The House Appropriations Committee voted 33-26 Thursday to advance the FY 2022 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies bill (see 2107150064), which would increase NTIA’s annual funding almost 97% to $89.5 billion. The Patent and Trademark Office would get almost $4 billion, up 8% from FY 2021. The National Institute of Standards and Technology would get $1.37 billion, up 32% and some 8% less than what President Joe Biden sought. The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security would get $143.4 million, up more than 7%. DOJ's Antitrust Division would get $201 million, up 9%.
Information Technology Industry Council General Counsel John Miller and other witnesses’ written testimony for a Thursday Senate Commerce Committee hearing urged lawmakers to fully fund the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act and take other actions to improve U.S. supply chains. The Senate-passed U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S-1260) includes $52 billion to fund the Chips for America Act and other chipmaking initiatives, but its House prospects are unclear (see 2106150078). That money would “boost U.S. investments in the semiconductor ecosystem -- including promoting a strong, skilled workforce for advanced manufacturing, strengthening the semiconductor supply chain, and increasing U.S. manufacturing capacity -- all of which are essential for U.S. economic and national security,” Miller said. Congress demonstrated “a will to address both short and long-term supply chain manufacturing issues through investment,” said IBM Research Director Dario Gil. Center for Strategic and International Studies Strategic Technologies Program Director James Lewis sought a “larger effort to build resiliency and security by strengthening all segments of the U.S. chip industry, through investments in R&D, workforce, and subsidies, including support for other parts of the semiconductor supply chain, such as advanced packaging.” The “supply chain is a disaster,” said The Taylor Group CEO Lex Taylor. “Some of that is due to the shortage of generic, programmable, or hard-coded microchips. Our products, like so many others, operate via some form of computer interface, so the chip shortage is extremely concerning.”
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, Miss., and Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, S.D., urged the FCC Thursday to “move quickly to finish” its long-form application review process for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction “and begin authorizing support to winning bidders.” Lawmakers are eyeing RDOF shortcomings (see 2105180070). “Each day that the [FCC] spends vetting long-form applications is another day that unserved Americans go without the high-speed broadband that is essential to everyday life,” Wicker and Thune said in a letter to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “Months have passed since winners submitted their long-form applications, and the agency has remained almost entirely silent about the status of its review and plans to authorize money.” The GOP leaders sought a “status update” by July 29 on the review process. They want to know if the FCC plans to “complete a review of all long-form applications” and what measures the commission is “taking to ensure transparency and accountability in its long-form application review.” The agency didn’t comment.
Amazon must recall unsafe products and notify consumers, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Wednesday after the Consumer Product Safety Commission filed an administrative complaint to force a recall. “This is a forceful and decisive action by CPSC with a clear message to Amazon and other online marketplaces: knowingly selling dangerous and defective products that imperil Americans will not be tolerated,” he said. He cited certain AmazonBasics car chargers, surge protectors and microwaves as products that reportedly hurt consumers. He said Congress should give the CPSC the resources it needs. As the CPSC complaint acknowledges, “for the vast majority of the products in question,” Amazon “immediately removed the products from our store, notified customers about potential safety concerns, advised customers to destroy the products, and provided customers with full refunds,” a company spokesperson emailed. For remaining products, the agency hasn’t provided responsive information, the company said, noting it has expanded efforts to handle recalls: It’s unclear why the agency “filed a complaint seeking to force us to take actions almost entirely duplicative of those we’ve already taken.”
The year since Privacy Shield was annulled had encouraging developments, speakers told a Wednesday Information Technology Industry Council webinar. Since the European Court of Justice's (ECJ) July 16 ruling to void the trans-Atlantic personal data transfer mechanism in Schrems II (see Ref:2007160002]), the European Commission deemed negotiating a successor with the U.S. a top priority, said Bruno Gencarelli, head of unit-international data flows and protection, Directorate General-Justice. Talks intensified after President Joe Biden's trip to Brussels in June, and both sides agree a doable solution must be based on the ECJ ruling and there's no shortcut, he said. Principles being discussed include access to U.S. courts for European citizens and limits on excessive government access to personal data. One "surprising" recent development was increased demand for international data protection standards, Gencarelli said. The EC is working more closely with other regional blocs such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, talks that could create a "critical mass" of principles. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development began a process to identify safeguards shared by OECD members for government access to personal data, he said. The post-Schrems II year has been "reactive" as everyone tried to come to grips with the ruling, said Centre for Information Policy Leadership President Bojana Bellamy. She urged both sides to "negotiate to yes" by focusing not on a 50-50 compromise but on understanding each other's concerns and adjusting positions accordingly. Positive engagement between stakeholders and regulators led to a better place but "we all know the enforcement is coming," said Caitlin Fennessy, International Association of Privacy Professionals research director. Some European data protection authorities question aspects of trans-Atlantic data flows, and businesses face uncertainty. One sticking point is redress for Europeans whose data is misused in the U.S. EU law requires such a right, but under U.S. law it's difficult for people outside the country to gain standing, said Alston & Bird's Peter Swire. A binding solution could come from a presidential executive statement ordering intelligence agencies take certain actions, he said. Gencarelli cautioned that for the EC, whether legislation or executive action is needed is secondary to complying with ECJ requirements. He said it's wrong to think OECD work will replace PS. ITI, the Computer & Communications Industry Association and other tech organizations urged Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders to "swiftly ensure an agreement for secure transatlantic data flows."
Senate Democrats are eyeing “options” for fully funding two tiers of infrastructure legislation, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York told reporters after the Democratic Caucus’ Tuesday meeting. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia earlier told reporters he wants fellow Democrats to prove they can fully pay for a bipartisan infrastructure package that includes $65 billion for broadband (see 2106240070) and a second measure party members believe they can advance without GOP support. “We’ve put enough free money out” already via COVID-19 aid measures, Manchin said. Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune of South Dakota and other Republicans noted Congressional Budget Office scoring of the bipartisan proposal could affect whether enough of that party’s members support invoking cloture on the plan. Backers of the bipartisan proposal and Democratic reconciliation package were expected to have met Tuesday night to assemble the legislation. Senior Fellow Andrew Long repeated Free State Foundation criticisms (see 2106180057) of the Broadband Reform and Investment to Drive Growth in the Economy Act (S-2071), a measure seen as a likely component of the bipartisan framework. S-2071 “unapologetically rejects the power of competition and the efficient operation of marketplace forces in favor of a backwards-looking public utility model,” Long said.
The House Appropriations Committee passed 33-24 the FY 2022 Homeland Security funding bill Tuesday. The committee approved the $52.8 billion budget, an increase of $934 million from 2021, $1.9 billion of it for the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Senate lawmakers are “getting closer” to turning a bipartisan infrastructure legislative framework President Joe Biden backed in late June “into legislation,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the floor Monday. “We are making very good progress towards that goal.” The framework would allocate $65 billion for broadband (see 2106240070).
The FTC and DOJ should investigate how Amazon's “search and sponsorship algorithms may be misleading customers” seeking FDA-authorized products during the pandemic, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., wrote in a letter disclosed Monday. She urged the agencies to use authority granted by the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act to probe how Amazon is promoting sponsored products like masks that aren’t FDA-authorized even when customers search for FDA-approved products. The agencies and company didn’t comment.
Chip group Semi and tech foundation Mitre Engenuity seek feedback from industry rank and file on challenges facing the sector as the U.S. prepares to provide funding and innovation incentives to help chipmakers better compete with China. The survey sponsors said they want to ensure government funding is “spent wisely” and “put to optimal use.” Information shared will be reported in “non-identifiable form.” The survey closes July 20.