[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1144 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1144
Honoring the 100th anniversary of the Consumer Technology Association.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 15, 2024
Mr. Issa submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Honoring the 100th anniversary of the Consumer Technology Association.
Whereas 1924 represented a pivotal moment in the history of technology, marked
by significant developments and the legacy of prominent figures;
Whereas, in 1924, Thomas Edison, the inventor and entrepreneur whose inventions,
including the phonograph and the electric light bulb, continued to
thrive on the frontier of innovation;
Whereas 1924 signified the continued influence of Nikola Tesla, whose
contributions to alternating current power systems laid the groundwork
for much of today's electrical infrastructure;
Whereas 1924 also witnessed Guglielmo Marconi, the pioneer of wireless
telegraphy, or radio, whose innovations paved the way for modern
telecommunications;
Whereas 1924 marked a transition to new advancements and discoveries in the
realm of science, engineering, and technology;
Whereas, in that same year, the organization now known as the Consumer
Technology Association was founded as the Associated Radio Manufacturers
at the Hotel Sherman in Chicago, Illinois, on April 16, 1924, and the
name was changed several weeks later to the Radio Manufacturers
Association (RMA);
Whereas the RMA was formed in response to patent fights, a lack of cohesive
technical standards, and looming legislation affecting radio;
Whereas, in July 1925, in response to an increasing need for technical standards
in the radio industry, RMA adopted a formal resolution to develop its
own industry standards, and early targets for standards included color-
coded wiring, dimensions for plugs, jacks, and sockets, and markings for
transformers;
Whereas, in 1927, RMA formed an industrywide Radio Coordinating Committee, which
directed and advocated to shape the Radio Act of 1927, which established
the Federal Radio Commission, which later became the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC), and Congress adopted 90 percent of the
recommendations of RMA and the Radio Coordinating Committee;
Whereas, in 1933, struggling with the Great Depression, RMA reorganized, closing
its New York and Chicago offices and moving to a combined office in
Washington, DC;
Whereas RMA became heavily invested in experimentation with and regulation of
television, developing the first proposed standards for television,
which the FCC quickly put into place, and its work led to the beginning
of commercial television broadcasting in the United States on July 1,
1941;
Whereas, when the United States entered World War II, RMA members undertook a
massive effort to convert manufacturing to a war footing, and with
limited exceptions, nearly all civilian radio production was earmarked
for the war effort;
Whereas the organization in 1950, reflecting the evolving times, changed its
name to the Radio-Television Manufacturers Association (RTMA), and Glen
McDaniel became the first paid president in 1951;
Whereas, in 1953, again recognizing the changing face of American technology,
RTMA became the Radio-Electronics-Television Manufacturers Association
(RETMA), and in 1957, members changed the name to the Electronic
Industries Association (EIA), signaling an expansion beyond radio and
television and instead ``embracing all industry segments'' of
electronics;
Whereas, in 1967, EIA hosted the first Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which
was organized by Staff Vice President Jack Wayman and was held in New
York City from June 25 to 28, 1967, and occupied more than 100,000
square feet and included more than 100 exhibitors;
Whereas, in 1984, EIA and Chairman of the Home Recording Rights Coalition (HRRC)
Gary Shapiro advocated on behalf of VCR manufacturers and fought to
uphold the legality of home videotaping, and the Supreme Court's ruling
in favor of Sony and other VCR manufacturers paved the way for home
recording, which is considered the Magna Carta for the consumer
technology industry;
Whereas, in 1984, the FCC approved multichannel TV sound (MTS) which provided
the extra dimension of stereo for more powerful audio, and in 1986, the
Consumer Electronics Group (CEG, a division of EIA) was honored with an
Emmy for its industry-shaping role in advancing stereo television;
Whereas, in 1990, legislation was signed into law requiring closed captioning
decoders in all larger color TVs, and over the next 3 years, the FCC
adopted the EIA's closed captioning standard (later called CTA-608);
Whereas, beginning in the 1990s, CTA started hosting mini-CES events on Capitol
Hill where CTA members displayed new technology products for lawmakers
and congressional staff, and beginning in 2010, this became known as CES
on the Hill, and it continues to this day;
Whereas the organization was instrumental in the transition to digital
television technology, cofounding the Advanced Television Systems
Committee in 1982, helping create the Advanced Television Test Center in
1987 and the HDTV Model Station, which operated as a living test bed for
making HDTV broadcasting work from 1996 to 1999 and as the DTV Station
Project until 2001;
Whereas, in 1995, EIA's Consumer Electronics Group became Consumer Electronics
Manufacturers Association (CEMA), and Gary Shapiro, who started working
at the association in 1982, became president of CEMA;
Whereas, in 1998, the Electronic Industries Association was renamed Electronic
Industries Alliance, and in 1999, CEMA's name was changed to Consumer
Electronics Association (CEA) and becomes its own separate legal entity,
better reflecting the diversity of member companies;
Whereas, in 2000, the CE Hall of Fame was created to honor the achievements of
the leaders and pioneers in the consumer electronics industry, and the
Industry Forum awards dinner was established to recognize the hall's
inductees;
Whereas, since 2000, CTA has been recognized with scores of awards for CES, a
healthy work environment and as a great place to work;
Whereas, in 2005, the Digital Patriots Dinner was set up to recognize leaders in
the public sector who work to advance technological growth, and at the
inaugural award ceremony, Intel CEO Dr. Craig Barret received the
Industry Digital Patriot Award;
Whereas, in 2012, the CTA Foundation was founded with the mission to support
seniors and people with disabilities by connecting them with life-
enhancing technology;
Whereas, in 2012, CEA and other stakeholders joined a Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) advisory committee to provide recommendations that
would allow passengers to use handheld devices in ``airplane mode''
during taxiing, takeoff, and landing;
Whereas the organization entered 2015 with a new name, the Consumer Technology
Association, reflecting the reality that every company is a tech
company;
Whereas, in 2019, CTA established the Diversity Investment Fund, which is
investing up to $10,000,000 into venture firms and funds focused on
funding underrepresented founders, women-led startups, and diverse
leadership teams;
Whereas, in 2022, CTA partnered with the World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS)
to showcase the critical role of technology in support of the United
Nations (UN) efforts to advance human security for all, and at a
September 2023 event at UN headquarters in New York, CTA announced that
technology would become the eighth pillar of the UN's Human Security For
All (HS4A) global campaign;
Whereas, following a decade of legislative advocacy and standards development by
CTA, the bipartisan Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act of 2017, directing
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow direct-to-consumer and
retail-based hearing aid sales, passed Congress in 2017, and in 2022,
the FDA final rule authorized over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids,
benefitting tens of millions of Americans with mild to moderate hearing
loss to purchase OTC hearing aids without a medical exam or
prescription, online, and in stores;
Whereas, in July 2023, CTA joined the White House to support the launch of the
United States Cyber Trust Mark program, a label to protect consumers
from cyberattacks, and in October of that same year, CTA was recognized
by the World Innovation, Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) for
work around the program to give consumers more information about the
cybersecurity of the connected products they buy;
Whereas, in September 2023, CTA released a policy framework that supports a
measured and balanced approach to the regulation of Artificial
Intelligence (AI), and in November, CTA president and CEO Gary Shapiro
participated in a Senate forum on AI;
Whereas, in February 2024, CTA named Kinsey Fabrizio as its first female
president, with Gary Shapiro continuing as CEO; and
Whereas the week of April 15, 2024, is CTA Tech Week, where the organization
hosts CES on the Hill, its Digital Patriots Dinner, and will mark its
100th anniversary: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes that the Consumer Technology Association is
a respected and effective advocate for United States innovators
and the entire technology industry, and has been igniting
innovation since 1924;
(2) commemorates the Consumer Technology Association's
contributions to the United States economy and society
throughout its history; and
(3) celebrates the 100th anniversary of the establishment
of the Consumer Technology Association.
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