I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5117 

To ensure appropriate policies, planning, interagency coordination, and 

spectrum availability to support the Internet of Things. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 28, 2016 

Mr. PAULSEN (for himself and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To ensure appropriate policies, planning, interagency coordination, and spectrum availability 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 ‘‘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 grow10 ing number of connected and interconnected devices; 


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1 (2) estimates indicate that more than 

2 50,000,000,000 devices will be connected to the 

3 Internet by the year 2020; 

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

5 generate trillions of dollars in new economic activity 

6 around the world; 

7 (4) businesses across the country can develop 

8 new services and products, improve operations, sim9 plify logistics, cut costs, and pass savings on to con10 sumers by utilizing the Internet of Things and re11 lated innovations; 

12 (5) the United States leads the world in the de13 velopment of technologies that support the Internet, 

14 and the United States technology sector is well-posi15 tioned to lead in the development of technologies for 

16 the Internet of Things; 

17 (6) the United States Government can imple18 ment this technology to better deliver services to the 

19 public; and 

20 (7) the United States Senate unanimously 

21 passed Senate Resolution 110, 114th Congress, 

22 agreed to March 24, 2015, calling for a national 

23 strategy for the development of the Internet of 

24 Things. 


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1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con2 gress that policies governing the Internet of Things should 

3 maximize the potential and development of the Internet 

4 of Things to benefit all stakeholders, including businesses, 

5 governments, and consumers. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON9 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con10 gress’’ means— 

11 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

12 and Transportation of the Senate; and 

13 (B) the Committee on Energy and Com14 merce of the House of Representatives. 

15 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

16 means the Federal Communications Commission. 

17 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

18 the Secretary of Commerce. 

19 (4) STEERING COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘steer20 ing committee’’ means the steering committee estab21 lished under section 4(e)(1). 

22 (5) WORKING GROUP.—The term ‘‘working 

23 group’’ means the working group convened under 

24 section 4(a). 


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1 SEC. 4. FEDERAL WORKING GROUP. 

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

3 working group of Federal stakeholders for the purpose of 

4 providing recommendations and a report to Congress re5 lated to the aspects of the Internet of Things described 

6 in subsection (b). 

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

8 (1) identify any Federal regulations, statutes, 

9 grant practices, budgetary or jurisdictional chal10 lenges, and other sector-specific policies that are in11 hibiting or could inhibit the development of the 

12 Internet of Things; 

13 (2) consider policies or programs that encour14 age and improve coordination among Federal agen15 cies with jurisdiction over the Internet of Things; 

16 (3) consider any findings or recommendations 

17 made by the steering committee and, where appro18 priate, act to implement those recommendations; and 

19 (4) examine— 

20 (A) how Federal agencies can benefit from 

21 utilizing the Internet of Things; 

22 (B) the current use of Internet of Things 

23 technology by Federal agencies; and 

24 (C) the preparedness and ability of Federal 

25 agencies to adopt Internet of Things technology 

26 in the future. 


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1 (c) AGENCY REPRESENTATIVES.—In convening the 

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

3 have discretion to appoint representatives and shall spe4 cifically consider seeking representation from— 

5 (1) the Department of Commerce, including— 

6 (A) the National Telecommunications and 

7 Information Administration; 

8 (B) the National Institute of Standards 

9 and Technology; and 

10 (C) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

11 Administration; 

12 (2) the Department of Transportation; 

13 (3) the National Science Foundation; 

14 (4) the Federal Communications Commission; 

15 (5) the Federal Trade Commission; and 

16 (6) the Office of Science and Technology Policy. 

17 (d) NONGOVERNMENTAL STAKEHOLDERS.—The 

18 working group shall consult with nongovernmental stake19 holders, including— 

20 (1) the steering committee; 

21 (2) information and communications technology 

22 manufacturers, suppliers, service providers, and ven23 dors; 

24 (3) subject matter experts representing indus25 trial sectors other than the technology sector that 


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1 can benefit from the Internet of Things, including 

2 the agriculture and health care sectors; 

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

4 (5) think tanks and academia; 

5 (6) nonprofit organizations and consumer 

6 groups; 

7 (7) rural stakeholders; and 

8 (8) other stakeholders with relevant expertise, 

9 as determined by the Secretary. 

10 (e) STEERING COMMITTEE.— 

11 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 

12 within the Department of Commerce a steering com13 mittee to advise the working group. 

14 (2) DUTIES.—The steering committee shall ad15 vise the working group with regard to— 

16 (A) the identification of any Federal regu17 lations, statutes, grant practices, programs, 

18 budgetary or jurisdictional challenges, and 

19 other sector-specific policies that are inhibiting 

20 or could inhibit the development of the Internet 

21 of Things; 

22 (B) whether adequate spectrum is available 

23 to support the growing Internet of Things and 

24 what legal or regulatory barriers may exist to 

25 providing any spectrum needed in the future; 


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1 (C) policies or programs that promote or 

2 are related to the privacy of individuals who use 

3 or are affected by the Internet of Things; 

4 (D) policies or programs that may enhance 

5 the security of the Internet of Things; 

6 (E) policies or programs that may protect 

7 users of the Internet of Things; 

8 (F) policies or programs that may encour9 age coordination among Federal agencies with 

10 jurisdiction over the Internet of Things; and 

11 (G) 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 the Federal Gov18 ernment with expertise relating to the Internet of 

19 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 agriculture and health care sec2 tors; 

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

4 (D) think tanks and academia; 

5 (E) nonprofits and consumer groups; 

6 (F) rural stakeholders; and 

7 (G) other stakeholders with relevant exper8 tise, as determined by the Secretary. 

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

10 date of enactment of this Act, the steering com11 mittee shall submit to the working group a report 

12 that includes any findings or recommendations of 

13 the steering committee. 

14 (5) INDEPENDENT ADVICE.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The steering committee 

16 shall set its own agenda in carrying out its du17 ties under paragraph (2). 

18 (B) SUGGESTIONS.—The working group 

19 may suggest topics or items for the steering 

20 committee to study, and the steering committee 

21 shall take such suggestions into consideration in 

22 carrying out its duties. 

23 (C) REPORT.—The steering committee 

24 shall ensure that the report submitted under 


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1 paragraph (4) is the result of the independent 

2 judgment of the steering committee. 

3 (6) TERMINATION.—The steering committee 

4 shall terminate on the date on which the working 

5 group submits the report under subsection (f) un6 less, on or before that date, the Secretary files a new 

7 charter for the steering committee in accordance 

8 with section 9(c) of the Federal Advisory Committee 

9 Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

10 (f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 18 

11 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the work12 ing group shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

13 Congress a report that includes— 

14 (1) the findings and recommendations of the 

15 working group with respect to the duties of the 

16 working group under subsection (b); 

17 (2) the report submitted by the steering com18 mittee under subsection (e)(4), as the report was re19 ceived by the working group; 

20 (3) recommendations for action or reasons for 

21 inaction, as applicable, on each recommendation 

22 made by the steering committee in the report sub23 mitted under subsection (e)(4); and 

24 (4) an accounting of any progress made by 

25 Federal agencies to implement recommendations 


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1 made by the working group or the steering com2 mittee. 

3 SEC. 5. ASSESSING SPECTRUM NEEDS. 

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

5 with the National Telecommunications and Information 

6 Administration, shall issue a notice of inquiry seeking pub7 lic comment on the current and future spectrum needs of 

8 the Internet of Things. 

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

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

11 that consider and evaluate— 

12 (1) whether adequate spectrum is available to 

13 support the growing Internet of Things; 

14 (2) what regulatory barriers may exist to pro15 viding any needed spectrum for the Internet of 

16 Things; and 

17 (3) what the role of licensed and unlicensed 

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

19 of Things. 

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

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

22 the appropriate committees of Congress a report summa23 rizing the comments submitted in response to the notice 

24 of inquiry issued under subsection (a). 

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