White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt appeared on The Communicators to discuss the Obama Administration's plans and concerns for cybersecurity and it's reaction to cyber bills in Congress.
The White House recently announced it may veto the House's key cybersecurity bill, which was authored by Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), and passed in late April. The bill would encourage the voluntary sharing of cyber threat data between private industry and the federal government.
The bill is one of several cybersecurity bills recently passed by the House which differ from Senate legislative efforts. The White favors instead a Senate bill that aims to protect critical infrastructure by requiring companies involved in the electric grid, transportation system, and other infrastructure to develop cybersecurity standards that need to be approved by the Department of Homeland Security. That bill is authored by the Senate Homeland Security Committee chairman and ranking member, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME).