IP and Innovation on Capitol Hill: Week of March 25

This week on Capitol Hill, the House IP Subcommittee convenes its first hearing of the 116th Congress to discuss a recent report from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on female inventors, and various other House subcommittees will convene hearings to discuss 2020 budget requests for the National Science Foundation, NASA and the Department of Defense. In the Senate, there are hearings scheduled to look at government oversight of electronic health records as well as cybersecurity issues related to small businesses. In the middle of the week, the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation will host events that will explore proactive strikes by companies against cyber attackers, as well as how immigration issues are affecting STEM fields. The week closes out with a Brookings Institution event looking at consumer data privacy issues and policy reactions from around the world.

Tuesday, March 26 

House Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies 

National Science Foundation’s Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2020

At 9:30 AM on Tuesday in H-309 Capitol.

The National Science Foundation is the federal agency responsible for funding and supporting fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering outside of the medical fields. The recent budget released by the Trump Administration included large cuts to environmental research and later-stage energy research and development programs. The sole witness for this hearing will be Dr. France Córdova, Director, National Science Foundation.

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions 

Implementing the 21st Century Cures Act: Making Electronic Health Information Available to Patients and Providers

At 10:00 AM on Tuesday in 430 Dirksen Senate Office Building.

The 21st Century Cures Act, passed into law in December 2016, doesn’t give oversight of electronic health records (EHRs) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and outgoing FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb recently called for Congressional action to provide more government oversight of EHRs to prevent safety issues in patients. The witness panel for this hearing includes Ben Moscovitch, M.A., Project Director, Health Information Technology, The Pew Charitable Trusts; Lucia Savage, J.D., Chief Privacy and Regulatory Officer, Omada Health, Inc.; Christopher Rehm, M.D., Chief Medical Informatics Officer, Lifepoint Health; and Mary Grealy, J.D., President, Healthcare Leadership Council.

House Subcommittee on Research and Technology

Revitalizing American Leadership in Advanced Manufacturing

At 10:00 AM on Tuesday in 2318 Rayburn House Office Building.

President Donald Trump’s recent pick to serve as White House Chief Technology Officer, Michael Kratsios, has been publicly discussing improvements to advanced manufacturing technologies that can give the U.S. a lead. The witness panel for this hearing will include Ryan Myers, Director of Business Development, Department of Defense, Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence; Mike Molnar, Director of the Office of Advanced Manufacturing, National Institute of Standards and Technology; Dr. John Hopkins, CEO, Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation; Valri Lightner, Acting Director, Advanced Manufacturing Office, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy; and Dr. Mitchell Dibbs, Associate R&D Director, External Technology – Government Programs, The Dow Chemical Company.

Senate Subcommittee on Manufacturing, Trade, and Consumer Protection

Small Business Perspectives on a Federal Data Privacy Framework

At 2:30 PM on Tuesday in 562 Dirksen.

Small businesses are frequent targets for cyber attacks because they often employ less robust security systems than larger firms; this hearing will explore issues faced by small businesses that have to comply with cybersecurity laws that are often designed for larger companies. The witness panel for this hearing will include Justin Brookman, Director, Privacy and Technology Policy for Consumer Reports; Nina Dosanjh, Vice Chair, Technology Policy Committee, National Association of Realtors; Jefferson England, Chief Financial Officer, Silver Star Communications; Evan Engstrom, Executive Director, Engine Advocacy and Research Foundation; and Ryan Weber, President, KC Tech Council.

Senate Subcommittee on Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity Responsibilities of the Defense Industrial Base

At 2:30 PM on Tuesday in SR-232A Russell Senate Office Building.

A cybersecurity report released by the U.S. Navy in March indicated that the military branch was still underprepared to respond to cyber attacks five years after the Navy established a cyber task force to handle such issues. The witness panel for this hearing includes the Honorable William LaPlante, Senior Vice President and General Manager, MITRE National Security Sector; John Luddy, Vice President for National Security Policy, Aerospace Industries Association; Christopher Peters, CEO, The Lucrum Group; and Michael MacKay, Chief Technology Officer, Progeny Systems Corporation.

Wednesday, March 27

House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet

Lost Einsteins: Lack of Diversity in Patent Inventorship and the Impact on America’s Innovation Economy

At 10:00 AM on Wednesday in 2141 Rayburn.

This February, a report on female inventorship released by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office found that only 21% of U.S. patents issued in 2016 had a female inventor and only 4% of patents issued in the past decade listed solely female inventors. The witness panel for this hearing will include Michelle Lee, Former Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO; Lisa Cook, Associate Professor of Economics and International Relations, and Director, American Economic Association Summer Training Program, Michigan State University; Ayanna Howard, Professor and Chair, School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology; and Susie Armstrong, Senior Vice President, Qualcomm, Inc.

Information Technology & Innovation Foundation

Allowing Companies to Hack Back: Good Security or Vigilante Justice?

At 1:00 PM on Wednesday at the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, 1101 K Street N.W., Suite 610A, Washington, D.C., 20005.

Cybersecurity is typically seen as a defensive measure but some have begun advocating for policies that allow companies to strike back against server networks to disrupt ongoing attacks and destroy stolen data. This event will include a discussion with a panel including Adam Golodner, Senior Counsel, Arnold & Porter; Bruce Heiman, Practice Area Leader – Policy/Regulatory, K&L Gates; Sven Herpig, Project Director Transatlantic Cyber Forum, Stiftung Neue Verantwortung; and Angela McKay, Senior Director for Cyber Policy, Microsoft. The panel discussion will be moderated by Daniel Castro, Vice President of ITIF and Director, Center for Data Innovation.

Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Business Meeting

At 2:30 PM on Wednesday in SR-428A Russell.

The Senate Small Business Committee will hold a business meeting to, among other things, discuss a pair of bills related to small business cybersecurity: S. 771, the Small Business Cyber Training Act; and S. 772, the SBA Cyber Awareness Act.

Senate Subcommittee on Strategic Forces

Military Space Operations, Policy and Programs

At 2:30 PM on Wednesday in SR-222 Russell.

The Space and Missile Systems Center, a division of the Air Force Space Command for developing and acquiring space and missile systems, is undergoing a reorganization which isn’t expected to be finalized for several months yet. The witness panel for this hearing includes the Honorable Kenneth Rapuano, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Global Security; General John Raymond, USAF, Commander, Air Force Space Command; Lieutenant General John Thompson, USAF, Commander, Space and Missile Systems Center, Air Force Space Command; and Cristina Chaplain, Director, Acquisition and Sourcing Management, Government Accountability Office.

House Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies 

NASA’s Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2020

At 2:30 PM on Wednesday in 2358-C Rayburn.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s 2020 fiscal year budget seeks appropriations of about $21 billion for the agency and includes some redistribution of the funding for NASA’s Space Launch System, the next-generation launch vehicle which is expected to send a manned flight to Mars sometime in the 2030s. The sole witness for this hearing will be Jim Bridenstine, Administrator, NASA.

Thursday, March 28

House Subcommittee on Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities

Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Request for Department of Defense Science and Technology Programs: Maintaining a Robust Ecosystem for our Technological Edge

At 10:00 AM on Thursday in 2212 Rayburn.

The Department of Defense’s (DoD) recent budget request for the 2020 fiscal year seeks $750 billion in appropriations from Congress, including nearly $104 billion for research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) funding, an $8 billion increase over the request for 2019’s fiscal year. The witness panel for this hearing will include the Honorable Michael Griffin, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Office of the Secretary of Defense; the Honorable Bruce Jette, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, Department of the Army; the Honorable James Geurts, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, Department of the Navy; and the Honorable William Roper, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Department of the Air Force.

Information Technology & Innovation Foundation

How America Can Win the Global Talent Race

At 12:30 PM on Thursday at the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation.

The United States has long been a destination for the best talent in STEM fields, but the country’s immigration debate in recent years has placed restrictions on the ability of talented scientists and engineers to come to the United States. This event will feature a discussion with a panel including William Kerr, D’Arbeloff Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; Stuart Anderson, Executive Director, National Foundation for American Policy; Neil Ruiz, Associate Director, Global Migration and Democracy, Pew Research Center; and AnnaLee Saxenian, Dean, School of Information, University of California, Berkeley. The panel discussion will be moderated by Robert Atkinson, President, ITIF.

Friday, March 29

Brookings Institution

Digital Technology in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: A Comparative Perspective

At 10:30 AM on Friday at the Falk Auditorium, Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C., 20036.

This event, the sixth annual Justice Stephen Breyer Lecture on International Law, will explore policy decisions being made across the world to strengthen data protection and penalize those tech companies who abuse the rights of their consumers. Jeroen van den Hoven, Professor of Ethics and Technology, Delft University of Technology, will give the keynote speech. Following those remarks, Professor Hoven will join a discussion with a panel including Cameron Kerry, Former General Counsel, U.S. Department of Commerce, and Distinguished Fellow, Brookings; and Bilyana Petkova, Assistant Professor of International and European Law, Maastricht University, and Fellow-In-Residence, Electronic Privacy Information Center. The panel discussion will be moderated by Nicol Turner Lee, Fellow, Brookings Center for Technology Innovation.