CES: Federal Tech and Innovation Priorities for the New Year

Senator Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada), a former computer programmer, brought Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico) to the CES stage to talk about their top technology interests in the new year. All of them serve on committees with core interests in the future of technology. In addition to serving on six committees, Rosen is on the subcommittee on cybersecurity; Warner is chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence among other committee assignments; and Luján is a member of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation among others.

Warner has three tech-centric priorities for 2023. “Russia has been manipulating our social media platforms and we’ve done nothing about it,” he said. “Putting guardrails on social media is one of my big priorities. We need to come back to a privacy bill, data portability, dark patterns and the debate about Section 230.”

Second, Warner is focused on cybersecurity, especially related to healthcare. “Unless and until we can make sure cyber protections are built-in and not bolted-on, we won’t get it right,” he said, noting that the committee put out a white paper on the subject a few months ago and is looking for suggestions.

Last, he said, is the technology competition with China. “That and national security are inextricably tied,” he said. “That competition has to be dealt with in a serious way.”

Luján agreed with Warner and added the issue of the digital divide. “There’s tremendous opportunity across America, but we need to look at where the dollars should go,” he suggested. “States like New Mexico, Texas, Alaska, Nevada and California are faced with the similar challenges of hard-to-reach areas. “In closing the digital divide, we hope to bring attention to digital equity and digital literacy,” he added.

One of Rosen’s top priorities is to “fully implement the bipartisan infrastructure bill.” She noted that that she helped write the broadband section to make sure FCC maps reflect realities on the ground. Luján added that “anyone can challenge the FCC maps” and urged listeners to do just that.

Rosen also wants to push to enhance cybersecurity, in particular nurturing talent in that sector; she and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) introduced a bill to create a Civilian Cyber Security Reserve Act, which would enable citizens to move in and out of government roles.

Luján added that national security clearance reform also must be addressed, and Warner stated that immigration reform will also help fill the ranks of cybersecurity professionals in the U.S.

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