A cybersecurity bill won’t pass the Senate before the long August recess. Action could also be delayed beyond September thanks to a busy fall schedule.
Senators Wednesday couldn’t come to an agreement on how to amend the legislation, which has made it impossible for lawmakers to finish debating and voting on the bill by Friday, when the upper chamber was scheduled to adjourn for the summer.
Senators will now leave town Wednesday.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced on the Senate floor that the bill would be considered at a later time and listed amendments from both Republicans and Democrats that would receive votes.
Republicans were pessimistic about completing the bill this week after they huddled in a last-ditch effort to strike a deal on amendments, which advocates said were needed to strengthen privacy provisions in the legislation.
Delays were imminent, however, because Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was insisting on amendments that were unrelated to the legislation. One Paul provision would require an outside audit of the Federal Reserve. Another would strip federal funding of sanctuary cities.
Paul continued to push for his amendments, according to those close to the negotiations, and will get at least one vote on an amendment when the bill comes up in the fall.
Democrats and other Republicans wanted votes on their own list of amendments relevant to the bill.
Without enough time to finish by Friday, the bill will now have to wait until September, at the earliest.
The Senate returns on Sept. 8 and must immediately get to work hammering out a compromise with Democrats and President Obama on government spending, which expires Sept. 30.
The Senate will also be scheduled to take up and vote on the Iran nuclear agreement, as well as a highway funding authorization measure.
With the nation’s debt limit nearing in late fall, lawmakers will have their hands full, which means cybersecurity could get pushed aside, despite proponents insisting it is needed to help stop the onslaught of cyberattacks that have hurt private companies and the federal government.
