Senate Nears Agreement on Cybersecurity Bill

A look at the week of January 24 in public advocacy for the IT channel:  This week, an adviser to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said that the Senate plans to bring cyber legislation to the floor within the next month.  President Obama will make the chief of the U.S. Small Businesses Association into a cabinet-level position.  Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) is urging the Senate to move forward with data breach legislation.

Senate Nears Agreement on Cybersecurity Bill — Speaking at the annual State of the Net Conference, Tommy Ross, senior intelligence and defense advisor to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), said the Senate is on track to meet Reid's goal of bringing cybersecurity legislation to the floor in the next three to four weeks. While the bill, currently being developed by working groups, will not be truly comprehensive, Ross said it will cover a "pretty broad waterfront", according to Tech Daily Dose.

Obama to Elevate SBA Chief — President Barack Obama said that he will exercise his executive authority to elevate Karen Mills, the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, to a cabinet-level position, reports The Wall Street Journal. The announcement came along with a broader proposal from Obama to combine the SBA with five other government offices that would become a single, streamlined agency. Under the plan, the SBA would no longer be part of the President’s Cabinet once the reorganization is complete.

Leahy Urges Congress to Pass Data Breach Legislation — Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) urged his colleagues to pass a national law telling companies when and how they must inform consumers their data has breached, reports The Hill.  Leahy issued a statement in advance of Data Privacy Day on Saturday (1/28) arguing that the need for a national data breach standard is greater than ever due to the recent string of high-profile attacks on e-commerce firms and government institutions.