[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 10248-10250]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    DOMAIN OPENNESS THROUGH CONTINUED OVERSIGHT MATTERS ACT OF 2015

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 805) to prohibit the National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration from relinquishing responsibility over the 
Internet domain name system until the Comptroller General of the United 
States submits to Congress a report on the role of the NTIA with 
respect to such system, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 805

       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 ``Domain Openness Through 
     Continued Oversight Matters Act of 2015'' or the ``DOTCOM Act 
     of 2015''.

     SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR IANA STEWARDSHIP TRANSITION.

       (a) In General.--Until the date that is 30 legislative days 
     after the submission to Congress of

[[Page 10249]]

     the report described in subsection (b), the Assistant 
     Secretary may not permit the NTIA's role in the performance 
     of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority functions to 
     terminate, lapse, be cancelled, or otherwise cease to be in 
     effect.
       (b) Report Described.--The report described in this 
     subsection is a report that contains--
       (1) the proposal relating to the transition of the NTIA's 
     stewardship of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority 
     functions that was developed in a process convened by ICANN 
     at the request of the NTIA; and
       (2) a certification by the Assistant Secretary that--
       (A) such proposal--
       (i) supports and enhances the multistakeholder model of 
     Internet governance;
       (ii) maintains the security, stability, and resiliency of 
     the Internet domain name system;
       (iii) meets the needs and expectations of the global 
     customers and partners of the Internet Assigned Numbers 
     Authority services;
       (iv) maintains the openness of the Internet; and
       (v) does not replace the role of the NTIA with a 
     government-led or intergovernmental organization solution; 
     and
       (B) the required changes to ICANN's bylaws contained in the 
     final report of ICANN's Cross Community Working Group on 
     Enhancing ICANN Accountability and the changes to ICANN's 
     bylaws required by ICANN's IANA Stewardship Transition 
     Coordination Group have been adopted.
       (c) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Assistant secretary.--The term ``Assistant Secretary'' 
     means the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications 
     and Information.
       (2) ICANN.--The term ``ICANN'' means the Internet 
     Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.
       (3) Legislative day.--The term ``legislative day'' does not 
     include Saturdays, Sundays, legal public holidays, or days 
     either House of Congress is adjourned for more than 3 days 
     during a session of Congress.
       (4) NTIA.--The term ``NTIA'' means the National 
     Telecommunications and Information Administration.
       Amend the title so as to read: ``A bill to provide for 
     certain requirements relating to the Internet Assigned 
     Numbers Authority stewardship transition.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and insert extraneous material in the Record on the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, today we are here to consider H.R. 805, the DOTCOM Act. 
I first introduced this legislation last Congress, and I am proud to 
see it brought to the floor today. The DOTCOM Act is a great example of 
what can get done when we work together and build on the Energy and 
Commerce Committee's growing record of legislative success.
  Mr. Speaker, as many of my colleagues know, from the time the 
administration announced their intent to transition the IANA functions, 
I have had serious concerns about the potential risk associated with 
the move. I have said time and again that this is far too important to 
rush and that we must carefully consider all the potential consequences 
and outcomes before any transition occurs.
  Mr. Speaker, my bill would require a period of 30 legislative days 
for us to review any proposal that NTIA receives from the 
multistakeholder community and ICANN. This allows us to hear from our 
constituents and consult with outside experts before we decide if 
ICANN's proposal is satisfactory. If, in this review period allowed 
only through passage of the DOTCOM Act, we find that ICANN and/or its 
proposal does not adequately protect the free and open Internet, 
Congress can then take action to either completely stop the transfer or 
require more safeguards to be put in place.
  Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, the DOTCOM Act requires 
NTIA to renew their contract to continue these important stewardship 
functions with ICANN before it expires in September. Everyone agrees 
that the contract should remain with NTIA while this process moves 
forward. DOTCOM is the vehicle to make sure this does in fact happen. 
Extending the contract takes the pressure off of making a rushed 
transition and perhaps making mistakes. We get one bite at the apple on 
this, and we need to make sure it is done correctly.
  Mr. Speaker, before I relinquish my time, I want to say that I am 
very proud of the work that has been done on this bill in the Energy 
and Commerce Committee, particularly by Chairmen Upton and Walden and 
Ranking Members Pallone and Eshoo. We wouldn't be here today without 
their hard work and also the work of staff, particularly Greta Joynes 
of my office and committee staff David Redl, Kelsey Guyselman, Margaret 
McCarthy, David Goldman, and Tiffany Guarascio.
  Mr. Speaker, clearly, this is an issue that has brought both sides 
together for the best interests of all Americans. I ask my colleagues 
to support the passage of H.R. 805, and I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 805, the Domain Openness 
Through Continued Oversight Matters, or DOTCOM, Act. I am pleased to 
support this bill, and I want to commend my colleagues for the 
bipartisan process in the Energy and Commerce Committee that brought us 
here.
  The Internet is a great American success story that has benefited 
billions of users around the globe. Over the last two decades, the 
United States Government has taken steps to get out of the way and 
empower a bottom-up approach to Internet governance. Thanks to the 
success of this multistakeholder model, the Internet has opened up new 
markets and economic opportunities and become an unprecedented platform 
for democratic free expression.
  Mr. Speaker, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, 
the U.S. Government has supported the idea that the Internet should be 
governed through a decentralized process, free from governmental 
control. Since the late 1990s, the U.S. Government has moved towards 
private sector management of the domain name system. To put it another 
way, we think that the future of the Internet should be determined by 
businesses, civil society, and technical experts.
  Congress has also explicitly embraced this vision. As recently as 
2013, the House voted unanimously in support of a bill making it 
official U.S. policy to ``preserve and advance the successful 
multistakeholder model that governs the Internet.''
  Mr. Speaker, completing the transition of the Internet Assigned 
Numbers Authority advances that policy goal. The IANA transition 
reaffirms our two-decade commitment to the global multistakeholder 
community, but we have a responsibility to make sure that the 
transition is done right.
  The DOTCOM Act continues the longstanding congressional support for 
the global, open Internet while appropriately conducting oversight of 
the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. We 
require NTIA to live up to the commitments the agency has made for the 
IANA transition and ensure that transparency and accountability 
mechanisms are in place before the U.S. Government can relinquish its 
stewardship role. In short, I believe our bill provides the necessary 
safeguards for the IANA transition to occur without unnecessary delay.
  Our vote on the DOTCOM Act today is timely for several reasons. Key 
meetings are taking place, as we speak, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to 
finalize planning for the IANA transition. And quick action on the 
DOTCOM Act is needed to provide a better alternative to the language in 
the House Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill that blocks 
NTIA's ability to implement the transition. Unlike the appropriations 
rider, the DOTCOM Act provides a real opportunity for congressional 
oversight, so I urge all my colleagues to support it.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairmen Upton and Walden, 
Representative Shimkus, and their respective staffs, David Redl and 
Greta Joynes, for working with Congresswoman Eshoo and other Democrats 
on

[[Page 10250]]

this bill. The DOTCOM Act shows what we can accomplish when our work is 
bipartisan from the start. I would also like to thank David Goldman and 
Margaret McCarthy of my staff for their hard work on this legislation. 
I look forward to working with you all and our colleagues in the Senate 
to see this bill become law.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers. I urge passage of the DOTCOM 
Act.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 805, the DOTCOM 
Act.
  Over the past two decades, U.S. policy through Republican and 
Democratic administrations has supported the transition of the Internet 
Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) to the private sector. The DOTCOM Act 
which passed the Energy and Commerce Committee by voice vote last week 
carries on this bipartisan tradition by ensuring that the IANA 
transition supports and enhances the multi-stakeholder model of 
Internet governance; maintains the security, stability, and resiliency 
of the Internet domain name system; and does not replace the role of 
the NTIA with a government-led or intergovernmental organization 
solution.
  Importantly, the DOTCOM Act as amended by the Committee, represents a 
sensible alternative to the funding restriction included in the House-
passed Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) Appropriations bill. I look 
forward to working with my colleagues to see that the DOTCOM Act 
becomes the law of the land--rather than enacting a counterproductive 
limitation of funds which sends the wrong message to the international 
community.
  I thank Chairman Walden, Ranking Member Pallone and Congressman 
Shimkus for their bipartisan cooperation on this bill and I urge my 
colleagues to support the DOTCOM Act, which is a vote for the multi-
stakeholder model of Internet governance and a global, open Internet, 
free from governmental control.
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, right now as we speak, the international 
community is meeting in Argentina to discuss the state of the Internet 
around the globe. We have an opportunity today to send a loud and clear 
message to those gathered in Buenos Aires: that the United States will 
not stand for anything other than strong safeguards to protect our 
online future.
  By advancing the DOTCOM Act, we can ensure that the Internet--the 
world's greatest platform of ideas, commerce, and social connection--
continues to thrive to the benefit of folks in Michigan and every 
corner of the country.
  As we move toward transitioning the United States' oversight role of 
the Domain Name System to the international community of stakeholders, 
it is essential we tread carefully and thoughtfully. The bill we are 
considering today is a bipartisan effort to ensure appropriate 
congressional oversight of this incredibly important transition, and 
ensure that the administration and NTIA get it right as there are no 
do-overs.
  Over the course of the past year, the Energy and Commerce Committee 
has engaged in efforts to ensure that any transition proposal 
considered by the administration contains the necessary safeguards to 
protect the Internet. This bill incorporates the criteria initially put 
forward by NTIA, and requires the agency to certify to Congress that 
the proposal meets these important metrics. It would also put important 
accountability measures in place for the Internet community.
  This legislation, which the Energy and Commerce Committee approved by 
voice vote, is the result of many informative hearings, feedback from a 
variety of stakeholders--both domestically and internationally--and 
productive and ongoing conversations between members on both sides of 
the aisle. Once again, our committee's efforts demonstrate that 
Congress can work together to achieve meaningful results and build a 
bipartisan record of success. I want to recognize Mr. Shimkus for his 
leadership on this issue from the beginning, as well as Chairman Walden 
and Ranking Member Pallone for their hard work on this commonsense 
solution to protect the Internet on which we have come to depend.
  The world is watching. A vote for the DOTCOM Act is a vote for 
effective Congressional oversight. I urge all members to support this 
important legislation.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 805, 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.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. 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.

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