The Senate Commerce Committee Wednesday approved legislation to improve how the federal government and the private sector deal with cyber attacks. Approved by voice vote, the bill would raise the priority of cybersecurity throughout the federal government and streamline cybersecurity-related functions.

It also aims to enhance public awareness and bolster research and development as well as require the government and private sector to collaborate and identify those IT systems critical to the nation's strategic interests. Senate Commerce Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller , D-W.Va., said the bill offers a "comprehensive and bipartisan" approach to address the nation's vulnerability to cybercrime and global cyber espionage. "It's a pre-emptive piece of legislation."

The committee adopted by voice vote a substitute amendment that aims to incentivize private-sector involvement by recognizing their innovations with a government seal of approval similar to the Energy Star seal used for energy-efficient appliances. Federal contractors that repeatedly fail to comply with best practices and training programs identified by government officials and the private sector would be required to develop and implement a remediation plan aimed at improving their cybersecurity protections.

Earlier versions of the bill sparked concern from some critics that the bill would give the president the authority during an emergency to disconnect private networks from the Internet or seize control of those networks. The substitute states that the legislation does not authorize new or expanded presidential authorities but instead attempts to avoid bureaucratic confusion. It would require the administration and private sector to work together to develop an emergency preparedness response plan that would be implemented in the event of a cybersecurity emergency, which is described in a committee summary as something equivalent to an act of war, a terrorist attack or a major natural disaster.

Leaders of TechAmerica, the Business Software Alliance and the Information Technology Industry Council raised concerns in a letter Tuesday to Rockefeller and Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, about some provisions included in the legislation, such as requiring companies to comply with cybersecurity practices identified by the National Institute for Standards and Technology.

Commerce ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., voiced similar concerns during the panel's markup of the bill. Cantwell planned to offer several amendments related to her concerns but opted not to offer them. She said she would instead try to work with the bill's authors to address her concerns before the bill goes to the Senate floor.