[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 205 (Monday, November 29, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8790-S8791]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 4848. Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself and Mrs. Fischer) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 3867 proposed by Mr. 
Reed to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2022 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. PROMOTING PRIVACY ENHANCING TECHNOLOGIES.

       (a) Definition of Privacy Enhancing Technology.--In this 
     section the term ``privacy enhancing technology'' means any 
     software solution, technical processes, or other 
     technological means of protecting an individual's privacy and 
     the confidentiality of data, which may include--
       (1) anonymization and pseudonymization techniques, 
     filtering tools, anti-tracking technology, differential 
     privacy tools, synthetic data generation tools, cryptographic 
     techniques (such as secure multi-party computation and 
     homomorphic encryption), and systems for federated learning; 
     and
       (2) any other software solution, technical processes, or 
     other technological means that the Director of the National 
     Science Foundation, in consultation with the Director of the 
     National Institute of Standards and Technology outside 
     experts, determines to be a technology that enhances privacy.
       (b) National Science Foundation Support of Research on 
     Privacy Enhancing Technology.--The Director of the National 
     Science Foundation, in consultation with other relevant 
     Federal agencies (as determined by the Director), shall 
     support merit-reviewed and competitively awarded research on 
     privacy enhancing technologies, which may include--
       (1) fundamental research on technologies for de-
     identification, pseudonymization, anonymization, or 
     obfuscation to protect individuals' privacy in data sets;
       (2) fundamental research on algorithms, machine learning, 
     and other similar mathematical tools used to protect 
     individual privacy when collecting, storing, sharing, 
     aggregating, or analyzing data;
       (3) fundamental research on technologies that promote data 
     minimization principles in data collection, sharing, 
     transfers, retention, and analytics;
       (4) research awards on privacy enhancing technologies 
     coordinated with other relevant Federal agencies and 
     programs;
       (5) research on barriers to, and opportunities for, the 
     adoption of privacy enhancing technologies, including studies 
     on effective business models for privacy enhancing 
     technologies; and
       (6) international cooperative research, awards, challenges, 
     and pilot projects on privacy enhancing technologies with key 
     United States allies and partners.
       (c) Integration Into the Computer and Network Security 
     Program.--Subparagraph (D) of section 4(a)(1) of the Cyber 
     Security Research and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 
     7403(a)(1)(D)) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(D) privacy enhancing technologies and 
     confidentiality;''.
       (d) Coordination With the National Institute of Standards 
     and Technology and Other Stakeholders.--
       (1) In general.--The Director of the Office of Science and 
     Technology Policy, acting through the Networking and 
     Information Technology Research and Development Program, 
     shall coordinate with the Director of the National Science 
     Foundation, the Director of the National Institute of 
     Standards and Technology, and the Federal Trade Commission to 
     accelerate the development and use of privacy enhancing 
     technologies.
       (2) Outreach.--The Director of the National Institute of 
     Standards and Technology shall conduct outreach to--
       (A) receive input from private, public, and academic 
     stakeholders on the development and potential uses of privacy 
     enhancing technologies, including the National Institutes of 
     Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
     regarding specific applications in public health research; 
     and
       (B) develop ongoing public and private sector engagement to 
     create and disseminate voluntary, consensus-based resources 
     to increase the integration of privacy enhancing technologies 
     in data collection, sharing, transfers, retention, and 
     analytics by the public and private sectors.
       (e) Report on Privacy Enhancing Technology Research.--Not 
     later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 
     the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, 
     acting through the Networking and Information Technology 
     Research and Development Program, shall, in coordination with 
     the Director of the National Science Foundation, the Director 
     of the National Institute of Standards and

[[Page S8791]]

     Technology, and the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission, 
     submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation of the Senate, the Committee on Science, 
     Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives, and 
     the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
     Representatives, a report containing--
       (1) the progress of research on privacy enhancing 
     technologies;
       (2) the progress of the development of voluntary resources 
     described under subsection (d)(2)(B); and
       (3) any policy recommendations that could facilitate and 
     improve communication and coordination between the private 
     sector, the National Science Foundation, and relevant Federal 
     agencies through the implementation of privacy enhancing 
     technologies.
                                 ______