A pending cybersecurity bill has made some progress in the House. Unlike the dangerous impasse over the debt ceiling and budget cuts in which the Congress and the White House currently finds themselves, the Secure and Fortify Electronic (SAFE) Data Act has passed out of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade within the Committee on Energy and Commerce. On a voice vote, H.R. 2577 was approved by the subcommittee with numerous amendments offered by Democrats being rejected by the Republican majority. The amendments were intended to expand the scope of personal information that would be covered by the bill. The bill will now be debated and voted upon by the full committee. While Rep. Bono Mack pushes to continue moving the bill forward, several Democratic lawmakers have publicly opposed the bill’s preemption of state laws (that are, in some cases, stronger) and what many view as its inadequate coverage (in that it doesn’t cover a number of different types of personal information). Consideration by the full Committee could occur as early as next week and will likely be as lively (or perhaps even more lively) than the subcommittee markup.
