House Republicans launch group for comprehensive data privacy legislation

Republican leaders on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce are forming a working group designed to help write a comprehensive data privacy bill.

John Joyce of Pennsylvania, the committee’s vice chairman and a physician, will lead the group, according to a press release issued on Wednesday. The working group currently includes nine Republicans and no Democrats.

The committee is inviting “stakeholders” to work with members to draft legislation that can “get across the finish line,” the press release said, quoting Joyce and committee Chairman Brett Guthrie of Kentucky.

Congressional leaders have worked on comprehensive data privacy legislation in the past, but have never succeeded in getting a floor vote due to sharp dissent over what protections and consumer rights should be included. In that vacuum, 13 states have enacted their own.

“We strongly believe that a national data privacy standard is necessary to protect Americans’ rights online and maintain our country’s global leadership in digital technologies, including artificial intelligence,” the Republicans’ announcement says. “We are hopeful that we can start building a strong coalition to address this important issue.”

In January, more than three dozen industry groups sent a letter to Republican and Democratic leaders of the Commerce Committee on each side of Congress, imploring them to pass data privacy legislation that would preempt the state laws.

The provisions proposed by the industry groups are similar to laws in states like Texas and Kentucky, which experts say are weaker than those in other states.

Data privacy legislation had been scheduled for a House Energy and Commerce markup last June but it was cancelled due to controversy over its text. 

A committee spokesperson did not return a request for comment asking whether the working group will consider the Department of Government Efficiency team’s access to millions of Americans’ sensitive personal data.