National R & D Strategy for Distributed Ledger Technology Act of 2022
Bill: H.R.8065 | Sponsor: Rep. Waltz, Michael (R-FL)
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
National R & D Strategy for Distributed Ledger Technology Act of 2022
This bill provides for a national strategy and research and development regarding technologies related to distributed ledgers (e.g., blockchain or Bitcoin). A distributed ledger is a ledger that is shared across and synchronized between a set of distributed nodes (i.e., devices or processes) in a network that store a complete or partial replica of the ledger and meet other requirements.
The Office of Science and Technology Policy must develop a national strategy for the research and development of distributed ledger technologies and their applications, including applications of public and permissionless distributed ledgers. The office must coordinate with the National Science and Technology Council and other relevant federal agencies, as appropriate, on the strategy. The national strategy shall include
The National Science Foundation shall make competitive awards to institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations (or their consortia) to support research, including interdisciplinary research, on distributed ledger technologies and their applications.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology may carry out an applied research project to study and demonstrate the potential benefits and unique capabilities of distributed ledger technologies.

To authorize the development of a national strategy for the research 
     and development of distributed ledger technologies and their 
 applications, to authorize awards to support research on distributed 
ledger technologies and their applications, and to authorize an applied 
    research project on distributed ledger technologies in commerce.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National R & D Strategy for 
Distributed Ledger Technology Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Director.--Except as otherwise expressly provided, the 
        term ``Director'' means the Director of the Office of Science 
        and Technology Policy.
            (2) Distributed ledger.--The term ``distributed ledger'' 
        means a ledger that--
                    (A) is shared across a set of distributed nodes, 
                which are devices or processes, that participate in a 
                network and store a complete or partial replica of the 
                ledger;
                    (B) is synchronized between the nodes;
                    (C) has data appended to it by following the 
                ledger's specified consensus mechanism;
                    (D) may be accessible to anyone (public) or 
                restricted to a subset of participants (private); and
                    (E) may require participants to have authorization 
                to perform certain actions (permissioned) or require no 
                authorization (permissionless).
            (3) Distributed ledger technology.--The term ``distributed 
        ledger technology'' means technology that enables the operation 
        and use of distributed ledgers.
            (4) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1001).
            (5) Relevant congressional committees.--The term ``relevant 
        congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
                of the House of Representatives.
            (6) Smart contract.--The term ``smart contract'' means a 
        computer program stored in a distributed ledger system that is 
        executed when certain predefined conditions are satisfied and 
        wherein the outcome of any execution of the program may be 
        recorded on the distributed ledger.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGY R&D STRATEGY.

    (a) In General.--The Director, or a designee of the Director, 
shall, in coordination with the National Science and Technology 
Council, and the heads of such other relevant Federal agencies and 
entities as the Director considers appropriate, which may include the 
National Academies, and in consultation with such nongovernmental 
entities as the Director considers appropriate, develop a national 
strategy for the research and development of distributed ledger 
technologies and their applications, including applications of public 
and permissionless distributed ledgers. In developing the national 
strategy, the Director shall consider the following:
            (1) Current efforts and coordination by Federal agencies to 
        invest in the research and development of distributed ledger 
        technologies and their applications, including through programs 
        like the Small Business Innovation Research program, the Small 
        Business Technology Transfer program, and the National Science 
        Foundation's Innovation Corps programs.
            (2)(A) The potential benefits and risks of applications of 
        distributed ledger technologies across different industry 
        sectors, including their potential to--
                    (i) lower transactions costs and facilitate new 
                types of commercial transactions;
                    (ii) protect privacy and increase individuals' data 
                sovereignty;
                    (iii) reduce friction to the interoperability of 
                digital systems;
                    (iv) increase the accessibility, auditability, 
                security, efficiency, and transparency of digital 
                services;
                    (v) increase market competition in the provision of 
                digital services;
                    (vi) enable dynamic contracting and contract 
                execution through smart contracts;
                    (vii) enable participants to collaborate in 
                trustless and disintermediated environments;
                    (viii) enable the operations and governance of 
                distributed organizations;
                    (ix) create new ownership models for digital items; 
                and
                    (x) increase participation of populations 
                historically underrepresented in the technology, 
                business, and financial sectors.
            (B) In consideration of the potential risks of applications 
        of distributed ledger technologies under subparagraph (A), the 
        Director shall take into account, where applicable--
                    (i) additional risks that may emerge from 
                distributed ledger technologies, as identified in 
                reports submitted to the President pursuant to 
                Executive Order 14067, that may be addressed by 
                research and development;
                    (ii) software vulnerabilities in distributed ledger 
                technologies and smart contracts;
                    (iii) limited consumer literacy on engaging with 
                applications of distributed ledger technologies in a 
                secure way;
                    (iv) the use of distributed ledger technologies in 
                illicit finance and their use in combating illicit 
                finance;
                    (v) manipulative, deceptive, and fraudulent 
                practices that harm consumers engaging with 
                applications of distributed ledger technologies;
                    (vi) the implications of different consensus 
                mechanisms for digital ledgers and governance and 
                accountability mechanisms for applications of 
                distributed ledger technologies, which may include 
                decentralized networks;
                    (vii) foreign activities in the development and 
                deployment of distributed ledger technologies and their 
                associated tools and infrastructure; and
                    (viii) environmental, sustainability, and economic 
                impacts of the computational resources required for 
                distributed ledger technologies.
            (3) Potential uses for distributed ledger technologies that 
        could improve the operations and delivery of services by 
        Federal agencies, taking into account the potential of digital 
        ledger technologies to--
                    (A) improve the efficiency and effectiveness of 
                privacy-preserving data sharing among Federal agencies 
                and with State, local, territorial, and Tribal 
                governments;
                    (B) promote government transparency by improving 
                data sharing with the public;
                    (C) introduce or mitigate risks that may threaten 
                individuals' rights or broad access to Federal 
                services;
                    (D) automate and modernize processes for assessing 
                and ensuring regulatory compliance; and
                    (E) facilitate broad access to financial services 
                for underserved and underbanked populations.
            (4) Ways to support public and private sector dialogue on 
        areas of research that could enhance the efficiency, 
        scalability, interoperability, security, and privacy of 
        applications using distributed ledger technologies.
            (5) The need for increased coordination of the public and 
        private sectors on the development of voluntary standards in 
        order to promote research and development, including standards 
        regarding security, smart contracts, cryptographic protocols, 
        virtual routing and forwarding, interoperability, zero-
        knowledge proofs, and privacy, for distributed ledger 
        technologies and their applications.
            (6) Applications of distributed ledger technologies that 
        could positively benefit society but that receive relatively 
        little private sector investment.
            (7) The United States position in global leadership and 
        competitiveness across research, development, and deployment of 
        distributed ledger technologies.
    (b) Consultation.--
            (1) In general.--In carrying out the Director's duties 
        under this section, the Director shall consult with the 
        following:
                    (A) Private industry.
                    (B) Institutions of higher education, including 
                minority-serving institutions.
                    (C) Nonprofit organizations, including foundations 
                dedicated to supporting distributed ledger technologies 
                and their applications.
                    (D) State governments.
                    (E) Such other persons as the Director considers 
                appropriate.
            (2) Representation.--The Director shall ensure 
        consultations with the following:
                    (A) Rural and urban stakeholders from across the 
                Nation.
                    (B) Small, medium, and large businesses.
                    (C) Subject matter experts representing multiple 
                industrial sectors.
                    (D) A demographically diverse set of stakeholders.
    (c) Coordination.--In carrying out this section, the Director 
shall, for purposes of avoiding duplication of activities, consult, 
cooperate, and coordinate with the programs and policies of other 
relevant Federal agencies, including the interagency process outlined 
in section 3 of Executive Order 14067 (87 Fed. Reg. 14143; relating 
ensuring responsible development of digital assets).
    (d) National Strategy.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to the relevant 
congressional committees and the President a national strategy that 
includes the following:
            (1) Priorities for the research and development of 
        distributed ledger technologies and their applications.
            (2) Plans to support public and private sector investment 
        and partnerships in research and technology development for 
        societally beneficial applications of distributed ledger 
        technologies.
            (3) Plans to mitigate the risks of distributed ledger 
        technologies and their applications.
            (4) An identification of additional resources, 
        administrative action, or legislative action recommended to 
        assist with the implementation of such strategy.
    (e) Research and Development Funding.--The Director shall, as the 
Director considers necessary, consult with the Director of the Office 
of Management and Budget and with the heads of such other elements of 
the Executive Office of the President as the Director considers 
appropriate, to ensure that the recommendations and priorities with 
respect to research and development funding, as expressed in the 
national strategy developed under this section, are incorporated in the 
development of annual budget requests for Federal research agencies.

SEC. 4. DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH.

    (a) In General.--The Director of the National Science Foundation 
shall make awards, on a competitive basis, to institutions of higher 
education, including minority-serving institutions, or nonprofit 
organizations (or consortia of such institutions or organizations) to 
support research, including interdisciplinary research, on distributed 
ledger technologies, their applications, and other issues that impact 
or are caused by distributed ledger technologies, which may include 
research on--
            (1) the implications on trust, transparency, privacy, 
        accessibility, accountability, and energy consumption of 
        different consensus mechanisms and hardware choices, and 
        approaches for addressing these implications;
            (2) approaches for improving the security, privacy, 
        resiliency, interoperability, performance, and scalability of 
        distributed ledger technologies and their applications, which 
        may include decentralized networks;
            (3) approaches for identifying and addressing 
        vulnerabilities and improving the performance and expressive 
        power of smart contracts;
            (4) the implications of quantum computing on applications 
        of distributed ledger technologies, including long-term 
        protection of sensitive information (such as medical or digital 
        property), and techniques to address them;
            (5) game theory, mechanism design, and economics 
        underpinning and facilitating the operations and governance of 
        decentralized networks enabled by distributed ledger 
        technologies;
            (6) the social behaviors of participants in decentralized 
        networks enabled by distributed ledger technologies;
            (7) human-centric design approaches to make distributed 
        ledger technologies and their applications more usable and 
        accessible;
            (8) use cases for distributed ledger technologies across 
        various industry sectors and government, including applications 
        pertaining to--
                    (A) digital identity, including trusted identity 
                and identity management;
                    (B) digital property rights;
                    (C) delivery of public services;
                    (D) supply chain transparency;
                    (E) medical information management;
                    (F) inclusive financial services;
                    (G) community governance;
                    (H) charitable giving;
                    (I) public goods funding;
                    (J) digital credentials;
                    (K) regulatory compliance;
                    (L) infrastructure resilience, including against 
                natural disasters; and
                    (M) peer-to-peer transactions; and
            (9) the social, behavioral, and economic implications 
        associated with the growth of applications of distributed 
        ledger technologies, including decentralization in business, 
        financial, and economic systems.
    (b) Accelerating Innovation.--The Director of the National Science 
Foundation shall consider continuing to support startups that are in 
need of funding, would develop in and contribute to the economy of the 
United States, leverage distributed ledger technologies, have the 
potential to positively benefit society, and have the potential for 
commercial viability, through programs like the Small Business 
Innovation Research program, the Small Business Technology Transfer 
program, and, as appropriate, other programs that promote broad and 
diverse participation.
    (c) Consideration of National Distributed Ledger Technology 
Research and Development Strategy.--In making awards under subsection 
(a), the Director of the National Science Foundation shall take into 
account the national strategy, as described in section 3(d).
    (d) Fundamental Research.--The Director of the National Science 
Foundation shall consider continuing to make awards supporting 
fundamental research in areas related to distributed ledger 
technologies and their applications, such as applied cryptography and 
distributed systems.

SEC. 5. DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGY APPLIED RESEARCH PROJECT.

    (a) Applied Research Project.--Subject to the availability of 
appropriations, the Director of the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology may carry out an applied research project to study and 
demonstrate the potential benefits and unique capabilities of 
distributed ledger technologies.
    (b) Activities.--In carrying out the applied research project, the 
Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall--
            (1) identify potential applications of distributed ledger 
        technologies, including those that could benefit activities at 
        the Department of Commerce or at other Federal agencies, 
        considering applications that could--
                    (A) improve the privacy and interoperability of 
                digital identity and access management solutions;
                    (B) increase the integrity and transparency of 
                supply chains through the secure and limited sharing of 
                relevant supplier information;
                    (C) facilitate increased interoperability across 
                healthcare information systems and consumer control 
                over the movement of their medical data;
                    (D) facilitate broader participation in distributed 
                ledger technologies of populations historically 
                underrepresented in technology, business, and financial 
                sectors; or
                    (E) be of benefit to the public or private sectors, 
                as determined by the Director in consultation with 
                relevant stakeholders;
            (2) solicit and provide the opportunity for public comment 
        relevant to potential projects;
            (3) consider, in the selection of a project, whether the 
        project addresses a pressing need not already addressed by 
        another organization or Federal agency;
            (4) establish plans to mitigate potential risks, including 
        those outlined in section 3(a)(2)(B), if applicable, of 
        potential projects;
            (5) produce an example solution leveraging distributed 
        ledger technologies for 1 of the applications identified in 
        paragraph (1);
            (6) hold a competitive process to select private sector 
        partners, if they are engaged, to support the implementation of 
        the example solution;
            (7) consider hosting the project at the National 
        Cybersecurity Center of Excellence; and
            (8) ensure that cybersecurity best practices consistent 
        with the Cybersecurity Framework of the National Institute of 
        Standards and Technology are demonstrated in the project.
    (c) Briefings to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Director of the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology shall offer a briefing to the relevant 
congressional committees on the progress and current findings from the 
project under this section.
    (d) Public Report.--Not later than 12 months after the completion 
of the project under this section, the Director of the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology shall make public a report on the 
results and findings from the project.
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