Improving Digital Identity Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8215 To establish a governmentwide approach to improving digital identity, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 11, 2020 Mr. FOSTER (for himself, Mr. KATKO, Mr. LANGEVIN, and Mr. LOUDERMILK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to the Committees on Science, Space, and Technology, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish a governmentwide approach to improving digital identity, 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving Digital 4 Identity Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8215.IH H8215 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8215 IH (1) The lack of an easy, affordable, and reliable 1 way for organizations, businesses, and government 2 agencies to identify whether an individual is who 3 they claim to be online creates an attack vector that 4 is widely exploited by adversaries in cyberspace, and 5 precludes many high-value transactions from being 6 available online. 7 (2) Incidents of identity theft and identity 8 fraud continue to rise in the United States, where 9 more than 164,000,000 consumer records containing 10 personally identifiable information were breached in 11 2019, increasing the total number of data breaches 12 by 17 percent from the previous year. 13 (3) In 2019, losses resulting from identity 14 fraud amounted to $16,900,000,000. 15 (4) In 2019, the Director of the Treasury De- 16 partment Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 17 stated, ‘‘The abuse of personally identifiable infor- 18 mation, and other building blocks of identity, is a 19 key enabler behind much of the fraud and cyber- 20 crime affecting our nation today.’’ 21 (5) Trustworthy digital identity solutions can 22 help under-banked and unbanked individuals better 23 access to digital financial services through innovative 24 delivery channels that promote financial inclusion. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8215.IH H8215 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8215 IH (6) The inadequacy of current digital identity 1 solutions degrades security and privacy for all Amer- 2 icans, and next generation solutions are needed that 3 improve both security and privacy. 4 (7) Government entities, as authoritative 5 issuers of identity in the United States, are uniquely 6 positioned to deliver critical components that ad- 7 dress deficiencies in our digital identity infrastruc- 8 ture and augment private sector digital identity and 9 authentication solutions. 10 (8) State governments are particularly well 11 suited to play a role in enhancing digital identity so- 12 lutions used by both the public and private sectors, 13 given the role of State governments as the issuers of 14 driver’s licenses and other identity documents com- 15 monly used today. 16 (9) The private sector drives much of the inno- 17 vation around digital identity in the United States 18 and has an important role to play in delivering dig- 19 ital identity solutions. 20 (10) The 2016 bipartisan Commission on En- 21 hancing National Cybersecurity called for the Fed- 22 eral government to ‘‘create an interagency task force 23 directed to find secure, user-friendly, privacy-centric 24 ways in which agencies can serve as one authori- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8215.IH H8215 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8215 IH tative source to validate identity attributes in the 1 broader identity market. This action would enable 2 government agencies and the private sector to drive 3 significant risk out of new account openings and 4 other high-risk, high-value online services, and it 5 would help all citizens more easily and securely en- 6 gage in transactions online.’’ 7 (11) The public and private sectors should col- 8 laborate to deliver solutions that promote confidence, 9 privacy, choice, and innovation. 10 (12) It should be the policy of the Government 11 to use the authorities and capabilities of the Govern- 12 ment to enhance the security, reliability, privacy, 13 and convenience of digital identity solutions that 14 support and protect transactions between individ- 15 uals, government entities, and businesses, and that 16 enable Americans to prove who they are online. 17 SEC. 3. IMPROVING DIGITAL IDENTITY TASK FORCE. 18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 19 Executive Office of the President a task force to be known 20 as the ‘‘Improving Digital Identity Task Force’’ (in this 21 section referred to as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 22 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Task Force is to 23 establish a governmentwide effort to develop secure meth- 24 ods for Federal, State, and local agencies to validate iden- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8215.IH H8215 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8215 IH tity attributes to protect the privacy and security of indi- 1 viduals and support reliable, interoperable digital identity 2 verification in the public and private sectors. 3 (c) DIRECTOR.—The Task Force shall have a Direc- 4 tor who shall be appointed by the President. 5 (d) MEMBERSHIP.—The Task Force shall include the 6 following individuals or the designees of such individuals: 7 (1) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MEMBERSHIP.— 8 (A) The Secretary of the Treasury. 9 (B) The Secretary of Homeland Security. 10 (C) The Secretary of State. 11 (D) The Secretary of Education. 12 (E) The Director of the Office of Manage- 13 ment and Budget. 14 (F) The Commissioner of the Social Secu- 15 rity Administration. 16 (G) The Director of the National Institute 17 of Standards and Technology. 18 (H) The Administrator of General Serv- 19 ices. 20 (I) The heads of other Federal agencies 21 and offices who the President may designate or 22 invite. 23 (2) STATE GOVERNMENT MEMBERSHIP.—The 24 Task Force shall include 5 State government offi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8215.IH H8215 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8215 IH cials who represent State agencies that issue identity 1 credentials and who have knowledge of the systems 2 used to provide such credentials. Such officials shall 3 include the following: 4 (A) A member appointed by the Speaker of 5 the House of Representatives, in consultation 6 with the Chairman of the Committee on Over- 7 sight and Reform and the Chairman of the 8 Committee on Homeland Security of the House 9 of Representatives. 10 (B) A member appointed by the minority 11 leader of the House of Representatives, in con- 12 sultation with the Ranking Member of the Com- 13 mittee on Oversight and Reform and the Rank- 14 ing Member of the Committee on Homeland Se- 15 curity of the House of Representatives. 16 (C) A member appointed by the majority 17 leader of the Senate, in consultation with the 18 Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Secu- 19 rity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 20 (D) A member appointed by the minority 21 leader of the Senate, in consultation with the 22 Ranking Member of the Committee on Home- 23 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the 24 Senate. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8215.IH H8215 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8215 IH (E) A member appointed by the President. 1 (3) LOCAL GOVERNMENT MEMBERSHIP.—The 2 Task Force shall include 5 local government officials 3 who represent local agencies that issue identity cre- 4 dentials and who have knowledge of the systems 5 used to provide such credentials. Such officials shall 6 include the following: 7 (A) A member appointed by the Speaker of 8 the House of Representatives, in consultation 9 with the Chairman of the Committee on Over- 10 sight and Reform and Chairman of the Com- 11 mittee on Homeland Security of the House of 12 Representatives. 13 (B) A member appointed by the minority 14 leader of the House of Representatives, in con- 15 sultation with the Chairman of the Committee 16 on Oversight and Reform and the Chairman of 17 the Committee on Homeland Security of the 18 House of Representatives. 19 (C) A member appointed by the majority 20 leader of the Senate, in consultation with the 21 Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Secu- 22 rity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 23 (D) A member appointed by the minority 24 leader of the Senate, in consultation with the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8215.IH H8215 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8215 IH Ranking Member of the Committee on Home- 1 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the 2 Senate. 3 (E) A member appointed by the President. 4 (e) MEETINGS.—The Task Force shall convene at the 5 call of the Director. 6 (f) DUTIES.—The Task Force shall— 7 (1) identify Federal, State, and local agencies 8 that issue identity information or hold information 9 related to identifying an individual; 10 (2) assess restrictions with respect to the abili- 11 ties of such agencies to verify identity information 12 for other agencies and for nongovernmental organi- 13 zations; 14 (3) assess any necessary changes in statute, 15 regulation, or policy to address any restrictions de- 16 termined under paragraph (2); 17 (4) recommend a standards-based architecture 18 to enable agencies to provide services related to dig- 19 ital identity verification in a way that is secure, pro- 20 tects privacy, and is rooted in consumer consent; 21 (5) identify funding or resources needed to sup- 22 port such agencies that provide digital identity 23 verification, including a recommendation with re- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8215.IH H8215 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8215 IH spect to additional funding required for the grant 1 program under section 5; 2 (6) determine whether it would be practicable 3 for such agencies to use a fee-based model to provide 4 digital identity verification to private sector entities; 5 (7) determine if any additional steps are nec- 6 essary with respect to Federal, State, and local 7 agencies to improve digital identity verification and 8 management processes for the purpose of enhancing 9 the security, reliability, privacy, and convenience of 10 digital identity solutions that support and protect 11 transactions between individuals, government enti- 12 ties, and businesses; 13 (8) assess risks related to potential criminal ex- 14 ploitation of digital identity verification services; and 15 (9) to the extent practicable, seek input from 16 and collaborate with interested parties in the private 17 sector to carry out the purpose under subsection (b). 18 (g) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 180 days 19 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Task Force 20 shall publish a report on the activities of the Task force, 21 including recommendations on— 22 (1) priorities for research and development in 23 the systems that enable digital identity verification, 24 including how such priorities can be executed; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8215.IH H8215 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8215 IH (2) the standards-based architecture developed 1 pursuant to subsection (f)(4). 2 SEC. 4. DIGITAL IDENTITY STANDARDS. 3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF A STANDARDS FRAME- 4 WORK.—The Director of the National Institute of Stand- 5 ards and Technology (in this section referred to as the 6 ‘‘Director’’) shall develop a framework of standards, meth- 7 odologies, procedures, and processes (in this section re- 8 ferred to as the ‘‘Framework’’) as a guide for Federal, 9 State, and local governments to follow when providing 10 services related to digital identity verification. 11 (b) CONSIDERATION.—In developing the Framework, 12 the Director shall consider— 13 (1) methods to protect the privacy of individ- 14 uals; 15 (2) security needs; and 16 (3) the needs of potential end-users and individ- 17 uals that will use services related to digital identity 18 verification. 19 (c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out subsection (a), 20 the Director shall consult with— 21 (1) the Improving Digital Identity Task Force 22 established under section 3; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8215.IH H8215 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8215 IH (2) potential end-users and individuals that will 1 use services related to digital identity verification; 2 and 3 (3) experts with relevant experience in the sys- 4 tems that enable digital identity verification, as de- 5 termined by the Director. 6 (d) INTERIM PUBLICATION.—Not later than 240 7 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Direc- 8 tor shall publish an interim version of the Framework. 9 (e) FINAL PUBLICATION.—Not later than 1 year 10 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director 11 shall publish a final version of the Framework. 12 (f) UPDATES TO THE FRAMEWORK.—The Director 13 shall, from time to time, update the Framework, with con- 14 sideration given to— 15 (1) feedback from Federal, State, and local 16 agencies that provide services related to digital iden- 17 tity verification; and 18 (2) any technological changes to the systems 19 that enable digital identity verification. 20 SEC. 5. DIGITAL IDENTITY INNOVATION GRANTS. 21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 18 months 22 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 23 of Homeland Security (in this section referred to as the 24 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall award grants to States to upgrade sys- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8215.IH H8215 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8215 IH tems that provide drivers’ licenses or other types of iden- 1 tity credentials to support the development of highly se- 2 cure, interoperable State systems that enable digital iden- 3 tity verification. 4 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—A State that receives a grant 5 under this section shall use— [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]