State of Play
The House is in session for an abridged Fourth of July week with a long, and albeit controversial, to-do list. The Senate is in recess.
Speaker Johnson is taking another run at passing the SAVE Act amid President Trump’s demands to pass the legislation ahead of midterm elections. This time by trying to attach it to the NDAA..
Driving the News
The House is expected to take up its version of the FY27 NDAA this week, along with several other pieces of consequential legislation including action on kids online safety. More on that below.
The possible attachment of the SAVE Act to the NDAA has caused intraparty tensions among Republican Members, and could likely cause a standoff on the House floor.
It remains to be seen whether or not the House will be able to move forward with the bill, particularly as DC braces for Fourth of July festivities later this week.
Three Things to Watch in Tech
KIDS Act Moves…. But Will It Cross the Finish Line?: The KIDS Act is on the House suspension calendar this week, teeing up a vote on the largely compromised version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).
Some House Democrats are backing the bipartisan KIDS Act despite concerns that it omits stronger protections included in the Senate's version of the Kids Online Safety Act, arguing that passing meaningful safeguards now is preferable to delaying action.
Reps. Lori Trahan (D-MA) and Kim Schrier (D-WA) called the legislation an important compromise, while Senate Democrats led by Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) urged the House to reject it, warning that its omission of a "duty of care" requirement would weaken protections for children and invite tech industry influence. While the bill is likely to garner enough support for passage in the House, its path to passage remains unclear in the Senate.
Trump’s AI Moves Raise China Competition Concerns: The Trump Administration has taken an increasingly active role in overseeing frontier AI releases, maintaining restrictions on Anthropic's Fable 5 and prompting OpenAI to limit access to GPT-5.6 under a new executive order requiring voluntary government review before public deployment.
While the Administration argues the measures are needed to prevent advanced cyber-capable AI models from being misused, critics warn that limiting access for U.S. developers and cyber defenders could erode America's lead as Chinese firms rapidly introduce competing models with comparable cybersecurity capabilities.
The ongoing debate highlights growing tension between national security oversight and maintaining U.S. technological leadership, as experts warn regulatory uncertainty could narrow the country's estimated six to 12-month advantage over China in frontier AI.
House Energy and Commerce Tackles Tech Innovation: The House Energy and Commerce CMT Subcommittee is set to hold a hearing to examine the intersection of U.S. technological leadership and economic competitiveness across key emerging industries, like AI, chips, quantum, robotics, immersive technologies, biotechnology, and automotive manufacturing.
The hearing includes a broad package of bipartisan legislation designed to bolster domestic innovation, secure critical supply chains, expand research and workforce development, and reduce reliance on foreign competitors, particularly China.
This will be an interesting opportunity to gain insight into the Committee’s end-of-year legislative priorities, and look at how the federal government can support next-gen technologies through targeted investments, national security measures, and public-private partnerships.
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🏛️ Tech Hearings
The House Judiciary Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee holds a hearing on “A Midlife Crisis? IP and the Internet After 40” - Tuesday, June 30 at 10:00 AM EST
The House Energy and Commerce Communications & Technology Subcommittee holds a hearing on the Oversight of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration - Tuesday, June 30 at 10:00 AM EST
The House Energy and Commerce Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee holds a hearing on “American Global Competitiveness at 250: Legislative Proposals to Secure U.S. Technology Leadership” - Tuesday, June 30 at 2:00 PM EST
The House Committee on House Administration Modernization and Innovation Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Modernizing Public Access to Legislative Data and Information” - Wednesday, July 1 at 2:00 PM EST
🗓️ Upcoming Events
Amazon Web Services holds its AWS Summit, focusing on "cloud innovation," Tuesday, June 30 - to Wednesday, July 1
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation holds a virtual discussion on "The New Push for a National Data Privacy Standard" - Wednesday, June 30 at 12:00 PM EST
Punchbowl News holds a discussion on the news of the day, AI infrastructure, small business and the American workforce - Wednesday, July 1 at 8:30 AM EST
The Center for Strategic and International Studies holds a discussion on "The Future of AI-Driven Cyber Defense" - Wednesday, July 1 at 10:00 AM EST
Broadband Breakfast holds a virtual discussion on "Computing, the Internet and Artificial Intelligence" - Wednesday, July 1 at 12:00 PM EST
The Cato Institute holds a virtual forum on "Should There Be a Dilemma About Data Centers?" - Wednesday, July 1 at 1:30 PM EST
The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission holds a hearing on "Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain: Implications for Human Rights" - Wednesday, July 1 at 2:00 PM EST
The Hudson Institute holds a discussion on "Securing American Data," focusing on "Ensuring that American businesses do not rely on foreign technology as both a privacy issue and a national security imperative" - Thursday, July 2 at 9:00 AM EST
