House Rules Committee Adopts Rules for Debate on HR 624

This evening the House Rules Committee adopted H. Res 164, a structured rule for the consideration of HR 624, Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA). The rule provides for limited debate and the consideration of 12 amendments. The Majority Leader’s web site says that the debate on HR 624 will begin tomorrow afternoon and continue through Thursday with a vote no later than 3:00 pm EDT.

The Committee considered over forty amendments that were submitted by various House members and pared it down to 12. Nothing in the bill or its proposed amendments specifically addresses control system security issues.

I expect that most of the cleared amendments will pass and the amended bill will almost certainly pass of a somewhat bipartisan vote. Whether the offered amendments will change the bill sufficiently to avoid a threatened Presidential veto remains to be seen. The point is almost moot because I doubt that the bill will make it to the floor of the Senate, the next required stop on the road to the President’s desk.