[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7314 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7314

To create a task force within the Department of Commerce to oversee and 
  promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the tech 
                               industry.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 9, 2024

   Mr. Meeks (for himself and Ms. Lee of California) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
    Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the 
 Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To create a task force within the Department of Commerce to oversee and 
  promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the tech 
                               industry.

    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 ``Diversify Tech Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT AND POWERS OF THE TASK FORCE.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall establish, 
within the Office of Policy and Strategic Planning, the Tech Industry 
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Task Force (in this Act 
referred to as the ``Task Force'').
    (b) Composition.--
            (1) Members.--The Task Force shall consist of the following 
        members:
                    (A) The Chief Diversity and Equity Officer of the 
                Department of Labor.
                    (B) The Chair of the Communications Equity and 
                Diversity Council of the Federal Trade Commission.
                    (C) The Director of the Women's Bureau of the 
                Department of Labor.
                    (D) The Under Secretary of Commerce for the 
                Minority Business Development Agency.
                    (E) The Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 
                Officer of the Department of Commerce.
                    (F) The four temporary members selected pursuant to 
                paragraph (2).
            (2) Temporary members.--The members described in 
        subparagraphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (1) shall, by a 
        majority vote, select the following temporary members for two-
        year terms:
                    (A) Two experts in the field of diversity, equity, 
                inclusion, and accessibility who work in the tech 
                industry and have a diverse background, including 
                diversity related to race, ethnicity, gender, and 
                sexual orientation.
                    (B) Two non-voting representatives-at-large who may 
                attend meetings to provide insight into--
                            (i) any matter that the Task Force may 
                        request; and
                            (ii) the diversity operations of the entity 
                        in the tech industry for which such 
                        representative-at-large is employed.
    (c) Meetings.--
            (1) In general.--The Task Force shall meet quarterly to 
        carry out the duties and responsibilities of the Task Force 
        under section 3.
            (2) Closed meetings.--Notwithstanding section 1009(a)(1) of 
        title 5, United States Code, the meetings of the Task Force 
        shall be closed to the public and shall be limited to the 
        members described in subsection (b) and any such individuals as 
        the members of the Task Force allow.
    (d) Prohibition of Compensation of Federal Employees.--Members of 
the Commission who are full-time officers or employees of the United 
States may not receive additional pay, allowances, or benefits by 
reason of their service on the Commission.

SEC. 3. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TASK FORCE.

    (a) Initial Audit.--Not later than 60 days after the establishment 
of the Task Force, the Task force shall--
            (1) conduct an audit to inform how the Task Force will 
        carry out the activities in subsections (b), (c), and (d), 
        which shall include--
                    (A) the percentage of employees in the tech 
                industry who are minorities;
                    (B) the hiring and retainment policies of entities 
                in the tech industry; and
                    (C) an identification of any trends in layoffs in 
                the tech industry; and
            (2) submit to Congress a report that includes the 
        information collected from the audit described in paragraph 
        (1).
    (b) Duties and Responsibilities.--The Task Force shall--
            (1) promote DEIA in the tech industry, including issues 
        related to race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation;
            (2) provide guidance to entities in the tech industry on 
        how to achieve DEIA goals and how to measure progress in 
        achieving such goals;
            (3) through the non-voting members described in subsection 
        (b)(2)(B) of section 2, consult with stakeholders in the tech 
        industry, including employees and investors about DEIA in the 
        tech industry;
            (4) monitor the treatment of minorities in the tech 
        industry, and consider releasing to the public any information 
        collected pursuant to such monitoring;
            (5) promote minority-owned startups in the tech industry as 
        described in subsection (c); and
            (6) carry out the reporting requirements in subsection (d).
    (c) Promotion of Minority-Owned Startups in the Tech Industry.--The 
Task Force shall--
            (1) advise the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of 
        Commerce, and the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission 
        regarding--
                    (A) the development of outreach programs to 
                minority-owned startups to ensure such startups are 
                aware of grant opportunities; and
                    (B) existing outreach programs to minority-owned 
                startups to ensure such Secretaries and such Chair are 
                aware of all available resources, including technical 
                assistance, training, and mentorship; and
            (2) encourage venture capital investment into minority-
        owned startups in the tech industry.
    (d) Reporting Requirements.--
            (1) Report on layoffs in 2023.--Not later than 180 days 
        after the date of enactment of this Act, the Task Force shall 
        submit to the President and Congress a publicly available 
        report that--
                    (A) identifies the number of individuals that were 
                laid off during calendar year 2023 by entities in the 
                tech industry;
                    (B) evaluates how the layoffs affected DEIA at 
                entities in the tech industry, including whether--
                            (i) DEIA departments were eliminated;
                            (ii) overall diversity in the tech industry 
                        decreased; and
                            (iii) any Federal civil rights or labor 
                        laws may have been violated; and
                    (C) identifies the process and procedures each 
                entity in the tech industry followed in laying off such 
                individuals.
            (2) Annual report.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of this Act, and on an annual basis thereafter, 
        the Task Force shall submit to the President and Congress a 
        publicly available report that--
                    (A) evaluates the progress of entities in the tech 
                industry in achieving the DEIA goals of such entities;
                    (B) makes recommendations regarding policies and 
                programs that can promote DEIA in the tech industry;
                    (C) evaluates how artificial intelligence can be 
                used to promote DEIA and identify the ways in which 
                artificial intelligence is affecting social, socio-
                economic, and gender discrimination; and
                    (D) proposes policy solutions to increase 
                accountability in the tech industry concerning such 
                discrimination.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) DEIA.--The term ``DEIA'' means diversity, equity, 
        inclusion, and accessibility.
            (2) Entity in the tech industry .--The term ``entity in the 
        tech industry'' means an entity that--
                    (A) has its principal office located in the United 
                States or has a subsidiary the principal office of 
                which is located in the United States;
                    (B) has over 10 million aggregate subscribers or 
                users of social media platforms that are provided by 
                such entity; and
                    (C) manufactures, supports, researches, and 
                develops technology products and services on a large 
                scale.
            (3) Minority-owned startup.--The term ``minority-owned 
        startup'' means a business that is owned, managed, or 
        controlled by one or more minority persons who have, 
        collectively, at least 51 percent of an ownership interest in 
        such business.
            (4) Tech industry.--The term ``tech industry'' means the 
        sector of the economy comprised of the entities described in 
        paragraph (2).
            (5) Technology product and service.--The term ``technology 
        product and service'' means--
                    (A) a computing, telecommunications, or consumer 
                electronics-based technology intensive product, 
                including products related to digital electronics, 
                software, optics, or new energy; and
                    (B) a technology service, including an internet-
                related service, such as services related to software, 
                hardware, social media and digital platforms, cloud 
                storage, or e-commerce.
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