,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hbad  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,september #aa1      
#bjbj,mr4 ,foster 7for himself and ,ms4 
,wexton7 introduced the following bill2 
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,science1 ,space1 and ,technology  ,a   
,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of    
,commerce1 acting through the ,director 
of the ,national ,institute of          
,standards and ,technology1 to direct   
the ,institute to establish a robust    
program focusing on driving improvements
 in ,america's cybersecurity posture by 
creating more robust digital identity   
management standards and guidelines4    
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,strengthening ,digital         
,identity ,act of #bjbj4  #b4 ,findings 
,congress finds the following3 7#a7     
,,nist's work in identity research and  
standards is unmatched anywhere in the  
world1 with global standards development
 organizations like the ,financial      
,action ,task ,force 7,,fatf7 pointing  

to ,,nist guidance in its own standards4
 ,given that adversaries continue to    
exploit weaknesses in digital identity  
systems to conduct successful           
cyber-attacks1 additional ,,nist        
resources are needed to help government 
and industry secure identity in         
cyberspace4  7#b7 ,the lack of an easy1 
affordable1 and reliable way for        
organizations and businesses to identify
 whether an individual is who they claim
 to be online creates an attack vector  
that is widely exploited by adversaries 
in cyberspace and precludes many high   
value transactions from being available 
online4  7#c7 ,according to the identity
 theft resource center1 incidents of    
identity theft and identity fraud       
continue to rise in the ,united ,states1
 where more than #afd1jjj1jjj consumer  
records containing personally           
identifiable information were breached  
in #bjai1 increasing the total number of
 data breaches by #ag percent from the  
previous year4  7#d7 ,according to the  

,insurance ,information ,institute1 in  
#bjah1 losses resulting from identity   
fraud amounted to #af1hjj1jjj1jjj4  7#e7
 ,the inadequacy of current digital     
identity solutions degrades security and
 privacy for all ,americans1 and next   
generation solutions are needed that    
improve both security and privacy4  7#f7
 ,government entities1 as authoritative 
issuers of identity in the ,united      
,states1 are uniquely positioned to     
deliver critical components that address
 deficiencies in our digital identity   
infrastructure and augment private      
sector digital identity and             
authentication solutions4  7#g7 ,state  
governments are particularly well suited
 to play a role in enhancing digital    
identity solutions used by both the     
public and private sectors1 given the   
role of ,state governments as the       
issuers of driver's licenses and other  
identity documents commonly used today4 
7#h7 ,it should be the policy of the    
,government to use the authorities and  

capabilities of the ,government to      
enhance the security1 reliability1      
privacy1 and convenience of digital     
identity solutions that support and     
protect transactions between            
individuals1 government entities1 and   
businesses1 and that enable ,americans  
to prove who they are online4  #c4      
,identity management research and       
development ,section #ejd of the        
,cybersecurity ,enhancement ,act of     
#bjad 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #gdfd7 is amended  
to read as follows3  #ejd4 ,identity    
management research and development  7a7
 ,in general ,the ,director shall       
continue a program to support the       
development of voluntary and            
cost-effective technical standards1     
metrology1 testbeds1 and conformance    
criteria1 taking into account           
appropriate user concerns-- 7#a7 to     
improve interoperability among identity 
management technologies2  7#b7 to       
strengthen identity proofing and        
authentication methods used in identity 

management systems2  7#c7 to improve    
privacy protection in identity          
management systems1 including health    
information technology systems1 through 
authentication and security protocols2  
and  7#d7 to improve the usability and  
inclusivity of identity management      
systems4  7b7 ,updates and investment   
strategy ,the ,director1 in consultation
 with other relevant ,federal agencies  
and stakeholders from the private       
sector1 shall develop and implement a   
comprehensive forward-looking investment
 strategy for identity management       
research and development and standards  
focused on enabling the use and adoption
 of modern digital identity solutions   
that align with the four criteria in    
section 7a74 ,this strategy shall3 7#a7 
,identify where additional funding may  
be needed to execute all elements of the
 strategy1 both in ,,nist and           
potentially in other parts of           
government4  7#b7 ,be updated not less  
than every #b years with reports to the 

,house ,science ,committee1 ,senate     
,commerce ,committee1 and ,house and    
,senate appropriations committees4  7c7 
,activities ,in carrying out the        
strategy described under subsection 7a71
 the ,director shall give consideration 
to activities that-- 7#a7 accelerate the
 development1 in collaboration with the 
private sector1 of standards that       
address interoperability and portability
 of digital identity solutions2  7#b7   
addresses gaps in current               
private-sector-led identity management  
research and development and standards  
work1 both for consumer-focused and     
enterprise-focused identity management2 
7#c7 advances the development of        
conformance testing performed by the    
private sector in support of digital    
identity standardization2  7#d7         
addresses challenges with inclusivity of
 existing digital identity and identity 
management tools2 and  7#e7 support1 in 
consultation with other relevant        
,federal agencies and stakeholders from 

the private sector1 the development of  
appropriate security frameworks and     
reference materials1 and the            
identification of best practices1 for   
use by ,federal agencies and the private
 sector to address security and privacy 
requirements to enable the use and      
adoption of digital identity services4  
4  #d4 ,digital identity standards  7a7 
,establishment of a standards framework 
,the ,director shall develop a framework
 of standards1 methodologies1           
procedures1 and processes 7in this      
section referred to as the ,framework7  
as a guide for ,federal1 ,state1 and    
local governments to follow when        
providing services related to digital   
identity verification4  7b7             
,consideration ,in developing the       
,framework1 the ,director shall         
consider-- 7#a7 methods to protect the  
privacy of individuals2  7#b7 security  
needs2 and  7#c7 the needs of potential 
end-users and individuals that will use 
services related to digital identity    

verification4  7c7 ,consultation ,in    
carrying out subsection the ,director   
shall consult with-- 7#a7 ,federal and  
,state agencies2  7#b7 potential        
end-users and individuals that will use 
services related to digital identity    
verification2 and  7#c7 experts with    
relevant experience in the systems that 
enable digital identity verification1 as
 determined by the ,director4  7d7      
,interim publication ,not later than    
#bdj days after the date of the         
enactment of this ,act1 the ,director   
shall publish an interim version of the 
,framework4  7e7 ,final publication ,not
 later than #a year after the date of   
the enactment of this ,act1 the         
,director shall publish a final version 
of the ,framework4  7f7 ,updates to the 
,framework ,the ,director shall1 from   
time to time1 update the ,framework1    
with consideration given to-- 7#a7      
feedback from ,federal1 ,state1 and     
local agencies that provide services    
related to digital identity             

verification2 and  7#b7 any             
technological changes to the systems    
that enable digital identity            
verification4  7g7 ,authorization of    
appropriations ,there is authorized to  
be appropriated to the ,secretary       
#aj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years    
#bjba through #bjbe to carry out this   
,act and the amendments made by this    
,act4  #e4 ,definitions ,for purposes of
 this ,act3 7#a7 ,bot ,the term ,bot    
means an autonomous program on an       
,internet network that can interact with
 computer systems or users1 especially  
one designed to respond or behave like a
 human being4  7#b7 ,digital identity   
verification ,the term digital identity 
verification means a process to verify  
the identity of an individual accessing 
a service online4  7#c7 ,director ,the  
term ,director means the ,director of   
the ,national ,institute of ,standards  
and ,technology4  7#d7 ,institute ,the  
term ,institute means the ,national     
,institute of ,standards and            

,technology4  7#e7 ,secretary ,the term 
,secretary means the ,secretary of      
,commerce4