Chair Rodger’s opening statement on strengthening US leadership in blockchain technology
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Washington DC – House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) delivered opening remarks at today’s hearing of the Subcommittee on Innovation, Data and Commerce titled “Building Block Chains: Exploring Web3 and Other Applications for Distributed Ledger Technologies.”
Excerpts and highlights below:
ADVANCING AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
“This committee plays an important role in advancing American competitiveness and global technological leadership with our values as you said, Mr. Chairman, of freedom, human rights and human dignity.
“Blockchains, web3 and other applications of distributed ledger technology represent a new technological shift that can be compared to the breakthrough of the Internet.
“We must ensure that America – not China or Europe – charts our way to lead in the deployment and standard setting of these technologies.
“Our mission at Energy and Commerce is to help promote and advance innovation and American technology leadership.
“We led to pass the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which was fundamental to the development of the Internet.
“The innovation and entrepreneurship that followed represented some of the greatest achievements in American history and in the world.
“We must ensure that we can lead the next era of American innovation and entrepreneurship with a regulatory environment that keeps pace with the ever-evolving technology sector.
“That’s especially true with blockchains.”
E&C CONTINUES TO LEAD IN BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY
“For this reason, in 2016 the Energy and Commerce Committee held one of the first congressional hearings on blockchain.
“In the years since, the technology has continued to evolve as entrepreneurs have found new and exciting applications.
“Additionally, in late 2020, my bill, the US COMPETE Act, was signed into law directing the Commerce Department to study how the United States can advance more new technologies.
“Part of the legislation in the package, spearheaded by Reps. Guthrie and Soto, calls for a study on blockchain and ways the federal government can promote American leadership and adoption.
“We continue to wait for this upcoming report from the Biden administration to provide the committee with pro-innovation recommendations.
“Unfortunately, the report is now well past its statutory deadline, as well as the requested extension we granted.”
Losing ground to our opponents
“As with any new technology, we need to move quickly.
“While the US led the way in the creation of the internet, we could easily fall behind with web3, the next generation of the internet.
“According to public record data, less than 40 percent of blockchain companies are headquartered in the United States, and that number continues to decline.
“As we saw with Huawei and 5G, when we don’t lead, our adversaries fill the void.”
STRENGTH OF PRIVACY
“It is imperative that America lead, especially given the implications of these new technologies.
“Big Tech has developed tools that interact to track Americans both online and offline.
“Technologies like distributed ledgers can align with the goals of comprehensive privacy legislation by enabling people to regain control of their personal online data and limiting any company’s ability to control and collect the information we share online.”
PROTECTION OF SMALL BUSINESSES
“As these technologies are deployed, and the United States develops standards to regulate them, we also have a responsibility to ensure that entrepreneurs and small businesses can continue to thrive. We have often celebrated that they are the engine of our economy.
“While larger companies can navigate complicated regulations, such as GDPR in Europe or a patchwork of state laws, smaller businesses cannot afford the high compliance costs.
“Embracing innovation, entrepreneurship and free markets is what has made America a global technology leader, not overly prescriptive regulations.
“While securities and commodities are just one of the many use cases for blockchain technologies, there is a reason why the Gramm Leach Bliley Act does not, and should not, regulate the use of Americans’ personal information outside of the financial sector.
“Congress needs to have a conversation about what blockchain is, and isn’t, to ensure that the heavy hand of government regulations doesn’t force blockchain startups to rethink whether America is the best place to start their business.
“When this committee was working on the Telecom Act, we could never have predicted the power of the Internet.
“Now, as then, we don’t know how powerful blockchain technologies will be, but we do know that America should lead the way.
“I look forward to an informative discussion today.”
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