The Senate Intelligence Committee passed a controversial cybersecurity bill 14-1 during a markup Thursday, a move that Chairman Richard Burr Richard Mauze BurrRep. Mark Walker says he's been contacted about Liberty University vacancy Overnight Defense: Trump rejects major cut to military health care | Senate report says Trump campaign's Russia contacts posed 'grave' threat Senate report describes closer ties between 2016 Trump campaign, Russia MORE (R-N.C.) called “historic.”

“I have all the confidence in the world going to [Senate Majority Leader] McConnell and asking him for this to be expedited on the Senate floor,” Burr told reporters after the vote.

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The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) would enhance the sharing of information about cybersecurity threats between the private sector and government agencies by granting liability protections to companies offering the data.

“This has been a long road,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein Dianne Emiel FeinsteinMcConnell says Trump nominee to replace Ginsburg will get Senate vote Top Democrats call for DOJ watchdog to probe Barr over possible 2020 election influence Intensifying natural disasters do little to move needle on climate efforts MORE (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the panel who has been pushing versions of CISA for several years.

Government officials and most industry groups argue the bill is necessary to mitigate the impact of cyberattacks, which have hit giant retailers like Target and Home Depot, major banks like JPMorgan, and Anthem, the nation’s second-largest health insurer.

If CISA had been in place, “I think we might have minimized what happened at Anthem, we might have minimized what happened at Home Depot,” Burr said. “But certainly we would have made sure that elsewhere in the industry, there wouldn’t have been a threat because federal government would have responded.”

But the measure has drawn the ire of the privacy community, including Sen. Ron Wyden Ronald (Ron) Lee WydenGOP senator blocks Schumer resolution aimed at Biden probe as tensions run high Republican Senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal Hillicon Valley: TikTok, Oracle seek Trump's approval as clock winds down | Hackers arrested for allegedly defacing U.S. websites after death of Iranian general | 400K people register to vote on Snapchat MORE (D-Ore.), the lone vote Thursday opposing CISA.

Opponents are worried the bill will create another outlet for the intelligence community to collect sensitive data on Americans.

In a statement Thursday, Wyden called CISA a "surveillance bill by another name."

Similar White House and Democratic objections held up the bill’s markup for several weeks.

The Intel panel made several notable privacy concessions to address those concerns.

Feinstein said there were roughly 15 Democratic amendments related to privacy offered during the markup, 12 of which are in the final legislation, either in whole or in part.

CISA will not allow electronic, real-time sharing with intelligence agencies. If companies want to digitally exchange cyber threat data, they will have to go through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a civilian agency.

“Our preference is the electronic transfer through the DHS portal,” Burr stressed.

A White House cyber info-sharing proposal would have placed the DHS at the center of nearly all public-private threat data exchange.

Feinstein believes the changes will assuage the administration's and other lawmakers’ concerns.

“I talked to the president’s chief of staff [Denis McDonough Denis Richard McDonoughThe swamp wasn't drained — it expanded Susan Rice calls for Flynn-Kislyak transcripts to be released GOP seeks to go on offense using Flynn against Biden MORE] yesterday,” Feinstein said. “I think he believes that a number of improvements have been made in the bill.”

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has been discussing an info-sharing bill this year that would mirror the White House proposal.

Sen. Tom Carper Thomas (Tom) Richard CarperDemocrat asks for probe of EPA's use of politically appointed lawyers Overnight Energy: Study links coronavirus mortality to air pollution exposure | Low-income, minority households pay more for utilities: report OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Democrats push resolution to battle climate change, sluggish economy and racial injustice | Senators reach compromise on greenhouse gas amendment stalling energy bill | Trump courts Florida voters with offshore drilling moratorium MORE (D-Del.), ranking member on Homeland Security, even introduced a version of the administration's proposal. But Committee Chairman Ron Johnson Ronald (Ron) Harold JohnsonThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by The Air Line Pilots Association - White House moves closer to Pelosi on virus relief bill Second GOP senator to quarantine after exposure to coronavirus GOP-led panel to hear from former official who said Burisma was not a factor in US policy MORE has chosen to defer to the Intelligence bill, calling it more “robust.”

Carper wrote to the Intelligence panel with concerns about its bill, as did Sen. Patrick Leahy Patrick Joseph LeahyBattle over timing complicates Democratic shutdown strategy Hillicon Valley: Russia 'amplifying' concerns around mail-in voting to undermine election | Facebook and Twitter take steps to limit Trump remarks on voting | Facebook to block political ads ahead of election Top Democrats press Trump to sanction Russian individuals over 2020 election interference efforts MORE (D-Vt.), a staunch opponent of increasing the intelligence community’s access to private data.

Feinstein said she had spoken with both senators about their hesitations.

“I think we’ve met most of those concerns,” Feinstein said. “There’s been a major effort to handle those in this bill.”

Discussing the privacy concessions, Burr said that Feinstein “has stretched me so far, I feel like I’ve had cosmetic surgery.”

In a statement, Carper said he was "encouraged by the bipartisan progress ... made today," but added that he had yet to read the bill's full text.

“The only way we’re going to get this first step done is if it’s bipartisan,” Feinstein said.

The committee plans to bring the bill to the Senate floor for a vote shortly after the upcoming recess, which spans the last week of March through mid-April.

“I’ve learned never to try to forecast what’s going to happen in the United States Senate,” Burr said.