Week of April 17, 2023
A friendly PSA as Congress comes back to town to resume its Spring legislative session--your taxes are due tomorrow, April 18, so please do your best to avoid channeling Homer Simpson and get that paperwork in via mail or electronic filing.
The House and Senate return from the two-week recess period to find their timeframe to address the looming debt ceiling threshold that much shorter; the annual Appropriations and NDAA cycles ready to move out of the starting gate; and some pesky inside-the-beltway political issues that are surfacing at a less than ideal time.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) will give a speech at the New York Stock Exchange today, and the expectation is that this will be the start of the House GOP’s effort to move a debt ceiling increase that is paired with spending cuts and reforms. This will be a strictly partisan bill in the House, which will be very challenging for the GOP; but, the potential upside is getting the Senate and the White House to the table for further negotiations.
The Senate has its own “drama” this week, as Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) returns for the first time since being hospitalized after a fall in March, and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) attempts to gain consent to replace the long-absent Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) from the Judiciary Committee in order to have the votes to confirm judicial nominees.
And, in a rare bit of good news for the locals here in your nation’s capital, Daniel Snyder has agreed to sell the Washington Commanders (nee Redskins) for a whopping $6 billion, thereby giving a ray of hope to the long-suffering fans of one of the most poorly run franchises in the NFL.
What We’re Watching:
Schumer Prepares to Move AI Reform: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is developing legislation to regulate AI technology. Schumer is seeking feedback from AI experts on a draft framework, which is focused on transparency, data sources, and ethical concerns. Schumer is taking a stance similar to the Endless Frontier Act (which became the CHIPS and Science Act) in the 117th Congress, when he used his position as Leader, and the competitive threat from China, to drive legislative action.
Schumer issued a press release providing some more color on his thinking on this front, though he has not yet secured a Republican lead on this effort, which was an essential part of his effort on semiconductor policy in the last Congress.
Also, the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) took significant, concrete steps to issue a request for comment last week on the government’s role in regulating AI, and is seeking information from the public on specific topics, including if new AI tech should undergo a certification process before hitting the consumer market.
House Financial Services Committee Prepares for SEC Oversight Hearing: The House Financial Services Committee will host its first oversight hearing of the Securities and Exchange Commission with Chair Gary Gensler in the proverbial hot seat. Members are likely to discuss a wide range of topics including the agency's inaction to create a regulatory structure for digital assets, the collapse of FTX, the SEC’s proposed climate disclosure rule, as well as recent actions on market restructuring.
Committee Chair Patrick McHenry (R-NC) sent a letter ahead of the hearing last week pressing Gensler again for information on the collapse of FTX, suggesting that he would utilize his congressional powers if Gensler did not respond in a timely manner.
Senate Judiciary Committee Readies Children’s Online Protection Bills: The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to begin focusing attention on a host of legislation related to protecting children online. While it is unclear which legislation is likely to take a leading role, Ranking Member Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-MA) are expected to reintroduce the EARN IT Act, aimed at strengthening the federal framework governing the prevention of online sexual exploitation of children. Additionally, Chair Dick Durbin has released preliminary information on the introduction of his STOP CSAM Act of 2023, which would provide expanded protections for child victims and witnesses in court as well as strengthened reporting and removal rules for online platforms. Other committee Members have additional proposals that may be considered.
What’s Happening This Week:
Tech Hearings
House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing on FTC oversight - Tuesday, April 18 at 10:00 AM ET
House Financial Services hearing on oversight of the SEC - Tuesday, April 18 at 10:00 AM ET
House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing on American nuclear energy expansion - Tuesday, April 18 at 2:00 PM ET
House Ways and Means Subcommittee hearing on countering China’s trade and investment agenda - Tuesday, April 18 at 2:00 PM ET
Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on foreign competitive threats to innovation - Tuesday, April 18 at 2:30 PM ET
Senate Armed Services Subcommittee hearing on cybersecurity and AI - Wednesday, April 19 at 9:30 AM ET
House Financial Services Subcommittee hearing on stablecoins - Wednesday, April 19 at 10:00 AM ET
House Homeland Security hearing on DHS budget - Wednesday, April 19 at 10:00 AM ET
Senate EPW hearing on NRC budget - Wednesday, April 19 at 10:00 AM ET
Joint House Administration and Oversight hearing of the DC Health data breach - Wednesday, April 19 at 2:00 PM ET
House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing on data brokers - Wednesday, April 19 at 2:00 PM ET
House Homeland Security hearing on GAO’s high risk list - Thursday, April 20 at 10:00 AM ET
Tech Events
NSF meeting of the Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure - Monday, April 17 at 10:00 AM ET
The Atlantic Council - "The billion in the distance: How tech exports can transform Central Asia" - Tuesday, April 18 at 10:00 AM ET
The Bipartisan Policy Center - "Data Privacy and Law Enforcement: Balancing Rights and Responsibilities" - Wednesday, April 19 at 10:00 AM ET
Commerce Department, National Institute of Standards and Technology meeting of the Internet of Things Advisory Board, April 18-19
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation - "How Digital IDs Can Transform Government Services" - Thursday, April 20 at 10:00 AM ET
BIS meeting of the Emerging Technology Technical Advisory Committee - Friday, April 21 at 9:30 AM ET
What’s Interesting This Week:
A New Way to Stream…. On April 23, 2005, the first video was uploaded to YouTube. Titled, “Me at the zoo,” was posted by co-founder Jawed Karim. Fortunately for society at-large, the content has seemed to drastically improve since then…
