Under the new proposal, the President will be required to work with critical infrastructure owners in the private sector to deal with cyber-emergencies. It requires the White House to collaborate with them in the development and rehearsal of a detailed cybersecurity emergency response and restoration plan.

The plan will spell out the roles, responsibilities and authority of government and private sector actors in the event of a cyber-emergency.

The President will be required to explain to Congress in writing within 48 hours why exactly an emergency was declared, as well as the scope and likely duration of the emergency. "Nothing in the section authorizes new or expanded Presidential authorities," a draft of the new bill notes.

"It simply seeks to avoid the type of deadly bureaucratic confusion that left New Orleans to drown in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina," the draft version says.

The bill, as written, is "seminal" and should be passed, said Tom Kellerman, vice president of security awareness at Core Security Technologies and a member of a commission that developed a set of cybersecurity recommendations for President Obama last year.