2 House Commerce Republicans Seek Dems' Privacy ‘Leadership’

House Commerce Committee Democrats should hold hearings and markups to develop a “strong federal privacy framework” for data, said ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and House Consumer Protection Subcommittee ranking member Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., marking one year since EU-U.S. Privacy Shield invalidation (see 2107140020). They called the invalidation a “major setback for the privacy protections of Europeans and Americans and a significant disruption to cross-border data flow.” They urged the committee to show leadership in protecting American data and “finally enact a national privacy standard.” The office for House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., didn’t comment. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee ranking member Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., joined Rodgers and Bilirakis in a separate letter Friday urging President Joe Biden to “prioritize comprehensive data privacy legislation as part of the Administration’s agenda.” They called for a federal standard to replace a patchwork of state privacy laws.