U.S. Senate fails to advance law on cyber attacksJune 12, 2015 - 09:09 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. Senate failed on Thursday, June 11, to advance legislation to strengthen protections against cyber attacks, as Democrats banded together to oppose the measure's inclusion in a defense policy bill President Barack Obama has threatened to veto, Reuters reports. By a 56-40 vote, lawmakers decided largely along party lines not to move ahead with the measure as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. The vote came after the government announced late last week that hackers, possibly linked to China, had stolen millions of federal employees' records from its computers. It was the third time in three years that the Senate has failed to advance bipartisan cyber security legislation. However, the bill to extend liability protection for companies that share information about cyber attacks might not be dead, Reuters says. A spokesman for Republican Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, said he had not announced how he would proceed. A spokesman for Harry Reid, the Senate Democratic leader, said the measure would likely pass quickly if McConnell brought it to the floor under regular order. Republicans, the majority party in both the Senate and House of Representatives, had said they sought to include the cyber security measure in the defense bill to move it quickly. But Democrats accused them of seeking to make it more difficult for Obama to carry out his veto threat, saying the cyber security measure would have passed easily if McConnell brought it up as a standalone bill. The House passed its version of the bill by 355 to 63 in April, with strong support from both parties. It passed the Senate Intelligence Committee 14-1. Obama has threatened to veto the defense bill for reasons including the use of a special war fund to exempt the Department of Defense from mandatory spending caps. His fellow Democrats in Congress also object to that budget plan. Related links: Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. Aram I supports Karekin II’s “patriotic position” Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I has expressed support for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. |