Blockchain Promotion Act of 2019

II Calendar No. 373 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 553 [Report No. 116–177] To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a working group to rec- ommend to Congress a definition of blockchain technology, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 26, 2019 Mr. YOUNG (for himself and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation DECEMBER 17, 2019 Reported by Mr. WICKER, with amendments [Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a working group to recommend to Congress a definition of blockchain technology, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S553.RS S553 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 553 RS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Blockchain Promotion 2 Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. WORKING GROUP TO RECOMMEND DEFINITION OF 4 BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY. 5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 6 (1) the term ‘‘Federal agency’’ has the meaning 7 given the term ‘‘agency’’ in section 551 of title 5, 8 United States Code; and 9 (2) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 10 of Commerce. 11 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es- 13 tablish within the Department of Commerce a working 14 group to be known as the ‘‘Blockchain Working Group’’. 15 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Blockchain Working 17 Group shall be composed of members, the number of 18 whom shall be determined by the Secretary, and who 19 shall be appointed in accordance with paragraph (2). 20 (2) APPOINTMENT.— 21 (A) REPRESENTATIVES OF FEDERAL 22 AGENCIES.— 23 (i) DESIGNATION OF FEDERAL AGEN- 24 CIES.—The Secretary shall designate Fed- 25 eral agencies to be represented in the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S553.RS S553 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 553 RS Blockchain Working Group, as the Sec- 1 retary considers appropriate to ensure rep- 2 resentation of a cross-section of Federal 3 agencies that could use, or benefit from, 4 blockchain technology. 5 (ii) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.— 6 The head of each Federal agency des- 7 ignated under clause (i) shall appoint an 8 officer or employee of the Federal agency 9 to serve as a member of the Blockchain 10 Working Group. 11 (B) REPRESENTATIVES OF NONGOVERN- 12 MENTAL STAKEHOLDERS.— 13 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 14 appoint representatives of nongovern- 15 mental stakeholders with respect to 16 blockchain technology to serve as members 17 of the Blockchain Working Group. 18 (ii) REPRESENTATION OF CERTAIN 19 STAKEHOLDERS REQUIRED.—The members 20 of the Blockchain Working Group ap- 21 pointed under clause (i) shall include rep- 22 resentatives of— 23 (I) representatives of information 24 and communications technology man- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S553.RS S553 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 553 RS ufacturers, suppliers, software pro- 1 viders, service providers, and vendors; 2 (II) subject matter experts rep- 3 resenting industrial sectors, other 4 than the technology sector, that the 5 Secretary determines could use, or 6 benefit from, blockchain technology; 7 (III) representatives of small, me- 8 dium, and large businesses; 9 (IV) individuals and representa- 10 tives of institutions engaged in aca- 11 demic research relating to blockchain 12 technology; 13 (V) representatives of nonprofit 14 organizations and consumer advocacy 15 groups engaged in activities relating 16 to blockchain technology; and 17 (VI) representatives of rural and 18 urban stakeholders. 19 (C) NO PAY FOR MEMBERS.—A member of 20 the Blockchain Working Group shall serve with- 21 out pay. 22 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 24 the date of enactment of this Act, the Blockchain 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S553.RS S553 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 553 RS Working Group shall submit to Congress a report 1 that contains— 2 (A) a recommended definition of the dis- 3 tributed ledger technology commonly known as 4 ‘‘blockchain technology’’; and 5 (B) recommendations for— 6 (i) a study to be conducted by the As- 7 sistant Secretary of Commerce for Com- 8 munications and Information, in coordina- 9 tion with the Federal Communications 10 Commission, on the impact of blockchain 11 technology on electromagnetic spectrum 12 policy; 13 (ii) a study to examine a range of po- 14 tential applications, including nonfinancial 15 applications, for blockchain technology; 16 and 17 (iii) opportunities for Federal agencies 18 to use blockchain technology. 19 (2) CONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS IN 20 NIST INTERNAL REPORT 8202.—In making rec- 21 ommendations under paragraph (1), the Blockchain 22 Working Group may consider any recommendations 23 contained in National Institute of Standards and 24 Technology Internal Report 8202, entitled 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S553.RS S553 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 553 RS ‘‘Blockchain Technology Overview’’ and published in 1 October 2018. 2 (e) TERMINATION.—The Blockchain Working Group 3 shall terminate on the date on which the Blockchain Work- 4 ing Group submits to Congress the report under subsection 5 (d)(1). 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S553.RS S553 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S553.RS S553 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS Calendar No. 373 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 553 [Report No. 116–177] A BILL To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a working group to recommend to Congress a defi- nition of blockchain technology, and for other purposes. DECEMBER 17, 2019 Reported with amendments VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\S553.RS S553 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS