Week of April 15, 2024
Congress is back again this week with another packed schedule before heading out of town for the district work period. We saw last week’s FISA showdown in the House go down with a fight, which ended with a two-year reauthorization along with a few reforms, although not the hotly debated warrant requirement. The ball is now in the Senate’s court, where they have five days to act before the program technically expires.
The House will look this week to potentially take up the Senate’s Ukraine and Israel aid package following Iran’s attacks over the weekend. Speaker Johnson is still figuring out how to address the foreign aid question with House Republicans and is unclear if the $95 billion spending deal will garner enough votes to make it through. A meeting of the GOP Conference on Monday evening may provide some insight.
There are several hearings of note this week to tackle issues around cybersecurity in health care, FY25 agency budget requests, deepfakes and elections, ransomware, and last but certainly not least, a legislative hearing to discuss privacy legislation in House Energy and Commerce.
What We’re Watching:
House E&C Hearing on Privacy Legislation: Just a week after releasing draft text of a new comprehensive data privacy bill, the House Energy and Commerce Innovation Subcommittee will host a legislative hearing on Wednesday with expert witnesses to gain insight on how the legislation could impact data collection and use online. Full Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) jointly stated that “It is time for Congress to come together on comprehensive data privacy and security standards that put Americans back in control of their information online.” The hearing will also highlight additional legislative proposals to target children’s online safety including recently-introduced House companion bills for the Kids Online Safety Act and so-called COPPA 2.0. These bills have made significant waves in the Senate, and would provide a host of new regulations for social media platforms with users under 17. AI also will also be a topic of discussion as the Subcommittee considers the Algorithmic Accountability Act, targeting corporate use of algorithmic decision making.
Will Congress Act on AI and Elections: AI remains a priority for lawmakers as various committees continue to examine its cross-sector implications, as well as broad considerations of AI use cases. But the question remains if Congress will be able to act on AI’s most pressing concerns, like AI and elections, this session. The use of AI in campaigns has been the focus of several pieces of introduced legislation and hearings. The Senate Judiciary Privacy Subcommittee will hold a hearing Tuesday to examine the use of AI-generated deepfakes in elections, and the risks they pose on U.S. election security. With the 2024 presidential race on the horizon, Congress has affirmed its commitment to tackle how deepfakes can impact election integrity. Recall the recent use of deepfake voice cloning of President Biden targeting voters in the New Hampshire primary. Members will hear from experts on legislative proposals and recommendations for reigning in the technology before its impacts are too widespread.
Congress Takes on Cyber Attacks and Ransomware: Cybersecurity will be a primary focus for two House committees this week as Members look to tackle concerns of ransomware attacks in the financial services industry, as well as the impacts of cyberattacks in the health sector in Energy and Commerce. On ransomware, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security will discuss with witnesses two legislative proposals on how to tackle the prevalent problem of ransomware attacks on financial institutions, as well a congressional disapproval resolution denouncing the SEC’s recent cyberattack disclosure mandates. In the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, the focus will be on the recent Change Healthcare cyber breach, which compromised sensitive health data for millions as well as resulting in two high dollar ransomware payments. Cyber experts are expected to testify to the patient impacts of cyberattacks in health care, as well as recommendations for Congress to consider to help mitigate future attacks.
What’s Happening This Week:
Tech Hearings
House Ways and Means hearing on the Biden Administration's 2024 Trade Policy Agenda with United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai - Tuesday, April 16 at 10:00 AM ET
House Homeland Security hearing on DHS’s FY25 budget request - Tuesday, April 16 at 10:00 AM ET
House Financial Services subcommittee hearing on ransomware - Tuesday, April 16 at 10:00 AM ET
House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing on health sector cybersecurity - Tuesday, April 16 at 10:00 AM ET
House Transportation and infrastructure Committee hearing on AI in transportation - Tuesday, April 16 at 10:15 AM ET
House Financial Services Subcommittee hearing on CFPB financial reporting - Tuesday, April 16 at 2:00 PM ET
Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee hearing on election deepfakes - Tuesday, April 16 at 2:00 PM ET
House Energy and Commerce hearing on privacy legislation - Wednesday, April 17 at 10:00 AM ET
House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on FY25 Defense budget request - Wednesday, April 17 at 10:00 AM ET
House Intelligence Committee panel with former members of the House Intelligence Committee - Wednesday, April 17 at 10:00 AM ET
Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on foreign threats to the 2024 elections - Wednesday, April 17 at 2:30 PM ET
Tech Events
The Henry L. Stimson Center - Virtual discussion on digital surveillance in North Korea - Tuesday, April 16 at 9:00 AM ET
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation's Center for Data Innovation - Virtual discussion on AI uptake in the UK public sector - Tuesday, April 16 at 10:00 AM ET
National Institute of Standards and Technology - Virtual discussion on the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee’s working groups - Tuesday, April 16 at 2:00 PM ET
Semafor - 2024 World Economy Summit, Wednesday April 17 - Thursday April 18
The CATO Institute - Briefing on AI and American innovation - Wednesday, April 17 at 12:00 PM ET
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation's Center for Data Innovation - Discussion on the European Union’s digital markets act - Thursday, April 18 at 10:00 AM ET
United States Energy Association - Virtual discussion on leveraging procurement for cybersecurity resilience - Thursday, April 18 at 10:00 AM ET
The Center for Strategic and International Studies - Discussion on the role of fast payment systems in addressing financial inclusion - Friday, April 19 11:00 AM ET
The Peterson Institute for International Economics - Virtual discussion on the future financial system - Friday, April 19 3:00 PM ET
What’s Interesting This Week:
SOS…. On April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg four days into its maiden voyage. Over 1,500 passengers drown when the ship sinks early the next morning. The Marconi wireless equipment on board is used to call for help, effectively saving 700 people. It was stated that, “Those who have been saved have been saved through one man, Mr. Marconi and his wonderful invention.”
