Today eight Republican Senators – all Ranking Members of various committees – introduced the SECURE IT Act, S. 2151, their alternative cybersecurity bill to the bipartisan Cybersecurity Act, S. 2105, introduced two weeks ago.  In remarks on the Senate floor this afternoon, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, described the bill as providing an antitrust exemption and liability protection to companies for information sharing, requiring certain federal contractors to share relevant cyber information with the government, developing procedures for sharing classified information, prioritizing cybersecurity R&D, and updating criminal law for cyber crimes.  She explained that a primary reason for offering alternate legislation was to avoid creating an unnecessary bureaucracy that would overlay agencies already in place to handle cybersecurity issues.  Hutchison has indicated she hopes to meet with Sen. Joe Lieberman and the other authors of S. 2105 to reach a compromise.  The press release is here!