Rogers stressed on a call with reporters that the direction House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) went with SOPA is "completely different from where we are [with CISPA]."

A congressional staffer familiar with the CISPA stressed that its requirements are “totally voluntary” and do not require private companies to share information with the military, as some have claimed.

"Nobody [in the private sector] … is required to provide anything to anyone else, or required to do anything," the staffer said.

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Ruppersberger said there’s an urgent need for the legislation due to an increasing number of cyberattacks against the country.

“We are being attacked every day as we speak," Ruppersberger said. “If Iran were sending bombers, would we move to stop them?” he said.

In an interview after the call with The Hill, Rogers pointed out that many nation-states are known to have cyberwar plans that are being updated at "at breathtaking rates."

Today's hackers are "[n]ot small groups," Rogers said. "[W]e're talking about nation-states."