Better Identity Coalition Hails Introduction of Senate Version of the “Improving Digital Identity Act,” House Oversight and Reform Committee Markup

July 15, 2022 Contact: Jeremy Grant

For immediate release     (202) 344-4646

Better Identity Coalition Hails Introduction of Senate Version of the “Improving Digital Identity Act,” House Oversight and Reform Committee Markup

WASHINGTON, DC- Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Cynthia Lummis this week introduced a new bipartisan bill, S. 4528, the “Improving Digital Identity Act of 2022,” focused on addressing shortcomings in America’s “digital identity fabric” by improving security and privacy for all Americans. The Better Identity Coalition applauds the work of these Senators to embrace and advance many of the key recommendations in our Policy Blueprint for improving digital identity in America. 

“So many services – in banking, government, and e-commerce – depend on knowing ‘who is on the other side’ of a transaction,” said Jeremy Grant, Coordinator of the Better Identity Coalition. “But the events of the last few years have made clear that our old identity systems have not transitioned well to the digital world – creating friction in commerce, fueling increased fraud and theft, degrading privacy, and hindering the availability of many services online. We’re thrilled to see Senators Sinema and Lummis build off of the bipartisan legislation authored in the House by Congressmen Bill Foster and John Katko, with a focus on common-sense legislation to help Americans better protect their security and privacy in the digital world.”

The introduction of the new Senate bill was matched with action in the House Oversight and Reform Committee this week to mark up the Foster-Katko bill (H.R. 4258) in its monthly business meeting.  The Oversight Committee is the primary committee of jurisdiction for this bill in the House; markup of the bill is thus a critical step toward its passage.  

“We’re excited to see the House Oversight and Reform Committee taking action to advance the Improving Digital Identity Act,” said Grant.  “The Committee’s recent focus on fraud has made clear that America needs a more comprehensive approach across federal, state and local governments to address critical shortcomings in identity tools that today make it easy for criminals and fraudsters to prey on Americans, make it hard to do business online, and degrade privacy. We commend Chair Carolyn Maloney for taking the initiative to move this bill through the Committee, and look forward to seeing the bill move forward on a bipartisan basis.”