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On the House Floor: H.R. 6192 to reform the Energy Policy Conservation Act The Biden administration is waging war on American energy, and this war is making its way into Americans’ homes. President Biden and Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Granholm are sacrificing peoples’ ability to purchase affordable and reliable products for their homes in their pursuit of a radical rush-to-green agenda. Housing prices and utility bills are already too high for Americans, but that isn’t stopping the administration from continuing to impose burdensome regulations. Since taking office, the Biden administration has been attacking common and popular household appliances in the name of “energy efficiency.” In fact, last year the Biden administration proposed a ban on gas stoves as part of its war against fossil fuels. More recently, the DOE has announced plans to regulate washers, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, and more, which is forcing people to spend more for less reliable options. Even worse, these new regulations fail to accomplish their stated goals as they will NOT save a significant amount of energy and are NOT cost-effective. For example, the DOE’s own analysis finds that efficiency mandates on dishwashers could increase the upfront cost by 28% and it could take consumers 12 years to payback the increased costs on a product that may only last 7-12 years.    This comes at a time when Americans are already being crushed by rising costs thanks to Bidenflation. By continuing to double down on policies like these, the Biden administration is showing just how out of touch they are with the financial struggles the vast majority of Americans are feeling. In contrast, House Republicans are leading to protect Americans from federal mandates that result in minimal energy savings while significantly driving up costs. Today, the House will consider H.R. 6192, the Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act , led by Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), to preserve the affordability, availability, and quality of the household appliances Americans rely on every day. Here’s why H.R. 6192 is important: Enacted in 1975, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) provides specific criteria the DOE must follow in order to propose a new appliance efficiency standard. The DOE may only propose a new standard if it results in a significant conservation of energy, is technologically feasible, and economically justified. The Biden administration has consistently ignored these critical consumer protections by proposing and finalizing standards that violate the statute. H.R. 6192 would prevent this abuse by: Eliminating unnecessary and duplicative rulemaking requirements  Authorizing the Secretary of Energy to amend or revoke a standard if it increases costs for consumers, does not result in significant energy or water savings, is not technologically feasible, or results in the unavailability of product  Protecting affordability by requiring the DOE to consider the cost to low-income households and the full-life cycle cost of appliances when determining if the new standard is economically justified  Establishing minimum thresholds for energy or water savings that must be achieved before imposing new standards  Prohibiting the Secretary of Energy from banning products based on what type of fuel that product uses (no natural gas bans)  Bottomline:  At a time when the American people are struggling under the crushing weight of Bidenflation, the last thing they need is more government mandates that drive up costs and fail to achieve their stated mission.

It’s National Small Business Week! Small businesses are the engine of our economy—leading the way in American innovation and ingenuity. In fact, small businesses are responsible for 70 percent of American jobs. To win the future and lead the global economy, we must advance policies to help America’s small businesses be successful. One way to do this is with a national data privacy and security standard, like the bipartisan American Privacy Rights Act .  Right now, growing small businesses and startups are forced to navigate a patchwork of state data privacy laws. 16 states have privacy laws that regulate the commercial collection and use of people’s data.  Ensuring compliance with multiple state laws can be costly and time consuming — forcing companies to divert valuable resources that could be used to improve or grow their business. It’s estimated that, without a national data privacy standard, U.S. small businesses could pay upwards of $20-23 billion annually trying to comply with a patchwork of state laws. Startups and small businesses simply cannot afford to comply with 50 different versions of rules. That’s why we’re leading on the American Privacy Rights Act to create a clear and consistent data privacy standard across all 50 states. Our bipartisan draft legislation strikes the right balance by giving Americans more control over where their personal information goes and who can sell it, while making sure small businesses and entrepreneurs are able to continue thriving and innovating in the U.S. 137 of the world’s 194 countries have national privacy laws. The United States does not. If we wait any longer, the larger the patchwork of state laws will grow and hurt American businesses, deter companies from operating and innovating in America, and undermine our ability to influence global standards to benefit the U.S. The American Privacy Rights Act ensures businesses have one clear set of rules to operate under— so a business will have the same standards in California as it does in Washington or Virginia. To further support small businesses and entrepreneurs, the American Privacy Rights Act exempts those that do not sell their customer’s data for profit, those with an annual revenue of $40 million or less, and those that do not collect, process, retain, or transfer the data of 200,000 customers or fewer from the requirements of the bill. The American Privacy Rights Act is focused on the business of data, not Main Street business. It’s past time for the United States to have one uniform, comprehensive data privacy standard that empowers small businesses to grow and thrive. Congress has been searching for a solution on this issue for decades, and now we have it with the American Privacy Rights Act .

Americans deserve to have their sensitive health information protected. Energy and Commerce Republicans have been actively working since the February 21st cyberattack on Change Healthcare to understand how it happened, how it can be prevented in the future, and how to help Americans continue to access care.  THE PROBLEM Change Healthcare is one of the largest health payment processing companies in the world. It acts as a clearing house for 15 billion medical claims each year—accounting for nearly 40 percent of all claims. The cyberattack that occurred in February knocked Change Healthcare—a subsidiary of the behemoth global health company UnitedHealth—offline, which created a backlog of unpaid claims. This has left doctors’ offices and hospitals with serious cashflow problems—threatening patients’ access to care. It has since come to light that millions of Americans may have had their sensitive health information leaked onto the dark web, despite UnitedHealth paying a ransom to the cyber attackers. E&C ACTION From the outset, Members on Energy and Commerce have been working with the administration and Change Healthcare to help providers—particularly smaller and rural practices—maneuver through the new, complicated process of getting reimbursed, so they could keep their doors open and focus on caring for patients. Energy and Commerce Republicans were briefed by the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and Change Healthcare in the weeks following the attack. Following the briefings, bipartisan Energy and Commerce leaders wrote to UnitedHealth seeking answers about the attack. The Subcommittee on Health convened a hearing on May 17th to explore cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the health care sector and discuss possible solutions to address them. This week, the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee called UnitedHealth CEO Sir Andrew Witty to explain to the American people what happened in the lead up to and during the attack, how the company is responding, and how it plans to prevent such an attack from happening again. WHAT WE LEARNED 1. The attack occurred because UnitedHealth wasn’t using multifactor authentication [MFA], which is an industry standard practice, to secure one of their most critical systems.  Mr. Witty:   We're continuing to investigate as to exactly why MFA was not on that particular service. It clearly was not. I can tell you I'm as frustrated as you are about having discovered that and as we've gone back and figured out how this situation occurred.    Change Healthcare came into the organization toward the end of 2022 after the timing of the declarations you just described.    Change Healthcare was a relatively older company with older technologies, which we had been working to upgrade since the acquisition. For some reason, which we continue to investigate, this particular server did not have MFA on it.   2. It’s estimated that a third of Americans had their sensitive health information leaked to the dark web as a result of the attack.  Oversight Subcommittee Chair Morgan Griffith: "Substantial proportion of the American population." What does that mean? How much are we talking? 20 percent? We talking 50 percent? We're talking 70? Tell us.   Mt. Witty:   Chairman, we continue to investigate the amount of data involved here. We do think it's going to be substantial. Because we haven't completed the process, I'm hesitant to be overly precise on that and and be wrong in the future. I wouldn't like to mislead anybody in that regard.   Chair Griffith:   Well, and I wouldn't want you to mislead us either. But when you say "substantially," at least give me some kind of a range. You can be on the bottom to high. I don't mind giving you a range. Are we talking 20 to 50?   Mr. Witty:   I think maybe a third or somewhere of that level.   3. This might not be the end of the leaks. Despite UnitedHealth paying a ransom to the criminals, it cannot guarantee that more of Americans’ sensitive information will not be leaked.  Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers:   How were the hackers communicating with UnitedHealth to get the ransom? Did you communicate ever directly with the hackers?   Mt. Witty:   I did not. No. Chair Rodgers:   How much did you pay in ransom? And how was it paid it? In dollars? Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency?   Mr. Witty:   $22 million in Bitcoin.  Chair Rodgers:   What was the date that you paid the ransom?   Mr. Witty:   I'm sorry. I don't have that to mind. But I can certainly get back to you with that.   Chair Rodgers:   Can you affirmatively say that the hackers you paid did not make copies of protected or personal data and then, at a later date, uphold it onto the internet or the dark web.   Mr. Witty:   I cannot affirmatively say that. No. 4. UnitedHealth has resources to help individuals and providers.  Dr. Burgess:   Is there a generally available website or telephone number that a practice can call right now, if they're continuing to have a problem?  Mr. Witty: Yes. And thank you very much for the question. So [ https://support.changehealthcare.com/ ] is the best website for anybody to access, whether it being a provider or an individual.    But, also I would very much like to note the 1-800 number that's available for individuals to call if they have any questions at all about data or anything like that.    So, it's 1 (866) 262-5342. That service line is available and makes available very quickly is a very simple process. If anybody wants things like credit protection, identity theft protection, those services are all available to be enrolled on just through a simple phone call.   CLICK HERE to watch the full hearing. Check out some of the news coverage from the hearing: UnitedHealth’s handling of the situation will probably be “a case study in crisis mismanagement for decades to come,” said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  Witty fielded heated questions from Senators on the House Energy and Commerce Committee about the company's failure to prevent the breach and contain its fallout.  Pressed for details on the data compromised, Witty said "maybe a third" of Americans' protected health information and personally identifiable information was stolen.  Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee asked Witty why the nation's largest health care insurer did not have the basic cybersecurity safeguard in place before the attack. "Change Healthcare was a relatively older company with older technologies, which we had been working to upgrade since the acquisition," Witty said. "But for some reason, which we continue to investigate, this particular server did not have MFA on it."  Rep. Gary Palmer (R., Ala.), in an afternoon hearing held by the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, pressed Witty on how many government employees with security clearance were included in the breach. That kind of theft would be a national-security risk, he said.  Still, Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter, R-Ga., railed against the company’s use of vertical integration, in which it has acquired physician practices, pharmacy benefit managers and other players in the health care system. “Let me assure you that I’m going to continue to work to bust this up,” Carter said.“This vertical integration that exists in health care in general has got to end.”  Several members also took the opportunity to chide United Healthcare’s use of prior authorization, which Witty said resumed for its Medicare Advantage plans April 15.   The company should “carefully review how that prior authorization” has affected patient outcomes, said Rep. John Joyce, R-Pa. 

At the direction of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Energy and Commerce Republicans are launching an investigation of allegations of rampant bias at NPR, which is funded by U.S. taxpayers. Check out this exclusive coverage in Fox News:  FIRST ON FOX : The House Energy & Commerce Committee is summoning the head of NPR before Congress to answer accusations the outlet has a left-wing bias despite receiving federal funds. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., directed House Republican leaders to open the probe, he told Fox News Digital. "The Committee has concerns about the direction in which NPR may be headed under past and present leadership. As a taxpayer funded, public radio organization, NPR should focus on fair and objective news reporting that both considers and reflects the views of the larger U.S. population and not just a niche audience," Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., wrote to NPR CEO Katherine Maher. She led Morgan Griffith, R-Va., chair of the subcommittee on oversight, and Bob Latta, R-Ohio, chair of the subcommittee on communications and technology, in asking Maher to publicly testify before Griffith’s panel next week.  [...]  Johnson told Fox News Digital of the probe, "In light of the recent, disturbing revelations about National Public Radio (NPR) and its leadership, I’ve directed Chair McMorris Rodgers and the Energy and Commerce Committee to conduct an investigation of NPR and determine what actions should be taken to hold the organization accountable for its ideological bias and contempt for facts. The American people support the free press but will not be made to fund a left-leaning political agenda with taxpayer funds."  Conservatives have long accused NPR of reporting with a left-wing bias while some of its funding is provided through federal grants and other government-backed dollars.  Those concerns were recently magnified when former NPR editor Uri Berliner asserted in an op-ed that the outlet mishandled critical stories that stemmed from Hunter Biden’s laptop hard drive and COVID-19 lab leak theories, among others, and that registered Democrats were vastly overrepresented in the newsroom, 87-0. "We also find it disconcerting that NPR’s coverage of major news in recent years has been so polarized as to preclude any need to uncover the truth. These have included news stories on matters of national security and importance, such as the Mueller report, the Hunter Biden laptop, and the COVID-19 origins investigation. On each of these issues, NPR has been accused of approaching its news reporting with an extreme left-leaning lens," the lawmakers wrote. They also took issue with Maher’s own past statements, including a 2021 TED Talk in which she said, according to the letter, "Our reverence for the truth might be a distraction that’s getting in the way of finding common ground and getting things done." "You yourself have stated that you view the First Amendment as ‘the number one challenge’ because speech protections make it ‘tricky’ to suppress ‘bad information’ and the ‘influence peddlers who have made a real market economy around it.’’ Ironically, both you and NPR have used the same First Amendment to protect your own views and statements," they wrote. CLICK HERE to read the full story on Foxnews.com. CLICK HERE to read the letter to Ms. Maher.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) joined CNBC’s Squawk Box to talk about today’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on the Change Healthcare cyberattack. Highlights and excerpts from the interview below:  On What to Expect at This Afternoon’s Hearing:   “This is an important Oversight Subcommittee hearing for the Energy and Commerce Committee. We expect to get a comprehensive report from Mr. Witty from UnitedHealth as to what happened, why Americans have had their personal health information made available on the dark web, what they're doing to fix this problem, and then also what we and what UnitedHealth must do to ensure that this never happens again.  “UnitedHealth is very large, and millions of families and taxpayers pay billions of dollars to UnitedHealth in premiums, and we need to make sure that their personal health information is protected from these kinds of cyberattacks.”  On Attempts to Catch the Cyber Criminals:   “UnitedHealth decided to pay the ransom. We're going to ask questions as to why they decided to pay the ransom, in this case, because we know that when you pay the ransom, that only incentivizes more of the harmful behavior by those that are perpetrating these kinds of cyber attacks.   “We have been spending a lot of time and had numerous hearings around cybersecurity. Just two weeks ago, we had a hearing on cybersecurity as it relates to health care, on what steps we need to be taking to protect personal, sensitive health information that has been made available on the dark web, in this case, which is very harmful to millions of Americans.  “This is a very serious issue, and that's part of the purpose of the hearing today.”   On the Role of Congress Intervening to Protect Patients’ Data:   “This hearing is part of us getting answers. We need to better understand what happened, why it happened, and then we will look at what steps we need to be taking. Certainly cybersecurity, whether it's in healthcare or other sectors, is top of mind for Americans as we see more and more of our information online. “The Committee is working on protecting American privacy rights online. We've also worked on the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act to give Americans more ownership over their data, but also to understand what the prices are.   “In this case, United has become very large, and the individual, unfortunately doesn't always have a lot of power and control in this, so I believe it's very important that we get legislation that's going to help patients understand what the prices are. We have United as a very large health insurance company that maybe doesn't want to pay the prices, only the doctors that are providing the care and that can be problematic.”  [...]  “We have looked at the consolidation, and we passed legislation with overwhelming support— the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act —to address this consolidation to provide more competition in the marketplace, which ultimately brings down costs and gives consumers more choices.   “We're working with the Senate to get them to take action on this, because we're overall concerned about these larger and larger health care systems.”

E&C Republicans Are Holding Granholm Accountable for Her Radical Agenda Americans are suffering because the Biden administration’s energy crisis is increasing costs across the board. From the grocery store to the gas pump, President Biden and Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Granholm’s continued actions to undermine American energy are driving up the cost of every purchase people make. To make life affordable again, the DOE must abandon its rush-to-green agenda. Ahead of Secretary Granholm’s appearance before the House Energy and Commerce Committee tomorrow, these are the top questions we have: With energy prices up across the board since President Biden took office, why won’t you commit to supporting the Lower Energy Costs Act ? Since day one in office, the Biden administration has worked to undermine America’s global leadership in clean, affordable, and reliable energy. For example, under Secretary Granholm’s leadership, the administration has: Drained the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to the lowest level since 1983  Begged OPEC, Russia, and Venezuela to pump more oil while shutting down energy production here at home  Promoted an anti-fossil fuel agenda by stalling energy infrastructure projects  Blocked oil and gas development and production on federal lands and waters  Banned new liquified natural gas (LNG) export facility permits  Canceled critical mineral mining projects  Pressured banks and financial institutions to stop investing in fossil energy projects  Limited development of oil and gas resources in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, set up by Congress for the nation’s energy security Additionally, the administration’s anti-American energy agenda has led them to undermine hydropower in the Pacific Northwest, implement an unworkable and overreaching Clean Power Plan 2.0 , and impose new particulate matter standards that crush American manufacturing. The list is long, but one thing is clear: each of these drastic measures raise costs for families and businesses, while stifling America’s energy and environmental leadership. H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act , would help regain energy dominance, lower prices, create jobs, reduce emissions, strengthen our national security, and secure our supply chains. Why are you forcing Americans to drive unaffordable electric vehicles? Americans don’t want the Biden administration’s aggressive EV mandates —they want to choose what vehicle best suits their needs. That’s exactly what nearly 5,000 American car dealers told President Biden—twice—after EVs stacked up on their lots. Just like Energy and Commerce Republicans, they’re demanding the Biden administration “hit the brakes” on its unrealistic agenda. This forced EV transition also plays right into China’s hands. China controls the vast majority of critical minerals mining, processing, and manufacturing for electric vehicles. Despite the consequences, the Biden administration continues to take actions that would require two thirds of all new vehicles be electric by 2032. In addition to forcing Americans to buy a more expensive vehicle, electricity prices are up 29% since President Biden took office. Simply put, Secretary Granholm’s EV mandates are driving up costs for Americans at a time when Biden’s energy crisis is already hurting every family. Why does the Biden administration repeatedly take action to increase home energy costs and worsen the housing affordability crisis ?   Housing prices and utility bills are already too high for Americans, but that hasn’t stopped President Biden and Secretary Granholm from continuing to impose burdensome regulations on homes and apartments. Starting with a ban on gas stoves, the Biden administration decided to start attacking common and popular household appliances in the name of “energy efficiency.” The DOE proceeded to then target washers, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, and more. Even more recently, the DOE imposed expensive, new energy codes that will only increase costs for Americans already struggling to get by. This rush-to-green agenda may appease President Biden’s radical political allies, but it does not help hardworking Americans—it just only exacerbates Biden’s energy crisis and the housing shortage Americans are facing. Why is the Biden administration undermining energy-producing communities, like Port Arthur, Texas , through their LNG export ban instead of unleashing clean, reliable, and affordable energy? Clean, affordable, and reliable American LNG is the lifeblood of many American communities. As America has become the number one producer and exporter of LNG in the world—despite President Biden's actions—we have strengthened our economy, lowered costs for families, and reduced emissions more than any other nation in the world.   Secretary Granholm’s claim that the administration’s de facto LNG export ban will only last a year proves it is nothing more than an election year stunt to win over the far-Left. Studies show that LNG exports could add upwards of 453,000 jobs and would provide a lifeline to our allies so they are not reliant on Russia for natural gas. President Biden and Secretary Granholm’s decision to halt LNG exports jeopardizes our economy, environment, and our national security.  Why did you secretly meet with the Chinese Communist Party’s top energy official just days before the Biden administration announced it would release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve? Secretary Granholm had multiple conversations with the Chinese Communist Party’s top energy official just days before the Biden administration announced it would release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in 2021. By selling our strategic energy supplies to the CCP, the Biden administration is propping up China at the expense of American national and energy security. As a result, President Biden drained our emergency oil reserve to its lowest level in 40 years. That’s why Energy and Commerce led on H.R. 22 and H.R. 21 , both of which passed the House with bipartisan support, to prevent this abuse.

How It Happened The days of our foreign adversaries using applications to target, surveil, and manipulate the American people are numbered. Yesterday, thanks to the bipartisan efforts of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, as well as many other Members of the House, H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act , was signed into law. TikTok now has a clear choice: Separate from its parent company ByteDance—which is beholden to the CCP—and remain operational in the United States, or side with the CCP and face the consequences. TikTok is on the clock. As Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) said last month, “Foreign adversaries, like the Chinese Communist Party, pose the greatest national security threat of our time. TikTok’s access to 177 million American users makes it a valuable propaganda tool for the CCP to exploit.” She also said, “Companies controlled by a foreign adversary, like the CCP, will NEVER embrace American values like freedom of speech, human rights, the rule of law, and a free press. If given the choice, they will always choose the path for more control, more surveillance, and more manipulation.” With this bill, the United States has sent a clear message to the Chinese Communist Party that we will no longer tolerate our adversaries weaponizing our freedoms against us. Here’s how we got here: MARCH 23, 2023 Chair Rodgers called TikTok CEO Shou Chew to appear before the committee to testify on TikTok’s consumer privacy and data security practices, the platforms’ impact on kids, and its relationship with the Chinese Communist Party. This was Chew’s first appearance before a congressional committee. At our hearing, it was clear that TikTok was beholden to the Chinese Communist Party and could not be trusted to safeguard American data. APRIL 14, 2023 Chair Rodgers, Subcommittee on Innovation, Data and Commerce Chair Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chair Bob Latta (R-OH), and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) sent a letter to the Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement at the Department of Commerce imploring him to speak out against TikTok at the annual Global Ethics Summit. In the letter the leaders said, “You have an ethical responsibility to tell the audience of this summit and the American people of TikTok’s threats to our national security and privacy, and to further expose how Mr. Chew failed to be completely transparent to Congress.” MARCH 5, 2024 After nearly a year of bipartisan efforts, H.R. 7521 was formally introduced in the House with 20 cosponsors. Upon introduction of the bill, the Energy and Commerce Committee officially noticed a bipartisan Committee hearing, as well as a markup. MARCH 7, 2024 The Committee’s classified hearing with members of the intelligence community, including the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence made clear the dangers posed by applications that are controlled by foreign adversaries and the need to take action. Later that day, the Energy and Commerce Committee marked up and unanimously passed H.R. 7521 to stop foreign adversaries, like the Chinese Communist Party, from targeting, surveilling, and manipulating Americans. MARCH 13, 2024: The House of Representatives then passed H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act , with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 352-65. April 20, 2024 This past weekend, the House of Representatives passed the 21st Century Peace Through Strength Act, which included H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act . April 23, 2024 Tuesday evening, just three days after the House of Representatives , the Senate passed the legislation as well, “delivering a historic rebuke of the video-sharing platform’s Chinese ownership after years of failed attempts to tackle the app’s alleged national security risks.” April 24, 2024 The bill was signed into law by President Biden on April 24, 2024, starting the clock on TikTok’s requirement to divest from CCP-controlled ByteDance.

Americans Support a National Data Privacy Standard The American Privacy Rights Act puts people in control of their own data, gives Americans enforceable data privacy rights, and eliminates the patchwork of state laws. Americans overwhelmingly support stronger data privacy protections, which would protect people, especially children, from Big Tech and other companies who are exploiting our personal information to target and manipulate us. On Wednesday, April 17, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a legislative hearing to discuss the bipartisan, bicameral data privacy legislation along with other proposals to protect kids online. As Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) said , “ Right now, the average American spends nearly seven hours online a day, with two and a half hours of that time being spent on social media platforms. “The consequences range from increased suicide rates and depression, to increased polarization and loss of trust in our institutions. All the while, these companies are collecting nearly every data point imaginable which they use to then control what we see and when we see it.” [...] “Many companies are using their control over our data to erode people’s agency, their rights, and their identity. It’s time for that status quo to change.”   [...] “Congress has been trying to develop and pass comprehensive data privacy and security legislation for decades. With the American Privacy Rights Act, we are at a unique moment in history where we finally have the opportunity to imagine the internet as a force for prosperity and good.”   Every witness at our hearing agreed: This is Congress’s best chance to establish comprehensive data privacy protections. Watch:   Kara Frederick, Director of the Tech Policy Center at the Heritage Foundation , said, “I firmly believe the issue before us, data privacy, is the lynchpin upon which every piece of tech policy legislation will hinge.” [...] “Nowadays, when you give your kid a smartphone, you are not giving your kid access to the world, you are giving the world access to your kid.”   A key focus of the hearing was how the algorithms developed by these companies are designed to hold our attention, a feature that has been particularly harmful to kids. We have all heard countless stories of children being targeted with content that can lead to dangerous, life-threatening behaviors, which is why parents across the country overwhelmingly support stronger online protections for their children. Last week, members heard from Ava Smithing , who experienced first-hand the way that a large-scale collection of data can tailor algorithms to exploit kids’ vulnerabilities.  Watch Ava talk about the need for data minimization in order to protect kids online: Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) asked the witnesses “Who is the greatest threats to Americans’ data security?” They answered that the top threats are individuals who are using data to scam and steal from Americans, foreign adversaries, like the Chinese Communist Party, and Big Tech companies.  Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) asked Kara Frederick about creating specific privacy protections for children. She replied that “children's consciences are not properly formed before these companies are going at them.”  Rep. John James (R-MI) and Witness Katherine Kuehn of the National Technology Security Coalition also talked about how important the American Privacy Rights Act is for seniors.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee is leading to advance the American Privacy Rights Act , which establishes strong data privacy protections for people of every age in every state. Last week, the Committee held a legislative hearing to consider data privacy and security proposals that eliminate the existing patchwork of state laws, protect children online, set clear national data privacy rights, and give Americans the ability to enforce their privacy rights.  Kara Frederick, Director of the Tech Policy Center at the Heritage Foundation, said this on Fox & Friends about the American Privacy Rights Act : “This is the moment. This is the first time the United States could actually pass a national data protection framework which protects us, young and old. [The American Privacy Rights Act] is the thing we should be training our focus on because it underpins everything that kids can do on social media and every predation that Big Tech can train on young children.” Politico Pro – Morning Technology: “ On the same page: One area of consensus was APRA’s data minimization standard [...] which requires a company to only collect the information that’s necessary to provide its services to users.  “Five out of the six witnesses Wednesday said data minimization is the most essential provision in APRA.  “This provision would be a shift from the current data collection model of 'notice and consent,' where companies can collect and use data for purposes disclosed in their privacy policies unless a person opts out.”  [...]  “APRA even came up when the discussion switched to bills about children’s safety online, including the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0). Companions to both bills have advanced out of the Senate Commerce Committee and are awaiting a Senate floor vote.” Washington Post: “House lawmakers pledged to take swift action on data privacy and children’s online safety at a key legislative hearing Wednesday.” [...] “Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee touted the breakthrough deal struck by Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) as a significant step forward in the debate over privacy protections. Several expressed confidence that Congress will finally get a national law on the books after years of false starts. “'I’m fired up. We’ve got to get this done,’ said Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis (R-Fla.), whose subcommittee held the hearing. ‘I’m fired up, too. […] We do need to get this done,’ echoed Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.).” The Verge: “Legislators are ‘fired up’ about what they see as an actual chance at passing comprehensive privacy reform.  “ We might really do it this time. “That was the takeaway that House lawmakers were eager to impart at a hearing in the Energy and Commerce subcommittee on innovation, data, and commerce (IDC). Comprehensive data privacy legislation is on the table yet again—but this time, it’s different.” [...] “Comprehensive privacy protection has been a shared bipartisan goal for years but has failed to become law due to disagreements on the finer points: Should they preempt state legislation that’s provided some baseline protections in the absence of federal ones? Should individual consumers have a private right of action to sue for violations of their data rights? “This is the closest that Congress has gotten to advancing comprehensive privacy legislation in some time.”  Read more coverage from Yahoo News , The National Desk , and Inside Radio . CLICK HERE to watch Chair Rodgers on NewsNation discussing the American Privacy Rights Act .