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