Senator urges colleagues to pass bipartisan 10-year cyber reauthorization after lapse

An unidentified senator urged colleagues to approve a clean, bipartisan 10-year reauthorization on the grounds that delay leaves the nation vulnerable to cyberattack. “Every hour every hour we delay is an open invitation to cyber criminals and hostile actors to attack our economy and our critical infrastructure,” the senator said.

The senator said they and Senator Rounds introduced the 10-year extension in April and that one colleague objected, causing the provisions to expire at midnight. “As a result, we are without this critical line of defense. Our economy, our infrastructure, and our government is exposed,” the senator said, and urged colleagues to “put our national and economic security first and pass this clean, long term extension.”

The speaker framed the measure as responding to repeated requests from industry leaders seeking long-term certainty to protect systems and customers; the transcript characterizes that group as a broad coalition. The senator emphasized the need for a longer reauthorization period so government and private-sector partners can plan and harden systems against threats.

No formal vote or motion was recorded in the provided transcript. The senator said the extension was introduced months earlier and described the immediate effect of the objection and the expiration; the transcript does not record any response from other senators or staff, nor does it include procedural follow-up or scheduling information.

The senator’s remarks closed with an explicit appeal to colleagues to pass the measure, but the transcript does not show whether a revised bill or a motion to restore authority was filed or considered following the lapse.