American Digital Security and Commerce Act of 2014
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
American Digital Security and Commerce Act of 2014 - Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in coordinating standards and guidelines under the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act with agencies and offices operating or exercising control of national security systems (including the National Security Agency [NSA]), to assure that such agencies or offices do not intentionally weaken, circumvent, undermine, or create any mechanism through which a federal agency may bypass the privacy, security, or encryption protections included in any standard or guideline.
Prohibits agencies and offices that consult with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on information security policies from undermining such protective mechanisms.
Prohibits federal agencies from intercepting shipments of computer or electronic products for the purpose of intentionally introducing into the products a mechanism or device that would allow a federal agency to circumvent a product's privacy, security, or encryption protections.
Bars elements of the intelligence community from requiring, or contracting with, a manufacturer or developer of such products to place such a mechanism or device into its products.
Exempts from such mechanism placement prohibitions certain lawful surveillance activities pursuant to a court order under specified provisions of the federal criminal code or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (except with respect to procedures for targeting persons outside the United States other than U.S. persons).
Permits persons (including certain associations and corporations, but excluding foreign powers) who suffer an injury relating to a mechanism placed into product to bring a civil action against the United States to recover money damages.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on June 19, 2014. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on June 19, 2014: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
John Walsh (D-MT) introduced it on June 19, 2014, and 2 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 1 Democrat, 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 19, 2014, 4466 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4466 days ago, on June 19, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers