Consumer Safety Technology Act

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the legislation with Representative McNerney, H.R. 3723, the Consumer Safety Technology Act.

You know, over my time in the Energy and Commerce Committee, I have made several trips out to the CPSC and observed firsthand how the men and women dedicate their lives to ensuring that consumers have safe products, that consumers have products that are not going to cause harm to the user.

And as we approach the anniversary of our Nation's independence on July 4, I also have a lot of respect for these same individuals who ensure that our fireworks that are sold at the commercial stands at the side of the road also meet certain specifications.

So as we approach Independence Day, it is always a good time to acknowledge the work done by the men and women in the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The bill we are talking about today actually passed the last Congress by a voice vote, but it did fail to advance in the United States Senate. It includes the bill that Mr. McNerney and I introduced, the Artificial Intelligence for Consumer Product Safety legislation, along with, as referenced, the Blockchain Innovation Act and the Digital Taxonomy Act.

We are once again considering this bill because this is commonsense legislation that should be signed into law to improve and modernize our consumer protection agencies.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has jurisdiction over 15,000 consumer products. Many of these are purchased online without the consumer reviewing or assessing the product in person. Throughout the time of the pandemic, Americans have sought to fulfill their needs through online shopping, and many companies and small businesses have innovated products to further increase convenience of daily life. The pool of products available to consumers is continually expanding, putting further strain on the Consumer Product Safety Commission to ensure the safety of those products.

While technological advances are increasing the number of types of products available for consumption, the Consumer Product Safety Commission can employ advanced technology to assist in that mission.

This bill directs the Consumer Safety Product Commission to establish a pilot program to use artificial intelligence for tracking injury trends, identifying consumer product hazards, monitoring the retail marketplace for the sale of recalled products, or identifying unsafe imported consumer products.

It is safe to say that when the Consumer Product Safety Commission was created, no one anticipated the sheer volume of material that would be being imported, for which they now have responsibility.

Artifical intelligence uses algorithms to quickly automate human functions and to filter and analyze data. Artificial intelligence is already advancing capabilities in multiple sectors to better serve consumers by increasing capacity and enhancing outcomes. As artificial intelligence advances, it should be capable of helping predict fail rates and identifying problems in consumer products before they can significantly impact the market.

If we want the United States to stay ahead of China and other global competitors, we must advance and utilize artificial intelligence in all appropriate products and processes. I can think of no better place to implement these capabilities than in the protection of products used every single day by American consumers.

Mr. Speaker, I urge colleagues to support this bill. Again, it passed the last Congress in a voice vote. We should advance it today.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3723.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 3723, the Consumer Safety Technology Act, and I want to begin by thanking Representatives McNerney and Burgess for their leadership on this bill, which they reintroduced this Congress.

This legislation will help modernize our consumer protection agencies and encourage the use of advanced technologies, like artificial intelligence and blockchain in support of product safety and consumer protection.

These technologies can help the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Federal Trade Commission improve their operations and more effectively carry out their mission.

Technological advances and globalization have greatly expanded the range of consumer products on the market. And as consumers shop online, more and more of these products are being shipped directly to homes. Artificial intelligence could help the CPSC oversee the increasingly complex range of products under its jurisdiction by helping to identify new injury trends and emerging hazards.

AI can also help the CPSC monitor online marketplaces for the illegal sale of recalled products. The persistence of recalled products on online third-party marketplaces is a particularly pernicious problem that puts Americans needlessly at risk.

For example, months after the dangerous Fisher-Price Rock `n Play and other infant inclined sleepers were recalled, a Consumer Reports investigation found that these products were still being sold on sites like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, even though they had been linked to dozens of infant fatalities. I am hopeful that artificial intelligence can be harnessed here to help eradicate the illegal sale of recalled products on online marketplaces.

The CPSC could also use AI to assess the risks of the growing number of imported consumer products entering our country and being sent directly to consumers.

This bill incorporates a bill originally introduced by Representative Soto and Guthrie, the Blockchain Innovation Act, and a bill originally introduced by Representatives Davidson and Soto, the Digital Taxonomy Act.

As incorporated in this legislation, these bills will help identify ways blockchain technology can be used to further support consumer protection. It will also make sure that scammers and fraudsters don't get ahead of consumers and law enforcement in the realm of blockchain and digital tokens.

Mr. Speaker, finally, I thank Ranking Member Rodgers and Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Ranking Member Bilirakis for working with us to move this bill; and as always, to the chairwoman of the subcommittee, the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).

Mr. Speaker, I call on my colleagues to support this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McNerney), who is the prime sponsor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Soto), another sponsor of the bill from the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky), the chairwoman of the subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I also urge support for this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Pallone, Chairwoman Schakowsky, Representative McNerney, Ranking Member Rodgers, Ranking Member Bilirakis, and Representative Guthrie for bringing forward these key bills on technology.

Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain technologies, and cryptocurrency are playing a growing importance in our daily lives and are going to be an economic driver for the 21st century economy.

Blockchain, in essence, is a fixed ledger. Once you add data or a transaction, it cannot be changed. Therefore, it makes the data have integrity and makes sure that, as we are doing transactions and adding data over the internet, it can't be changed and that there is certainty to it. That is why it is so critical.

Then once we add AI to analyze this fixed data, we could help solve some of the largest problems that we face as a nation: healthcare, climate change, to be two examples; the delivery of personal protection equipment during a pandemic.

And, of course, cryptocurrency allows for small businesses, in particular, to provide services across the world without the transaction costs of exchanging currencies. It will help with remittances and other ways that we can modernize our economy.

It is essential that the United States continue to be a global leader in these emerging technologies to ensure our democratic values remain at the forefront of this technological development. Authoritarian regimes like China and Russia are investing heavily in these areas. It is absolutely critical for the free world to invest and to win the future in these areas.

Also, as a responsible global leader, the United States must strike the appropriate balance of providing an environment that fosters innovation while ensuring appropriate consumer protection.

That is why I am proud to work with Representative McNerney on H.R. 3723. It includes parts of the Digital Taxonomy Act and all of the Blockchain Innovation Act. As many of you know, blockchain technology will be helpful in the ways we discussed already.

First, H.R. 3639, the Blockchain Innovation Act, directs the Department of Commerce, in consultation with the FCC, to conduct a study and submit to Congress a report on the state of blockchain technology in commerce, including its use to reduce fraud and increase security.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Guthrie for cosponsoring and co- introducing this bill. This is a first step toward a long-term goal of setting up a Blockchain Center of Excellence in the Department of Commerce.

In addition, the Digital Taxonomy Act requires a similar report from the FCC to report recommendations on deceptive practices, and the relationship between the FTC, FCC, and the CFTC.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Davidson for his cosponsorship.

When we look at market volatility, the use of cryptocurrency for ransomware in recent attacks like the Colonial Pipeline and tax evasion, it is critical that we get in on the front end of this.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to work with Representative McNerney, and I urge support for H.R. 3723.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding and for recognizing this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my legislation, H.R. 3723, the Consumer Safety Technology Act.

H.R. 3723 will encourage the use of emerging technologies, specifically artificial intelligence and blockchains, to help keep consumers safe. It will aid our consumer protection agencies with carrying out their missions.

H.R. 3723 incorporates the AI for Consumer Product Safety Act legislation that I authored with Representative Burgess. These provisions direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC, to establish a pilot program for the agency to use AI in furtherance of the agency's work to protect consumers from unsafe products.

For example, the CPSC could use artificial intelligence to more quickly and efficiently identify consumer product hazards, such as exploding laptops that have faulty batteries, defective USB chargers, furniture that tips over, and unsafe infant sleeping products.

Being able to identify these hazards more quickly will enable the CPSC to

help also recall products more quickly and, in turn, help save lives.

We have heard firsthand from CPSC commissioners when they testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee that artificial intelligence can benefit the agency's work in serving the American people.

I am pleased that last year my legislation, the AI in Government Act, was enacted into law. Among other things, the AI in Government Act establishes an AI Center of Excellence to facilitate adoption of AI technology in the Federal Government. This will provide a central resource within the government to aid agencies with AI adoption and help agencies share best practices.

But it is also critical that agencies build up their capacity internally to adopt AI technology. H.R. 3723 will empower the CPSC to do just that. The CPSC's experience here will also serve as an example for other agencies that are looking to integrate AI in furtherance of their agency's missions.

H.R. 3723 also incorporates the Blockchain Innovation Act introduced by Representative Soto and Guthrie. These provisions will help ensure that we use the benefits of blockchain technology to help stop scams and fraud.

Additionally, H.R. 3723 incorporates the Digital Taxonomy Act from Representatives Soto and Davidson. These provisions will help ensure the scammers and fraudsters don't get ahead of consumers and law enforcement in the realm of blockchain and digital tokens.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representatives Burgess, Soto, Guthrie, and Davidson for their work in H.R. 3723, and Chairman Pallone and Ranking Member Rodgers for helping to move this important bill. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3723, the Consumer Safety Technology Act.

I thank Representatives Burgess, McNerney, Guthrie, Soto, and Davidson for their leadership on this effort and, of course, our chairman and our ranking member, and our ranking member on the subcommittee, as well as the chairman of the subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, the bipartisan bill directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission to conduct a pilot program to determine how artificial intelligence may be used to advance the agency's product safety mission.

Given the agency's broad jurisdiction over so many consumer products, efficiently and accurately analyzing data in the marketplace is critical to its effective operation.

This bill also includes an important study of how blockchain technology may be used to prevent fraud, increase privacy, and bolster our Nation's supply chain. This is complementary to the American COMPETE Act that also prioritizes this emerging technology to ensure America leads in the technology and in its development.

Furthermore, H.R. 3723 also focuses on digital tokens, which are seeing increased adoption by consumers. The bill targets ways in which we can protect consumers from fraud in the digital token marketplace, a dangerous trend that has recently become more apparent.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their important work on this particular piece of legislation, and I urge all my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Lesko), an important member of the Energy and Commerce full committee and also the subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers.

Mr. Speaker, this is a very important bill. We have to get it past the finish line this time. I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.