The Senate agreed on Thursday to move forward with Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-Conn.) cybersecurity bill after months of contentious negotiations.

The motion to proceed to the Cybersecurity Act was approved 84-11 after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Harry Mason ReidGOP senators confident Trump pick to be confirmed by November Durbin: Democrats can 'slow' Supreme Court confirmation 'perhaps a matter of hours, maybe days at most' Supreme Court fight pushes Senate toward brink MORE (D-Nev.) agreed to an open amendment process.

The bipartisan Cybersecurity Act, S. 3414, aims to protect the nation from cyberattacks against critical infrastructure such as the electrical grid, banking systems, transportation networks and others.

President Obama said Thursday that he supports the revised version of the bill introduced by Lieberman, but noted it lacked "some of the key provisions of earlier bills."

Although the bill cleared this test vote, it faces an uphill battle to reach the finish line. While senators are meeting to try and reach a final agreement, disagreements remain.

"The conversations are very productive, but obviously there's a lot of work to do and not very much time to do it," Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), one of the lead negotiators, said Thursday morning.

Republicans voting against the motion to proceed to the bill were Sens. Mike Johanns Michael (Mike) Owen JohannsMeet the Democratic sleeper candidate gunning for Senate in Nebraska Farmers, tax incentives can ease the pain of a smaller farm bill Lobbying World MORE (Neb.), Rand Paul Randal (Rand) Howard PaulRon Paul hospitalized in Texas The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Trump previews SCOTUS nominee as 'totally brilliant' Rand Paul says he can't judge 'guilt or innocence' in Breonna Taylor case MORE (Ky.), Ron Johnson Ronald (Ron) Harold JohnsonSunday shows preview: Lawmakers prepare for SCOTUS confirmation hearings before election The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Trump previews SCOTUS nominee as 'totally brilliant' The Hill's 12:30 Report: Ginsburg lies in repose MORE (Wis.), Marco Rubio Marco Antonio RubioGOP online donor platform offering supporters 'Notorious A.C.B.' shirts Sunday shows preview: Lawmakers prepare for SCOTUS confirmation hearings before election GOP lawmakers distance themselves from Trump comments on transfer of power MORE (Fla.), Dean Heller Dean Arthur HellerOn The Trail: Democrats plan to hammer Trump on Social Security, Medicare Lobbying World Democrats spend big to put Senate in play MORE (Nev.), Pat Roberts Charles (Pat) Patrick RobertsThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Washington on edge amid SCOTUS vacancy The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by National Industries for the Blind - Trump seeks to flip 'Rage' narrative; Dems block COVID-19 bill GOP senators say coronavirus deal dead until after election MORE (Kan.), Mike Enzi Michael (Mike) Bradley EnziChamber of Commerce endorses McSally for reelection Cynthia Lummis wins GOP Senate primary in Wyoming The Hill's Convention Report: Democrats gear up for Day Two of convention MORE (Wyo.), John Barrasso John Anthony BarrassoEnergy innovation bill can deliver jobs and climate progress Trump's Teflon problem: Nothing sticks, including the 'wins' Senate to push funding bill vote up against shutdown deadline MORE (Wyo.) and Jerry Moran Gerald (Jerry) MoranLobbying world This World Suicide Prevention Day, let's recommit to protecting the lives of our veterans Hillicon Valley: Zuckerberg acknowledges failure to take down Kenosha military group despite warnings | Election officials push back against concerns over mail-in voting, drop boxes MORE (Kan.).

Democrats opposing the motion to proceed were Sens. Jon Tester Jonathan (Jon) TesterOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Court removes Pendley from role as public lands chief | Pendley court ruling could unravel Trump's public lands decisions | 1 in 4 adults cite climate change in decision not to have children Pendley court ruling could unravel Trump's public lands decisions Democrats shoot down talk of expanding Supreme Court MORE (Mont.) and Max Baucus Max Sieben BaucusBottom line Bottom line The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - George Floyd's death sparks protests, National Guard activation MORE (Mont.).

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In a bid to win GOP support, Lieberman introduced a revised version of the bill last week that scaled back provisions mandating critical operators meet a set of security standards developed, in part, by the Homeland Security Department.

The latest version of the bill proposes to establish a program where companies operating critical infrastructure would certify that they meet security standards approved by a government-led agency in exchange for incentives, such as liability protections.

Reid said he would welcome more amendments during the voting process, which Republicans said was key to winning their support for moving forward on the legislation.

“There’s plenty of room for changes,” Reid said on the floor Thursday. “Let’s have as many amendments as people feel appropriate.”

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), one of the sponsors of the competing Securte It Act, said earlier that she and the other sponsors wouldn’t block a vote on the Cybersecurity Act if the amendment process were truly open.

"I don't think anyone in our group wants to hold up dealing with cybersecurity. We know that America's systems could be under threat and some have been hacked into already," she said. "As long as we have an amendment process and are not shut out of this, we will vote to move forward to the bill."

Lieberman and the co-sponsors of his bill have been meeting with the Republican backers of the alternative Secure It Act to try to hammer out an agreement that would bridge the differences between the two bills. The members met Thursday morning and plan to meet again on Friday and next week.

Sen. Susan Collins Susan Margaret CollinsTrump's Teflon problem: Nothing sticks, including the 'wins' Durbin: Democrats can 'slow' Supreme Court confirmation 'perhaps a matter of hours, maybe days at most' Senate GOP set to vote on Trump's Supreme Court pick before election MORE (R-Maine), a sponsor of the Cybersecurity Act, said she’s open to changes but said the legislation should to be passed quickly for the sake of national security.

“We must act and we must act now,” Collins said Wednesday. “We can’t afford to wait for a cyber 9/11 before taking action on this legislation.”

Reid said he’d like to spend most of next week voting on the amendments offered.

As a show of good faith that those working on the Cybersecurity Act are open to changes, Collins pointed out that some changes already have been made to the bill.

“We have revised our bill in a very substantial way,” Collins said, adding that many of the standards related to the private sector are now optional. “This shows a willingness to adopt changes, and we’re still open to changes.”

When originally proposed, the bill got pushback from industry groups and some lawmakers concerned about Internet privacy.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and IBM sent out letters saying they oppose the bill in its current form, arguing it would saddle industry with additional regulations. However, the bill won endorsements from tech giants Cisco and Oracle.

The cybersecurity bill is the culmination of more than a year of effort by working groups composed of staff from committees with jurisdiction over cybersecurity, including Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Commerce, and Intelligence. The working groups spent months developing legislative language for the bill and included language from earlier cybersecurity bills that had passed out of committee.

— Brendan Sasso contributed to this report.

— This story was corrected at 5 p.m. to reflect that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and IBM oppose the bill in its current form.