[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 158 (Monday, November 10, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2316]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              ELECTRONIC FINANCIAL SERVICES EFFICIENCY ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DAVID DREIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Sunday, November 9, 1997

  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleague, 
Representative Richard Baker, as an original cosponsor of H.R. 2937, 
the Electronic Financial Services Efficiency Act. The purpose of this 
legislation is to facilitate electronic commerce by promoting 
technologies that can authenticate agreements in the conduct of 
consumer and financial transactions using the Internet and other forms 
of digital communications.
  It is estimated that commerce on the Internet will grow from $200 
million in sales in 1995 to tens of billions of dollars by the year 
2000. Therefore, it is critically important, given the explosive growth 
of electronic commerce and its ability to circumvent geographical and 
legal boundaries, that the Federal Government encourage the private 
sector development of uniform standards for electronic authentication 
while not imposing rigid rules that may stifle innovation. It is 
equally important that any effort to preempt State digital signature 
laws not accord such a preemption solely to one particular provider of 
authentication services.
  H.R. 2937 provides for a national system that is competitively and 
technologically neutral. It establishes a National Association of 
Certification Authorities [NACA], which would function as a self-
regulatory organization consisting of registered providers of 
electronic authentication services. NACA will maintain a market-
oriented approach to the regulation of electronic commerce by promoting 
a clear and predictable legal environment to insure that competition 
and consumer choice are the hallmark of the emerging global digital 
marketplace.
  Such a system will also have beneficial applications for the delivery 
of Government benefits and services. With appropriate safeguards to 
protect against fraud and privacy violations, citizens will be able to 
pay their taxes, access Social Security records, and make Freedom of 
Information Act requests in a secure environment. Even the House of 
Representatives is looking to digital communications as a means to 
conduct much of its administrative transactions and disclosure 
requirements in the future.
  Mr. Speaker, it would be a mistake for Congress to establish a system 
that relies on Government to regulate electonic commerce. Despite the 
rapid advancements in information technologies and our comprehension of 
them, we continue to know too little about future technology 
advancements and their potential applications. Nobody could envision 
just 2 years ago how the Internet would be used today as a means for 
transacting business, and nobody has a clear vision of how electronic 
commerce will be conducted 2 years from now.
  H.R. 2937 places the responsibility for setting the rules governing 
the authentication and security of electronic commerce in the hands of 
the people most knowledgeable about that technology. Only as that 
technology becomes more standardized and widely understood, and as 
problems arise that cannot be adequately addressed by a set of 
voluntary rules, should we begin to consider the need for direct 
Government oversight or regulatory intervention.
  How we establish the rules of the road governing electronic commerce 
is one of the most important economic challenges facing Congress as our 
country transitions into a 21st century information economy. H.R. 2937 
will allow us to establish those rules in a way that promotes 
competition and innovation, and I urge my colleagues to join us as 
cosponsors of this legislation.

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