The administration says CISPA remains riddled with inadequate privacy protections. | REUTERS W.H. revives its CISPA veto threat

The Obama administration renewed its threat to veto the House's flagship cybersecurity bill — a second rebuke in two years, once again made on the eve of the measure's arrival on the full chamber floor.

While the White House offered limited praise for this year's version of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, the administration reaffirmed in its official Statement of Administration Policy issued Tuesday that CISPA remains riddled with inadequate privacy protections.


"Both government and private companies need cyberthreat information to allow them to identify, prevent, and respond to malicious activity that can disrupt networks and could potentially damage critical infrastructure," the administration said.

Yet, the statement continued, "However, the administration still seeks additional improvements and if the bill, as currently crafted, were presented to the president, his senior advisers would recommend that he veto the bill."

In the end, CISPA still is likely to pass the House — much as it did in 2012, after the administration first brandished its veto pen.

Still, the White House's play could give Democrats new cover to vote against the information-sharing bill. And it lays down a fresh marker in what's sure to be a lengthy congressional debate over the country's digital defenses, which soon heads back to the Senate.

"Obviously, we want to see as much concern expressed by House members," said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), a CISPA opponent, earlier this week, "so that even if it passes, we hope it's not an overwhelming vote going into conference."

The White House veto threat came Tuesday as CISPA arrived before the House Rules Committee. The panel, which will set the terms of debate for the bill on the House floor, must decide whether to allow a number of key amendments backed by Democrats — potential revisions that mirror the White House's criticisms.

The administration's latest statement further echoes those complaints. For one thing, the White House said again that CISPA should require companies swapping threat data to take explicit steps to ensure consumers' most sensitive information isn't caught in the fray. The administration also expressed concern that the bill as written could allow for shared cyber threat data to land in the hands of the National Security Agency. Still yet, the White House criticized CISPA for granting companies excessive protection from legal liability.

Ahead of the veto threat, CISPA's backers, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and the committee's top Democrat, Dutch Ruppersberger (Md.), rejected the need for those changes.

Instead, they stressed they had made substantial revisions to their bill — including, for example, new limits on how the government could use data. The veto threat last year later prompted the duo to back additional changes to CISPA — though Rogers and Ruppersberger may already have the votes for the bill as drafted.

Ruppersberger told POLITICO earlier in the day, in fact, that he expected a veto threat as the White House sought to strengthen its hand before cybersecurity reform reached the Senate.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 3:53 p.m. on April 16, 2013.