June 2019 NIST Constituent Newsletter

NIST Congressional and Legislative Affairs

Monthly Constituent Newsletter - June 2019

RECENT NEWS

NIST Privacy Framework

NIST is in the process of developing a Privacy Framework intended to serve as a voluntary tool for organizations to better assess, manage, and communicate about privacy risks so that individuals can enjoy the benefits of innovative technologies with greater confidence and trust. NIST has just released the Privacy Framework Discussion Draft to collect additional stakeholder feedback.  

NIST will hold the third in a series of public workshops on the development of the Privacy Framework July 8-9, 2019 in Boise, ID.  This workshop will provide opportunities for attendees to engage in working sessions to help inform the development of the NIST Privacy Framework: An Enterprise Risk Management Tool. Learn more and register on the workshop’s event page.

 

Disaster Resilience Symposium

NIST will hold its second annual Disaster Resilience Symposium on August 7-8, 2019 at the NIST campus in Gaithersburg, MD. The symposium will feature presentations from over a dozen grant awardees funded by NIST and from NIST researchers on the latest findings from related internal projects. Topics will include disaster and failure studies, earthquake engineering, wind engineering, community resilience, and wildland-urban interface fires.

For more information, please visit the event page

CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS

Need for Resilience: Preparing America’s Transportation Infrastructure for Climate Change

On May 21, 2019, Jason Averill, Chief of the Materials and Structural Systems Division testified before the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight.  The purpose of the hearing was to assess the current state of federal research into transportation infrastructure climate resilience, as well as to highlight the importance of incorporating climate change into transportation planning and design.  View a copy of his testimony or the live webcast.  

Additional Witnesses included:

  • Susanne DesRoches, Deputy Director for Infrastructure and Energy, New York City Mayor’s Office of Resiliency and Office of Sustainability 
  • Gregory D. WinfreeDirector, Texas A&M Transportation Institute 
  • Scott Reeve, President, Composite Advantage, LLC


Facial Recognition Technology: Ensuring Transparency in Government Use

On June 4, 2019, Dr. Charles Romine, Director of the Information Technology Laboratory testified before the House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Reform.  The purpose of the hearing was to examine the use of facial recognition technology by government entities and the need for oversight of government use of this technology upon civilians.  View of copy of his testimony or the live webcast

Additional Witnesses included:

  • Kimberly J. Del Greco, Deputy Assistant Director, Criminal Justice Information Services, Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • Gretta L. Goodwin, Director, Homeland Security and Justice, U.S. Government Accountability Office
  • Austin Gould, Assistant Administrator, Requirements and Capabilities Analysis, Transportation Security Administration