Privacy Enhancing Technology Research Act

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4755, the Privacy Enhancing Technology Research Act, is another very important bipartisan piece of legislation that we bring to the House floor this evening on the heels of the pronouncement of the Speaker and minority leader to form an AI task force that is led by Mr. Obernolte of California on the Republican side and Mr. Lieu, also of California, on the Democratic side.

What the Privacy Enhancing Technology Research Act gets us is an opportunity to further strengthen and utilize Federal agencies to regulate our artificial intelligence.

This legislation has been met with the endorsement of the Federation of American Scientists, the Carnegie Mellon University, the University of California system, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Future of Privacy Forum.

I thank my colleague, Congressman Kean, for joining me in this legislation. I also recognize Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska for working in the other Chamber and for their contributions to the legislation.

We have a path not only to see this pass here in the House but to see it pass in the Senate and become Federal law.

We are living, as we all know, in the time of the modern digital economy, probably a hyper-digital economy, that is fueled by an astronomical amount of personal data compounded over decades at this point in time. In this AI-powered world, personal data protection is absolutely imperative. There is certainly a struggle with the processes that can protect and enable the protection of the productive use of personal data and secure the confidentiality of information it includes.

In 2023, a survey by the Pew Research Center found that 81 percent of American adults are concerned about how companies use their personal data.

We are liking, clicking, purchasing, and browsing. What is going on with all of that?

It is certainly in conversations regarding AI in Congress, with friends of mine, and with my constituents back home in Oakland County, Michigan.

There remain lots of opportunities to capture the benefits of data, including for safer roads, improved public health, better educational outcomes, and tackling inequities and other disparities. However, in any use of personal data, we must ensure privacy and confidentiality. A critical way to achieve that is through the development of privacy enhancing technologies, or PETs.

PETs are a broad range of technologies that allow organizations to collect, share, and use data while mitigating the privacy risks that arise from those activities.

The goal is to make systems that use personal information private by default, opening up those data to a wide range of researchers who would otherwise not have access. These technologies even have the potential to enable broader use of Federal datasets, as privacy risks are often the greatest barrier to open government data efforts. Unfortunately, the technology itself is still really immature, and it is not ready for widespread use.

What we are looking to do with H.R. 4755 is to support the research, workforce development, standard setting, and government coordination for PETs. We are going to direct the National Science Foundation to conduct fundamental privacy research that can improve these technologies, assess their

limitations, and broaden their applicability.

The National Science Foundation will also support workforce development activities in order to help address some of the exacerbating shortage of privacy professionals across the United States and also springboard from cybersecurity workforce developments that have taken place from years prior.

H.R. 4755 also supports activities at the National Institute of Standards and Technology to facilitate the development of those standards and best practices for integration of PETs in public and private sectors.

Mr. Speaker, these two groups, the public sector and private sector, are encouraging of this legislation. They are asking for us to act in this way.

Finally, H.R. 4755 directs the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to coordinate Federal activities to accelerate the development of PETs across government.

Congress, we all know, has been debating proposals on privacy legislation for a long time. Sometimes we are even wondering if we have legislation, but we have H.R. 4755, which takes an amazing and necessary step for ownership of this new technology that we want to own and manage here in this country.

So, yes, let us be encouraged by bipartisan activity. Let us continue to come together and ensure that we have the necessary tools to fully implement privacy legislation without stifling innovation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank, again, my colleague, Congressman Kean of New Jersey, for his bipartisan efforts.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to call on my colleagues to join me, Congressman Kean, the chairman of the Science Committee, and the ranking member of the Science Committee in passing H.R. 4755. This certainly will mark a very important moment in time when the United States chooses to lead on privacy enhancing technologies for the betterment of all.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be the co-lead on H.R. 4755, the Privacy Enhancing Technology Research Act of 2023, with my colleague, Congresswoman Stevens.

Mr. Speaker, I have had many conversations about data privacy concerns with parents and constituents in the Seventh District in New Jersey. Ensuring their specific needs and concerns are met for safeguarding their privacy rights online is a top priority. I am pleased that the House is considering this critical piece of legislation to improve personal data protections for all Americans and to commit to enhancing individuals' privacy and security online.

In an increasingly interconnected world where digital technologies touch every aspect of our lives, safeguarding personal privacy has become a critical concern for all Americans, especially during a time when vast amounts of personal data is collected online.

As we navigate through a landscape of evolving cyber threats, data breaches, and the development of artificial intelligence, the need for cutting-edge, privacy enhancing technologies has never been more pressing.

Recognizing the significance of these challenges and the threats we face online, this legislation directs the National Science Foundation to support competitive, fundamental research on privacy enhancing technologies. Our goal is to enhance user safety and provide safety measures for how our data is collected and used.

This legislation also directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology to facilitate the development of voluntary consensus standards to better integrate privacy enhancing technologies into public and private sectors. This is a key step toward mitigating risks and promoting trustworthiness.

The Privacy Enhancing Technology Research Act represents a promising opportunity to prioritize protecting an individual's data privacy in our ever-growing interconnected world.

Additionally, the bill will not only facilitate crucial research efforts but also contribute to the development of a skilled workforce and foster effective government coordination to ensure an impactful implementation of these technologies.

Advancing our legislation will support the development of robust safeguards for how people interact online and how their data is collected. This legislation seeks to empower individuals with greater control over their personal information, mitigating the risks of unauthorized access and misuse and maintaining trust in our digital ecosystem.

Through cutting-edge research and technologies, we will develop innovative solutions to not only shield sensitive data from malicious actors but also establish robust standards for data collection and sharing practices, fostering a more transparent and secure online environment.

Mr. Speaker, again, I thank Congresswoman Stevens for her extraordinary leadership in this regard and the chairman and the ranking member for helping advance this legislation. I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4755) to support research on privacy enhancing technologies and promote responsible data use, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 4755, the bill now under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4755, the Privacy Enhancing Technology Research Act, offered by the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Stevens) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Kean). The bill supports research activities to advance innovative technologies to safeguard individuals' privacy.

As Americans have moved more and more of their lives online, it has resulted in a greater amount of digital consumer data and personal information being generated than ever before. This personal information has long been a target of cybercriminals, and the threat has only worsened over time. In 2023, the Federal Trade Commission received more than 1 million reports of identity theft. This problem is exacerbated by the failure of some companies to properly safeguard consumer data.

This data is a valuable asset. When safely utilized, it can do a great deal to spur our economy and support innovations like artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Our task is to ensure this resource doesn't fall into the hands of bad actors, putting Americans' private information at risk.

Privacy enhancing technologies, PETs, may be part of the solution. PETs utilize cryptography and statistics to minimize the amount of personally identifiable information while ensuring the datasets are still usable. However, more research is needed to understand PETs' applicability and to encourage further development and adoption.

This bill requires the National Science Foundation to support fundamental research into PETs, the mathematics that underlie them, and the additional technologies that promote data minimization standards.

The legislation also directs NIST to work with stakeholders to develop voluntary consensus standards for incorporating these technologies into Federal and commercial applications. Similar legislation passed the House last Congress, which is a testament to the value of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, again, I thank Representatives Stevens and Kean for their leadership on this issue. I encourage my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Kean).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleagues from Michigan and New Jersey on an outstanding piece of legislation, and I urge the body to adopt it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to vote during the week of April 29th through May 1st, as I was in the district recovering from a medical procedure.

Had I been present, I would have voted: YEA on H.R. 4866, Roll Call No. 153;

YEA on H.R. 4755, Roll Call No. 154;

YEA on H. Res. Roll Call No. 1173, Roll Call No. 163;

YEA on H.R 529, Roll Call No. 155;

YEA on H.R. 4824, Roll Call No. 156;

YEA on H.R. 4877, Roll Call No. 157;

YEA on H.R. 6093, Roll Call No. 158;

YEA ON H.R. 3738, Roll Call No. 159,

YEA on H.R. 4016, Roll Call No. 160;

YEA on H.R. 1767, Roll Call 161;

YEA on H.R. 3195, Roll Call No. 171;

YEA on H.R. 764, Roll Call No. 169;

YEA on H.R. 615, Roll Call No. 167;

YEA on H.R. 3397, Roll Call No, 165;

YEA on H. Res. 1112, Roll Call No. 176;

YEA on H.R. 6090, Roll Call No. 172; and

YEA on H.R. 6285, Roll Call No. 174.

Mr. Speaker, due to unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to cast my votes for H.R. 4866 and H.R. 4755. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 153, and YEA on Roll Call No. 154.