Bill > HR5537

Introduced Session

Digital GAP Act Digital Global Access Policy Act of 2016 This bill expresses the sense of Congress that: the title of the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment should be changed to the Under Secretary for Economics, Energy, the Environment, and Cyberspace; the Department of State should designate an Assistant Secretary for Technology, International Communications, and Cyberspace to lead diplomatic cyberspace policy for internet access, governance, and freedom, telecommunications networks and communications technology, and cyber security; and the U.S. Agency for International Development should integrate efforts to expand internet access, develop appropriate technologies, and enhance digital literacy into its education, development, and economic growth programs, and promote protection of the personal information of people served by humanitarian, disaster, and development programs. The Peace Corps Act is amended to express the sense of Congress that the Peace Corps should develop volunteer positions focused on leveraging technology for development, education, and social and economic mobility. The President should direct U.S. representatives to international bodies to advocate for: (1) increasing efforts to promote gender-equitable internet access, (2) standardizing inclusion of broadband conduit-fiber optic cables, and (3) providing technical assistance to remove investment barriers and strengthen market growth. The President shall transmit plans to Congress to promote U.S. agency (including U.S. funded international agency) partnerships with the private and public sectors to provide internet access or infrastructure in developing countries. The President should include in the next White House Cyberspace Strategy information relating to: (1) internet access, (2) cyber security policy, and (3) principles of global internet freedom. "Cyberspace" means the interdependent network of information technology infrastructures, and includes the internet, telecommunications networks, computer systems, and embedded processors and controllers in critical industries, and includes the virtual environment of information and interactions between people.

Committee Categories

Edward Royce (R)*,  Karen Bass (D),  David Cicilline (D),  Eliot Engel (D),  Derek Kilmer (D),  Michael McCaul (R),  Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R),  Grace Meng (D), 

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (on 09/08/2016)

Official Document