Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., arrives for the House Energy and Commerce markup of the FY 2025 budget proposal at the Rayburn Building on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | getty images
Two data privacy bills set to be introduced on Wednesday and shared first with CNBC would exempt nearly two dozen state laws to create a national standard to limit how tech and finance companies handle user data.
The bills – the Secure Data Act, which focuses on technology companies, and the Guard Financial Data Act, which focuses on financial services businesses – are designed to work together to create a single national standard. House Energy and Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and House Financial Services Chairman French Hill, R-Ark., are throwing their support behind the bills, potentially gaining momentum for the first votes next month.
Guthrie said in a statement to CNBC that the SECURE Act would “end the confusing patchwork of state-by-state laws that fail consumers and small businesses alike.” He said the measure would be similar to some bills already passed by states like Kentucky.
In addition to preempting the state law, the bill would allow people to access, correct or delete their personal data, as well as opt out of targeted advertising and the sale of their data, according to bill text first seen by CNBC.
Neither bill would allow people to sue companies over data privacy violations, which Democratic lawmakers have pushed in previous data privacy bills.
Congress has tried repeatedly over the years to strike the right balance on data privacy protections. In addition to differences between Republicans and Democrats, intra-party divisions have meant that previous efforts have struggled to gain widespread support. Two years ago, a planned Energy and Commerce Committee vote on a data privacy bill was canceled at the 11th hour after it was blocked by several Republicans.
Guthrie is trying to avoid that this time. Last year, he formed a task force to garner support and hear input from Republican members. According to committee staff, the strategy is to first ensure Republicans have enough votes to advance the measure through committee, and then work on gaining Democratic support. The House Financial Services Committee is adopting a similar strategy.
