Lewis said he sees it as a "no-brainer" for the president to be able to exert whatever control is needed over federal networks in the interests of national security. He noted that the already has the authority to pull the plug on any military network that poses national-security risks. There's no reason why a similar authority shouldn't be extended to the executive office for all federal networks, he said.

"The larger issue is whether [the president] should have similar authority for critical infrastructure," Lewis added. "You have to think carefully about extending [such powers] to non-governmental sectors." Any control over private-sector networks that were granted to the White House under the bill would need to be properly scoped, he said.