Lieberman said that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had informed him that the bill would likely be brought to the Senate floor for a vote next week, according to a report by The Hill newspaper. Congress plans to go on summer recess the first week in August and will not return until the second week of September.
The senator explained that some changes have been made to the legislation to accommodate Republican concerns, including incorporating parts of a compromise bill introduced by Sens. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). Their bill would put the Department of Homeland Security in charge of a program to encourage, but not require, private sector operators of critical infrastructure to improve their cybersecurity.
“We're trying to get as much agreement as we can on the two more controversial parts, information sharing and what I call standards, or performance requirements", Lieberman was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
“They're still talking. I don't think they're going to reach an agreement with a lot of the people who are most concerned about the critical infrastructure part before the bill comes to the floor", Lieberman added.
In an interesting procedural note, Lieberman said that the changes were needed “to get us 60 votes to pass.” Actually, only 51 votes, i.e., a majority of the Senate, are needed to pass legislation. The 60 vote mark is what is needed to block a likely Republican filibuster, which would prevent a vote on the bill.