I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8115 

To ensure appropriate prioritization, spectrum planning, and interagency 

coordination to support the Internet of Things. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 25, 2020 

Mr. WELCH (for himself and Mrs. RODGERS of Washington) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To ensure appropriate prioritization, spectrum planning, and 

interagency coordination to support the Internet of Things. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Developing Innovation 

5 and Growing the Internet of Things Act’’ or the ‘‘DIGIT 

6 Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

9 (1) the Internet of Things refers to the growing 

10 number of connected and interconnected devices; 


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1 (2) estimates indicate that more than 

2 125,000,000,000 devices will be connected to the 

3 internet by 2030; 

4 (3) the Internet of Things has the potential to 

5 generate trillions of dollars in new economic activity 

6 around the world in the transportation, energy, agri7 culture, manufacturing, and health care sectors and 

8 in other sectors that are critical to the growth of the 

9 gross domestic product of the United States; 

10 (4) businesses across the United States can de11 velop new services and products, improve the effi12 ciency of operations and logistics, cut costs, improve 

13 worker and public safety, and pass savings on to 

14 consumers by utilizing the Internet of Things and 

15 related innovations; 

16 (5) the Internet of Things will— 

17 (A) be vital in furthering innovation and 

18 the development of emerging technologies; and 

19 (B) play a key role in developing artificial 

20 intelligence and advanced computing capabili21 ties; 

22 (6) the United States leads the world in the de23 velopment of technologies that support the internet, 

24 the United States technology sector is well-posi25 tioned to lead in the development of technologies for 


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1 the Internet of Things, and the appropriate 

2 prioritization of a national strategy with respect to 

3 the Internet of Things would strengthen that posi4 tion; 

5 (7) the Federal Government can implement this 

6 technology to better deliver services to the public; 

7 and 

8 (8) the Senate unanimously passed Senate Res9 olution 110, 114th Congress, agreed to March 24, 

10 2015, calling for a national strategy for the develop11 ment of the Internet of Things. 

12 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con13 gress that policies governing the Internet of Things 

14 should— 

15 (1) promote solutions with respect to the Inter16 net of Things that are secure, scalable, interoper17 able, industry-driven, and standards-based; and 

18 (2) maximize the development and deployment 

19 of the Internet of Things to benefit all stakeholders, 

20 including businesses, governments, and consumers. 

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

24 means the Federal Communications Commission. 


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1 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Commerce. 

3 (3) STEERING COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘steer4 ing committee’’ means the steering committee estab5 lished under section 4(e)(1). 

6 (4) WORKING GROUP.—The term ‘‘working 

7 group’’ means the working group convened under 

8 section 4(a). 

9 SEC. 4. FEDERAL WORKING GROUP. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall convene a 

11 working group of Federal stakeholders for the purpose of 

12 providing recommendations and a report to Congress re13 lating to the aspects of the Internet of Things described 

14 in subsection (b). 

15 (b) DUTIES.—The working group shall— 

16 (1) identify any Federal regulations, statutes, 

17 grant practices, budgetary or jurisdictional chal18 lenges, and other sector-specific policies that are in19 hibiting, or could inhibit, the development or deploy20 ment of the Internet of Things; 

21 (2) identify any Federal regulations, statutes, 

22 and activities that have benefitted or could benefit 

23 the development or deployment of the Internet of 

24 Things; 


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1 (3) consider policies or programs that encour2 age and improve coordination among Federal agen3 cies that have responsibilities that are relevant to 

4 the objectives of this Act; 

5 (4) consider any findings or recommendations 

6 made by the steering committee and, where appro7 priate, act to implement those recommendations; 

8 (5) examine— 

9 (A) how Federal agencies can benefit from 

10 utilizing the Internet of Things; 

11 (B) the use of Internet of Things tech12 nology by Federal agencies as of the date on 

13 which the working group performs the examina14 tion; 

15 (C) the preparedness and ability of Federal 

16 agencies to adopt Internet of Things technology 

17 as of the date on which the working group per18 forms the examination and in the future; and 

19 (D) any additional security measures that 

20 Federal agencies may need to take to— 

21 (i) safely and securely use the Inter22 net of Things, including measures that en23 sure the security of critical infrastructure; 

24 and 


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1 (ii) enhance the resiliency of Federal 

2 systems against cyber threats to the Inter3 net of Things; 

4 (6) in carrying out the examinations required 

5 under clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (5)(D), en6 sure to the maximum extent possible the coordina7 tion of the current and future activities of the Fed8 eral Government relating to security with respect to 

9 the Internet of Things; and 

10 (7) examine any additional security measures 

11 that Federal agencies may need to take to protect 

12 users of Internet of Things technology, especially 

13 members of more vulnerable populations (including 

14 children and older individuals). 

15 (c) AGENCY REPRESENTATIVES.—In convening the 

16 working group under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 

17 have discretion to appoint representatives from Federal 

18 agencies and departments as appropriate and shall specifi19 cally consider seeking representation from— 

20 (1) the Department of Commerce, including— 

21 (A) the National Telecommunications and 

22 Information Administration; 

23 (B) the National Institute of Standards 

24 and Technology; and 


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1 (C) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

2 Administration; 

3 (2) the Department of Transportation; 

4 (3) the Department of Homeland Security; 

5 (4) the Office of Management and Budget; 

6 (5) the National Science Foundation; 

7 (6) the Commission; 

8 (7) the Federal Trade Commission; 

9 (8) the Office of Science and Technology Policy; 

10 (9) the Department of Energy; and 

11 (10) the Federal Energy Regulatory Commis12 sion. 

13 (d) NONGOVERNMENTAL STAKEHOLDERS.—The 

14 working group shall consult with nongovernmental stake15 holders with expertise relating to the Internet of Things, 

16 including— 

17 (1) the steering committee; 

18 (2) information and communications technology 

19 manufacturers, suppliers, service providers, and ven20 dors; 

21 (3) subject matter experts representing indus22 trial sectors other than the technology sector that 

23 can benefit from the Internet of Things, including 

24 the transportation, energy, agriculture, and health 

25 care sectors; 


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1 (4) small, medium, and large businesses; 

2 (5) think tanks and academia; 

3 (6) nonprofit organizations and consumer 

4 groups; 

5 (7) security experts; 

6 (8) rural stakeholders; and 

7 (9) other stakeholders with relevant expertise, 

8 as determined by the Secretary. 

9 (e) STEERING COMMITTEE.— 

10 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 

11 within the Department of Commerce a steering com12 mittee to advise the working group. 

13 (2) DUTIES.—The steering committee shall ad14 vise the working group with respect to— 

15 (A) the identification of any Federal regu16 lations, statutes, grant practices, budgetary or 

17 jurisdictional challenges, and other sector-spe18 cific policies that are inhibiting, or could in19 hibit, the development or deployment of the 

20 Internet of Things; 

21 (B) the identification of any Federal regu22 lations, statutes, and activities that have bene23 fitted or could benefit the development or de24 ployment of the Internet of Things; 


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1 (C) situations in which the use of the 

2 Internet of Things is likely to deliver significant 

3 and scalable economic and societal benefits to 

4 the United States, including benefits from or 

5 to— 

6 (i) smart traffic and transit tech7 nologies; 

8 (ii) augmented logistics and supply 

9 chains; 

10 (iii) sustainable infrastructure; 

11 (iv) precision agriculture; 

12 (v) environmental monitoring; 

13 (vi) public safety; and 

14 (vii) health care; 

15 (D) policies, programs, or multi-stake16 holder activities that— 

17 (i) promote or are related to the pri18 vacy of users of Internet of Things tech19 nology, especially members of more vulner20 able populations (including children and 

21 older individuals); 

22 (ii) may enhance the security of the 

23 Internet of Things, including the security 

24 of critical infrastructure; 


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1 (iii) may protect users of the Internet 

2 of Things, especially members of more vul3 nerable populations (including children and 

4 older individuals); and 

5 (iv) may encourage coordination 

6 among Federal agencies with jurisdiction 

7 over the Internet of Things; 

8 (E) the opportunities and challenges asso9 ciated with the use of Internet of Things tech10 nology by small businesses; and 

11 (F) any international proceeding, inter12 national negotiation, or other international mat13 ter affecting the Internet of Things to which 

14 the United States is or should be a party. 

15 (3) MEMBERSHIP.—The Secretary shall appoint 

16 to the steering committee members representing a 

17 wide range of stakeholders outside of the Federal 

18 Government with expertise relating to the Internet 

19 of Things, including— 

20 (A) information and communications tech21 nology manufacturers, suppliers, service pro22 viders, and vendors; 

23 (B) subject matter experts representing in24 dustrial sectors other than the technology sector 

25 that can benefit from the Internet of Things, 


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1 including the transportation, energy, agri2 culture, and health care sectors; 

3 (C) small, medium, and large businesses; 

4 (D) think tanks and academia; 

5 (E) nonprofit organizations and consumer 

6 groups; 

7 (F) security experts; 

8 (G) rural stakeholders; and 

9 (H) other stakeholders with relevant exper10 tise, as determined by the Secretary. 

11 (4) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the steering com13 mittee shall submit to the working group a report 

14 that includes any findings or recommendations of 

15 the steering committee. 

16 (5) INDEPENDENT ADVICE.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The steering committee 

18 shall set the agenda of the steering committee 

19 in carrying out the duties of the steering com20 mittee under paragraph (2). 

21 (B) SUGGESTIONS.—The working group 

22 may suggest topics or items for the steering 

23 committee to study, and the steering committee 

24 shall take those suggestions into consideration 


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1 in carrying out the duties of the steering com2 mittee. 

3 (C) REPORT.—The steering committee 

4 shall ensure that the report submitted under 

5 paragraph (4) is the result of the independent 

6 judgment of the steering committee. 

7 (6) NO COMPENSATION FOR MEMBERS.—A 

8 member of the steering committee shall serve with9 out compensation. 

10 (7) TERMINATION.—The steering committee 

11 shall terminate on the date on which the working 

12 group submits the report under subsection (f). 

13 (f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

15 after the date of enactment of this Act, the working 

16 group shall submit to Congress a report that in17 cludes— 

18 (A) the findings and recommendations of 

19 the working group with respect to the duties of 

20 the working group under subsection (b); 

21 (B) the report submitted by the steering 

22 committee under subsection (e)(4), as the re23 port was received by the working group; 

24 (C) recommendations for action or reasons 

25 for inaction, as applicable, with respect to each 


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1 recommendation made by the steering com2 mittee in the report submitted under subsection 

3 (e)(4); and 

4 (D) an accounting of any progress made 

5 by Federal agencies to implement recommenda6 tions made by the working group or the steer7 ing committee. 

8 (2) COPY OF REPORT.—The working group 

9 shall submit a copy of the report described in para10 graph (1) to— 

11 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

12 and Transportation and the Committee on En13 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate; 

14 (B) the Committee on Energy and Com15 merce of the House of Representatives; and 

16 (C) any other committee of Congress, upon 

17 request to the working group. 

18 SEC. 5. ASSESSING SPECTRUM NEEDS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, in consultation 

20 with the National Telecommunications and Information 

21 Administration, shall issue a notice of inquiry seeking pub22 lic comment on the current, as of the date of enactment 

23 of this Act, and future spectrum needs to enable better 

24 connectivity relating to the Internet of Things. 


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1 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In issuing the notice of inquiry 

2 under subsection (a), the Commission shall seek comments 

3 that consider and evaluate— 

4 (1) whether adequate spectrum is available, or 

5 is planned for allocation, for commercial wireless 

6 services that could support the growing Internet of 

7 Things; 

8 (2) if adequate spectrum is not available for the 

9 purposes described in paragraph (1), how to ensure 

10 that adequate spectrum is available for increased de11 mand with respect to the Internet of Things; 

12 (3) what regulatory barriers may exist to pro13 viding any needed spectrum that would support uses 

14 relating to the Internet of Things; and 

15 (4) what the role of unlicensed and licensed 

16 spectrum is and will be in the growth of the Internet 

17 of Things. 

18 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

19 of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to 

20 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

21 of the Senate, the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

22 of the House of Representatives, and each member of the 

23 working group a report that summarizes the comments 


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1 submitted in response to the notice of inquiry issued under 

2 subsection (a). 

Æ 


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