Hatch: Limiting the President’s Monument Authority an Important Step to Protect Utahns
Washington, D.C.—Lawmakers in the United States Senate today considered an amendment to the Senate’s bipartisan energy bill that would protect Westerners from federal land grabs. The amendment, offered by Senator Mike Lee, R-Utah, maintains the President’s authority to designate federal lands as national monuments under the Antiquities Act, but requires both Congressional approval and the approval of state legislatures for monument designations to remain in effect. If Congress and the affected states have not passed resolutions ratifying the designation within three years of the President’s action, it will expire immediately. Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the senior Republican in the United States Senate and a longtime advocate of restoring Utahns’ control over public lands, voiced his strong support for the proposal, which he has cosponsored.
“This amendment is a meaningful step toward protecting our rural families and communities from the potential harm large monument designations could inflict on local families and economies,” Hatch said. “In 1996, I stood up for my fellow Utahns when President Clinton designated the Grand Staircase Escalante monument—a unilateral action that blatantly ignored the important heritage of the land and the impact the designation would have on the livelihood of local communities. Land grabs such as this underscore the arrogance of federal power. This amendment empowers the states and reaffirms the principles of federalism by allowing Congress and affected states to be involved in the approval of new monuments.”
Senator Hatch has championed Utah land rights over nearly four decades of public service. In 2011, he introduced a bill to prohibit the extension or establishment of national monuments in Utah without the express authorization of Congress. Senator Hatch is committed to reining in the power of the executive branch by reasserting Congress’s role in designating federal monuments. Some states, such as Wyoming, have already received a guarantee that the federal government will not designate new national monuments without congressional approval. Senator Hatch is currently fighting in Congress to secure that same protection for Utah and all other states.
Hatch Calls on Senate to Pass Judicial Redress Act Swiftly
Washington, D.C.—Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, member and former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and chairman of the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force, spoke on the Senate floor today on the importance of passing the Judicial Redress Act, which passed in the Judiciary Committee last week by a vote of 19-1. Senator Hatch initiated the process of hotlining the Judicial Redress Act yesterday.
Our legislation rights an inequity—a reciprocal benefit that has been withheld from our European allies with little justification. Cross-border data flows between the United States and Europe are the highest in the world.
Today, most countries in the European Union affirmatively provide data protection rights to Americans on European soil. Our European allies and their citizens should likewise have access to the core benefits of the Privacy Act when in the United States. It is the right and fair thing to do.
On the importance of our innovation economy, Senator Hatch addressed the need to finalize the current Safe Harbor agreement.
For years, Safe Harbor rules have benefitted U.S. technology companies that provide cloud services to their European customers. Without a Safe Harbor agreement, however, U.S. cloud-based companies seeking to do business in Europe could be forced to negotiate with 28 individual countries in the European Union over how their citizens’ data is collected and stored. Such a requirement would disrupt and chill trans-Atlantic business operations, jeopardize countless American jobs, and stifle domestic innovation.
In his speech, Senator Hatch warned of the economic consequences should Congress not work to grant limited judicial redress to citizens of the European Union.
The economic damage would be significant and relatively immediate—and the consequences could be catastrophic, especially for small enterprises. Failure to reach an agreement would impact the economies of both the United States and our friends in the European Union. If we are unable to reach a final Safe Harbor agreement soon, Congress must be prepared to take appropriate action to ensure that these negative consequences do not come to fruition.
The full speech, as prepared for delivery, is below.
Mr. President: I rise today to emphasize the importance of the Judicial Redress Act—a bill that the Senate Judiciary Committee favorably reported last week by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 19 to 1. As I speak, the Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are in the process of clearing this legislation by unanimous consent.
I am optimistic the Senate will pass the Judicial Redress Act in the coming days and that ultimately we will send this legislation to the President’s desk.
I want to thank Senator Chris Murphy for introducing this important bill with me and for the broad support we have built among both Republicans and Democrats.
I also want to acknowledge the good work of Representatives Jim Sensenbrenner and John Conyers for their efforts. They have been stalwarts in advancing this important legislation in the House of Representatives. It has been a true bipartisan, bicameral effort.
Simply stated, the Judicial Redress Act would extend certain data protections and remedies available to U.S. citizens under the Privacy Act to European citizens by allowing them to correct flawed information in their records and, in rare instances, the option to pursue legal remedies if federal agencies improperly disclose their data.
Our legislation rights an inequity—a reciprocal benefit that has been withheld from our European allies with little justification. Cross-border data flows between the United States and Europe are the highest in the world.
Today, most countries in the European Union affirmatively provide data protection rights to Americans on European soil. Our European allies and their citizens should likewise have access to the core benefits of the Privacy Act when in the United States. It is the right and fair thing to do.
Passing the Judicial Redress Act is critical to ratification of the Data Privacy and Protection Agreement, commonly called the Umbrella Agreement. This agreement allows for data transfers between European and American law enforcement officials for the purpose of fighting and investigating crime, including terrorism.
European officials have said they will not ratify the Umbrella Agreement until Congress provides E.U. citizens with limited judicial redress. Our bill is key to providing reciprocity to our European allies and will serve as the catalyst to finalizing the long-awaited data-protection deal.
The U.S. Department of Justice, which supports this legislation, states that failure to finalize the Umbrella Agreement “would dramatically reduce cooperation and significantly hinder counterterrorism efforts.” Given the global state of affairs, we simply cannot risk losing the critical benefits of the Umbrella Agreement.
Mr. President, as chairman of the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force, I am always seeking ways to keep our American technology industry at the forefront of the global economy. And I am convinced that passing the Judicial Redress Act will build much-needed goodwill with our European allies who are currently negotiating the new Safe Harbor agreement—an international agreement that allows U.S. technology companies to move digital information between the European Union and the United States.
For years, Safe Harbor rules have benefitted U.S. technology companies that provide cloud services to their European customers. Without a Safe Harbor agreement, however, U.S. cloud-based companies seeking to do business in Europe could be forced to negotiate with 28 individual countries in the European Union over how their citizens’ data is collected and stored. Such a requirement would disrupt and chill trans-Atlantic business operations, jeopardize countless American jobs, and stifle domestic innovation.
Indeed, business of all sizes and in all sectors would face profound consequences if we do not conclude a new Safe Harbor agreement. The economic damage would be significant and relatively immediate—and the consequences could be catastrophic, especially for small enterprises. Failure to reach an agreement would impact the economies of both the United States and our friends in the European Union. If we are unable to reach a final Safe Harbor agreement soon, Congress must be prepared to take appropriate action to ensure that these negative consequences do not come to fruition.
In the meantime, Mr. President, it is critically important that Congress pass the Judicial Redress Act. I am pleased that the Senate is swiftly moving towards this end, and I am optimistic that we will have a successful resolution in the coming days.
I thank my colleagues for their support in this effort.
Hatch Statement on Committee Passage of the Judicial Redress Act
Washington, D.C.—Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, member and former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement after the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the Judicial Redress Act by a vote of 19-1.
“Most countries in the European Union provide data protection rights to Americans on European soil,” said Senator Hatch. “European citizens should likewise have access to the core benefits of the Privacy Act when in the United States. It is vital that Congress pass this bill to provide assurances to our European allies that the United States respects data privacy. I am pleased that the Judiciary Committee reported the bill this morning and encourage prompt passage by the full Senate.”
Background
The Judicial Redress Act extends core benefits of the Privacy Act to select U.S. allies with regard to information shared with the U.S. for law enforcement purposes, including judicial redress for denials of access to and correction of records and remedies for intentional or willful disclosure of information.
The Judicial Redress Act was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressmen Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and John Conyers (D-Mich.), which passed the House on October 20, 2015, by voice vote. The bill is supported by the White House, U.S. Department of Justice, and U.S. federal law enforcement agencies. The legislation has been endorsed by numerous organizations and associations, including The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Application Developers Alliance, BSA, The Software Alliance Computer & Communications Industry Association, Information Technology Industry Council, Internet Association, Software & Information Industry Association, the Trans Atlantic Business Council, IBM, Facebook, Foursquare, Google, Intuit, Microsoft, and Yahoo.
Senators Hatch, Coons Applaud Committee Passage of Trade Secrets Legislation
Theft of trade secrets costs U.S. businesses hundreds of billions each year
WASHINGTON -- Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, member and former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Chris Coons, D-Del, also a member of the Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement after the committee passed the Defend Trade Secrets Act by a voice vote. The bill has 27 bipartisan cosponsors.
“The Judiciary Committee’s overwhelming vote in support of the Defend Trade Secrets Act demonstrates the importance and timeliness of this legislation,” said Senator Orrin Hatch. “I hope the Senate will follow suit and act promptly to safeguard American ingenuity and give companies the legal protections they deserve. Not only has our bill attracted overwhelming bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress; it has also garnered endorsements from a wide-array of industry stakeholders who know firsthand the economic losses caused by trade secret theft. Both Republicans and Democrats agree that this bill is critical for American property rights and innovation.”
“I am very pleased this committee was able to come together in a strong, bipartisan way to help American companies defend the trade secrets that drive their growth and innovation,” said Senator Chris Coons. “It is clear that Democrats and Republicans in both chambers recognize that American businesses continue losing significant revenue and American jobs to trade secret theft, a national problem the Defend Trade Secrets Act intends to fix. I strongly urge Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring this bipartisan bill to the floor immediately so we can move forward in protecting the intellectual property of American businesses. We need this bill now more than ever to keep America competitive in the global economy.”
Senators Hatch and Coons also published an op-ed on the Defend Trade Secrets Act in the Hill.
Background
In today’s electronic age, trade secrets can be stolen with a few keystrokes, and increasingly, they are stolen at the direction of a foreign government or for the benefit of a foreign competitor. These losses put U.S. jobs at risk and threaten incentives for continued investment in research and development.
Current federal criminal law is insufficient. Although the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 made trade secret theft a crime, the Department of Justice lacks the resources to prosecute many such cases. State-level civil trade secret laws alone have not been sufficient to stop interstate theft. Federal courts are better suited to working across state and national boundaries to facilitate discovery, serve defendants or witnesses, or prevent a party from leaving the country. Laws also vary state-to-state, making it difficult for U.S. companies to craft consistent policies.
The Defend Trade Secrets Act would:
The bill is supported by the Association of Global Automakers, Inc., Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), The Boeing Company, Boston Scientific, BSA | The Software Alliance (BSA), Caterpillar Inc., Corning Incorporated, Eli Lilly and Company, General Electric, Honda, IBM, Illinois Tool Works Inc., Intel, The Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO), International Fragrance Association, North America, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Micron, National Alliance for Jobs and Innovation (NAJI), National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), NIKE, The Procter & Gamble Company, Siemens Corporation, Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and United Technologies Corporation.
