[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 193 (Tuesday, December 13, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H9725-H9728]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               SAMI'S LAW

  Mr. STANTON. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1082) to require ride-hailing companies to implement an 
enhanced digital system to verify passengers with their authorized 
ride-hailing vehicles and drivers, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1082

       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 ``Sami's Law''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

        In this Act:
       (1) Passenger.--The term ``passenger'' means an individual 
     who is matched with a TNC driver through a TNC platform.
       (2) Tnc driver.--The term ``TNC driver'' means an 
     individual who contracts with a transportation network 
     company and provides transportation services facilitated 
     through a TNC platform in exchange for compensation or 
     payment of a fee from a passenger.
       (3) Tnc platform.--The term ``TNC platform'' means an 
     online-enabled application or digital network made available 
     by a transportation network company to connect passengers to 
     TNC drivers for the purpose of a TNC driver providing 
     prearranged transportation services.
       (4) Tnc vehicle.--The term ``TNC vehicle'' means a vehicle 
     (also known as a ``ride-hailing vehicle'') that is--
       (A) owned, leased, or otherwise authorized for use by a TNC 
     driver; and
       (B) used by the TNC driver to provide to passengers 
     prearranged transportation services facilitated through a TNC 
     platform.
       (5) Transportation network company; tnc.--
       (A) In general.--The terms ``transportation network 
     company'' and ``TNC'' mean a corporation, partnership, sole 
     proprietorship, or other entity that makes available a TNC 
     platform to connect passengers to TNC drivers in exchange for 
     compensation or payment of a fee in order for the TNC driver 
     to transport the passenger using a TNC vehicle.
       (B) Exclusions.--The term ``transportation network 
     company'' and ``TNC'' does not include--
       (i) a shared-expense carpool or vanpool arrangement that is 
     not intended to generate profit for the driver; or
       (ii) microtransit or other dedicated services provided 
     exclusively on behalf of a government entity, a nonprofit 
     organization, or a third-party commercial enterprise.

     SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON SALE OF RIDE-HAILING SIGNAGE.

       (a) Prohibition.--Except as provided in subsection (b), it 
     shall be unlawful for any person to sell or offer for sale 
     any signage that--
       (1) is designed to help a passenger to identify a TNC 
     vehicle; and
       (2) either--
       (A) contains a proprietary trademark or logo of a 
     transportation network company; or
       (B) purports to be signage of a transportation network 
     company.
       (b) Applicability.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to any 
     person authorized by a transportation network company to sell 
     or offer for sale signage of the transportation network 
     company described in that subsection.
       (c) Enforcement.--
       (1) In general.--A violation of this section shall be 
     considered to be a violation of a rule defining an unfair or 
     deceptive act or practice prescribed under section 
     18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 
     57a(a)(1)(B)).
       (2) Action by ftc.--The Federal Trade Commission shall 
     enforce this section in the same manner, by the same means, 
     and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though 
     all applicable provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act 
     (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) are incorporated in this Act.
       (3) Treatment.--Any person who violates this section shall 
     be subject to the penalties, and entitled to the privileges 
     and immunities, provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act 
     (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.).
       (d) Savings Clause.--Nothing in this section limits the 
     authority of the Federal Trade Commission under any other 
     provision of law.

     SEC. 4. GAO STUDY ON INCIDENCE OF FATAL AND NON-FATAL 
                   PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL ASSAULT OF PASSENGERS, TNC 
                   DRIVERS, AND DRIVERS OF OTHER FOR-HIRE 
                   VEHICLES.

       (a) GAO Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the 
     Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to 
     Congress a report that includes the results of a study 
     regarding--
       (1) the incidence of fatal and non-fatal physical assault 
     and sexual assault perpetrated in the preceding 2 calendar 
     years (starting with calendar years 2019 and 2020 for the 
     first study)--
       (A) against TNC drivers and drivers of other for-hire 
     vehicles (including taxicabs) by passengers and riders of 
     for-hire vehicles; and
       (B) against passengers and riders by other passengers and 
     TNC drivers or drivers of other for-hire vehicles (including 
     taxicabs), including the incidences that are committed by 
     individuals who are not TNC drivers or drivers of other for-
     hire vehicles but who pose as TNC drivers or drivers of other 
     for-hire vehicles;
       (2) the nature and specifics of any background checks 
     conducted on prospective TNC drivers and drivers of other 
     for-hire vehicles (including taxicabs), including any State 
     and local laws requiring those background checks; and
       (3) the safety steps taken by transportation network 
     companies and other for-hire vehicle services (including 
     taxicab companies) related to rider and driver safety.
       (b) Sexual Assault Defined.--In this section, the term 
     ``sexual assault'' means the occurrence of an act that 
     constitutes any nonconsensual sexual act proscribed by 
     Federal, Tribal, or State law, including when the victim 
     lacks capacity to consent.

     SEC. 5. BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

        The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
     complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall 
     be determined by reference to the latest statement titled 
     ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, 
     submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the 
     Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such 
     statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Stanton) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Crawford) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona.


                             General Leave

  Mr. STANTON. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on H.R. 1082, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arizona?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. STANTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1082, as amended. I 
applaud the gentleman from New Jersey, Representative Smith, for his 
tenacity for getting the bill to the House floor for its consideration 
today.
  The gentleman and his staff have worked tirelessly through many 
iterations of this bill. We are here today to take the first steps 
toward ensuring the safety of passengers and drivers who utilize ride-
hailing platforms. Specifically, we are here to pass Sami's Law, a bill 
to honor and remember Samantha Josephson.
  Sami, a 21-year-old college student, was brutally murdered after she 
entered a car that she mistakenly thought was the Uber that she 
ordered.
  Her parents, Seymour and Marcie Josephson, have shared their heart-
wrenching story firsthand with so many of us on Capitol Hill.
  Throughout their grief, they have been committed to working so that 
no other family will have to go through this kind of pain, and that 
millions of people who use ride-hailing services can do so with safety 
protections in place.
  Mobility and transportation patterns in many cities have been upended 
in recent years by companies that through transformative technology 
platforms have revolutionized how we travel.

[[Page H9726]]

  In a very short time, many people have come to rely upon 
transportation network companies, or TNCs, such as Uber and Lyft, as a 
regular transportation option.
  These services, however, have operated with little transportation 
safety or regulatory oversight.
  There are many aspects of TNCs that the Committee on Transportation 
has examined, including their impacts on congestion, on wages, and on 
public transportation used, as well as gaps in regulatory oversight of 
TNCs and drivers.
  We held a hearing in 2020 where we examined a number of troubling 
aspects of the TNC model.
  While the bill under consideration today is a scaled-back version of 
legislation as introduced, it marks an important step in oversight of 
TNCs.
  H.R. 1082, as amended, prohibits the sale of any signage that is 
designed to help a passenger identify a TNC vehicle or that contains 
TNCs proprietary trademark or logo, unless authorized by the TNC.
  The bill also directs the Government Accountability Office to conduct 
a study of the incidence of assaults, including sexual assaults, on TNC 
passengers and TNC drivers.
  In addition, it directs GAO to study the type of background checks 
conducted on prospective drivers of TNC vehicles, including any State 
and local laws which may require such background checks.
  Strong and thorough vetting of potential drivers is the first line of 
defense to ensure passenger safety. The study initiated by this bill 
will yield important data and will inform decisions on what more needs 
to be done to protect the ride-hailing community.
  Lawmakers at the Federal, State, and local level will need to think 
beyond whether ride-hailing gets people from point A to point B, and 
work to ensure that TNC drivers deliver a public service safely and 
equitably.
  Madam Speaker, I support this important legislation, and I urge my 
colleagues to do the same.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                                         House of Representatives,


                             Committee on Energy and Commerce,

                                Washington, DC, December 13, 2022.
     Hon. Peter A. DeFazio,
     Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman DeFazio: I write concerning H.R. 1082, 
     ``Sami's Law.'' This legislation was additionally referred to 
     the Committee on Energy and Commerce and amended in such a 
     manner that would likely result in the Committee having 
     primary jurisdiction over this measure.
       In recognition of the desire to expedite consideration of 
     H.R. 1082, the Committee agrees to waive formal consideration 
     of the bill as to provisions that fall within the Rule X 
     jurisdiction of the Committee. The Committee takes this 
     action with the mutual understanding that we do not waive any 
     jurisdiction over the subject matter contained in this or 
     similar legislation, and that the Committee will be 
     appropriately consulted and involved as this bill or similar 
     legislation moves forward so that we may address any 
     remaining issues within our jurisdiction. I also request that 
     you support my request to name members of the Committee to 
     any conference committee to consider such provisions.
       Finally, I would appreciate the inclusion of this letter 
     into the Congressional Record during floor consideration of 
     the measure.
           Sincerely,
                                               Frank Pallone, Jr.,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

         House of Representatives, Committee on Transportation and 
           Infrastructure,
                                Washington, DC, December 13, 2022.
     Hon. Frank Pallone,
     Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Pallone: Thank you for your letter regarding 
     H.R. 1082, Sami's Law. I appreciate your willingness to work 
     cooperatively on this legislation.
       I acknowledge that by foregoing formal consideration on 
     H.R. 1082, the Committee on Energy and Commerce does not 
     waive any future jurisdictional claims to provisions in this 
     or similar legislation, and that your Committee will be 
     consulted and involved on any matters in your Committee's 
     jurisdiction should this legislation move forward. In 
     addition, should a conference on the bill be necessary, I 
     would support your effort to seek appointment of an 
     appropriate number of conferees to any House-Senate 
     conference involving provisions within this legislation on 
     which the Committee on Energy and Commerce has a valid 
     jurisdictional claim.
       I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation, 
     and I will ensure that our exchange of letters is included in 
     the Congressional Record during floor consideration of H.R. 
     1082.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Peter A. DeFazio,
                                                            Chair.

                              {time}  1515

  Mr. CRAWFORD. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of this legislation known as 
Sami's Law and to applaud the dedication and efforts of the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), who worked tirelessly on this legislation.
  As amended, Sami's Law prohibits the unauthorized sale of 
transportation network company ride-hailing signage, authorizes 
enforcement policies, and requires the Government Accountability Office 
to study incidents of physical and sexual assault of passengers and 
drivers of TNC vehicles, taxicabs, and other for-hire vehicles.
  Sami's Law will protect passengers and drivers of TNCs and for-hire 
vehicles and will ensure data is collected on TNC-related assault and 
abuse.
  Madam Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. STANTON. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CRAWFORD. Madam Speaker, I yield 10 minutes to the gentleman from 
New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the sponsor of this bill.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend for 
yielding and for his leadership, and I thank my friend on the other 
side of the aisle for his support.
  Madam Speaker, in late March 2019, University of South Carolina 
senior Samantha Josephson--``Sami'' to friends and family--left a late-
night outing with her friends alone because she had to work in the 
morning. The extraordinarily talented student, who had just earned a 
full scholarship to Drexel University law school, ordered an Uber.
  In a congested part of Columbia known as Five Points, a predator, 
pretending to be her Uber driver, took her in his car and brutally 
murdered her. Less than 24 hours later, Sami was found dead in a field.
  The murderer, Nathaniel Rowland, was caught. In a heart-wrenching 
trial in July 2021, Rowland was convicted and sentenced to life in 
prison.
  Presiding Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman noted the ``horrific and 
most brutal nature'' of Sami's murder and said: ``It is the most severe 
murder that has occurred that I have been a witness to, as far as 
presiding in court or participating in as a lawyer.''
  Almost immediately, however, after her death, and notwithstanding 
their excruciating agony over the loss of their precious daughter, 
Sami's parents, Seymour and Marci, began pushing for comprehensive new 
protection policies at Uber and Lyft and legislation to ensure, to the 
maximum extent possible, that no one else is ever killed, raped, or 
assaulted by a rideshare driver.
  They created the #WHATSMYNAME Foundation in honor of their daughter 
to educate the world on rideshare safety. ``Samantha may be gone,'' 
they wrote, ``but our goal for the rest of our time on Earth is to 
share her story and make a lasting change.''
  Seymour and Marci have, and are, making a lasting change. Their 
advocacy has saved lives and made so many more of us situationally 
aware of the dangers of using Uber and Lyft.
  For more than 3 years, almost 4 now, especially given the pain due to 
the unimaginable loss of their daughter, Seymour and Marci have been 
heroic, tenacious, and selfless. They have inspired modest reforms by 
Uber and Lyft but are the first to say that so much more needs to be 
done.
  Marci and Seymour have made frequent trips to the Capitol to meet 
lawmakers and staff from both sides of the aisle, including Speaker 
Pelosi and Leader McCarthy, as well as Transportation and 
Infrastructure Chairman DeFazio, Ranking Member Graves, and 
subcommittee Chair Norton and Ranking Member Davis.
  Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, when she met with them, was so 
greatly moved, moved to tears, when they told their horrible story 
about what happened to their daughter.
  I am grateful that Chairman Pallone has waived the bill through the 
Energy and Commerce Committee today to ensure its consideration.

[[Page H9727]]

  I am grateful to the Speaker for her strong commitment to this cause, 
and there was that empathy. You felt it when you were in the room. They 
said, ``What can we do? We have to do as much as humanly possible,'' so 
I thank them.
  I offer my special thanks to  Tom Suozzi for his tremendous support 
and for being the lead Democratic cosponsor all these years on this 
legislation.
  Robert Edmonson, with the Speaker, and Ryan Long, with Kevin 
McCarthy, and other staff members have done stellar work trying to push 
this and additional reforms forward because, hopefully, we are not 
done.
  The need for Sami's Law is absolutely compelling, I tell my 
colleagues. I ask all of us: Do any of us really believe that 
ridesharing, particularly late at night, particularly around college 
campuses, especially for women, is safe when you are in an Uber or 
Lyft? It is a big, open question.
  Two reports released by Uber found that, over a 4-year period from 
2017 to 2020, there were 9,805 allegations of serious sexual assault by 
Uber drivers in the United States, and 39 people were killed in 
physical assaults during or soon after an Uber ride.
  Lyft's own safety record revealed 4,158 allegations of sexual assault 
in a 3-year period from 2017 to 2019.
  In September, NPR reported that ``Lyft is facing 17 new lawsuits 
brought by users of its service from around the country, who claim the 
company failed to protect passengers and drivers from physical and 
sexual assault.''
  ``The new lawsuits come 3 years after 14 women filed a lawsuit 
against Lyft, claiming that, after being sexually assaulted or raped by 
drivers, Lyft failed to take action even when it was aware of drivers 
who were accused of assault and purposefully ignored victims' 
reports.'' Not a stellar record.
  Just last week, Eziya Bowden, a 17-year-old woman from North 
Carolina, jumped out of a moving Lyft vehicle and ended up in the 
emergency room out of fear that her driver, who made several disturbing 
comments, was trying to drug her. She was only a few miles away from 
her home.

  Sami's Law under consideration by the House today is an important 
first--I say ``first''--step to enhance safety for both passengers and 
drivers and to mitigate future violence.
  Sami's Law makes unlawful the unauthorized selling or offering for 
sale of ridesharing signage, making it more difficult for imposters 
like Sami's murderer to pose as rideshare drivers.
  Let me just point out that when  Tom Suozzi testified before the 
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Chairman DeFazio, when we 
talked about this factor, that you can go to Amazon or Walmart and get 
a sign that says you are an Uber driver, he went online as we were 
talking and said: There it is. I can buy an Uber sign.
  You would think the companies would want to control the signage. This 
legislation will make it illegal to sell it in those outlets and 
anywhere else unless approved by the companies.
  Sami's Law also requires the GAO to investigate and provide an 
independent, comprehensive report to Congress on the incidence of 
assault and abuse of both passengers and drivers, and to do it 
annually, and requires that the GAO examine the nature and specifics of 
background checks conducted by companies and the varying standards set 
by States regarding background checks.
  We want to know: What do they do when they find out who their drivers 
are? We have asked the hard questions. The answers have not been all 
that good.
  It also assesses safety steps thus far taken by rideshare vehicles, 
taxis, and other vehicles for hire.
  I am disappointed to say that opposition from Uber and Lyft has 
resulted in dropping other lifesaving provisions that were in the 
original bill that was passed by the House in the last Congress with  
Tom Suozzi and I leading on that, as well.
  One required Uber and Lyft and other transportation network companies 
to implement a simple digital method of verifying that the passenger 
and driver have been specifically matched by the TNC prior to the ride 
beginning, so that match is made right before you take off. Yes, that 
is who the driver should be, and the person in back has ordered that 
Uber. It also gives a record going forward if any kind of assault does, 
indeed, occur.
  The opposition to this digital security feature is mind-boggling to 
me. Uber has the technology and even a program in place, but they offer 
it only as an opt-in program, a program so well hidden that few riders 
even know about it.
  Our legislation passed in July 2020 said that transportation 
companies may offer a passenger an option out, an opt-out. If you want 
to be out of it, get out of it, but the default would be you are in it, 
and it is all for your protection.
  It is like safety belts. There was a time when that was 
controversial. Now, we all put them on. The buzzer goes off, or the 
bell or the ring, if you don't have that on.
  A second provision that we lost was Sami's council, which would 
simply empower a working group to continually make upgrades as to how 
better to utilize all of this.
  Let me just say, finally, Marci and Seymour at the sentencing or 
before that at the trial--they inspire us--they also spoke. I will read 
only a few of the words that they said. I remember watching it on 
television, and it just broke my heart.
  Here is what Marci said. ``I close my eyes, and I feel what she 
endured at his hands 120 times''--he stabbed her, remember--``over and 
over and over, fighting for her life, locked in his car. I used to have 
dreams for her. Now, all I have are nightmares--120 times. The final 
moments, her bare feet kicking and fighting for her life. I visualize 
the blood flowing from her body, her joyful body, 120 times. For what? 
The $35 a college student has in her bank account?
  ``The excruciating pain he put her through is unimaginable. . . . In 
one second, our lives changed . . . Her death sliced through my 
heart.''
  In his statement, Seymour questioned how this could have happened at 
all, challenging us to prevent it in the future. Again, they have spent 
so much time, dedicating their lives so nobody else ever has to go 
through this.
  He said, at the trial: ``I have repeated nightmares and visions of 
him, the monster, stabbing her. I have visions of her foot on the back 
window. I have visions of her screaming and fighting. I have visions of 
her taking her last breath.
  ``I stand here . . . in bewilderment, asking how in the world did we 
get here? That night of her kidnapping and murder, she called me about 
using my credit card because supposedly hers didn't work with Uber or 
Lyft.
  ``I look at my wife, and she is not even close to being the same. I 
have lost a huge piece of her, along with Samantha. Every day, I look 
at her and only wish I could do something to take that pain away.''

  So, I ask my colleagues that, in Sami's name, today, we act to 
protect rideshare passengers and their drivers, and we take an 
important first step to safeguard others from the unspeakable pain that 
Seymour and Marci Josephson now endure.
  Mr. STANTON. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CRAWFORD. Madam Speaker, H.R. 1082 will improve the safety of 
prospective rideshare passengers by prohibiting the unauthorized sale 
of ride-hailing signage.
  This legislation will also help protect all of our constituents as 
GAO analyzes the occurrence of assaults against both passengers and 
drivers of for-hire vehicles.
  Madam Speaker, I thank Congressman Smith of New Jersey for his 
tireless efforts and urge support of this legislation, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. STANTON. Madam Speaker, this bill honors the memory of Samantha 
Josephson and takes steps to ensure that a similar tragedy does not 
occur.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important safety 
bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stanton) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1082, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.

[[Page H9728]]

  

  Mr. HICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________