Week of May 20, 2024
State of Play: We’re in the home stretch before the Memorial Day recess, and Members are looking to leave town with a bang. Next week’s break will be a welcome reprieve as Congress is heading into a busy summer session with appropriations and NDAA reauthorization ahead of the inevitable election chaos, and slower work pace of Congress, to come.
What to Watch:
House Energy and Commerce C&T Subcommittee to hold second Section 230 hearing
House votes on crypto legislation
Potential markup of privacy legislation in the House Energy and Commerce Innovation Subcommittee
On Tap: Senate HSGAC Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will be examining fraud allegations against the payment app Zelle. The House Homeland Security Committee will be taking a close look at how AI is being developed and implemented to protect the Homeland. House Foreign Affairs holds a follow-up markup on legislation to prevent adversarial use of remote-access to advanced AI tools.
What We’re Watching:
House Energy and Commerce Deep Dives on Section 230...Again: After draft legislation was released last week to sunset Section 230, the House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee will hold a hearing on Wednesday to review the benefits and shortfalls of the internet’s law of the land. Recall the Subcommittee held a hearing on Section 230 just last month with academics on how to alter Section 230 to forgo liability protections for internet providers and provide consumers the ability to seek retribution in court for certain online harms. The hearing Wednesday will likely echo many of those same themes as well as include other stakeholder views. Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) highlighted their desire to work with industry to find solutions to Section 230 concerns, and this hearing will likely be a step in that direction.
Crypto’s Time to Shine: The week has come for crypto’s judgment day in the House, as Members will vote on the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, better known as FIT21, which provides a regulatory framework for digital assets. The legislation, introduced last year by House Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry (R-NC), is the product of cries from industry to provide regulatory clarity for cryptocurrencies. The effort is seen as McHenry’s magnum opus effort before leaving Congress at the end of the year. What we are watching is just how many Democrats will vote to advance the bill out of the House. During the Committee’s contentious markup last summer, there were six Democrats that broke with Ranking Member Waters and voted yes on the legislation. Wednesday’s vote will be a good temperature gauge on how other Members are thinking about crypto regulations.
House Homeland’s Insight on AI Use for National Security: The House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday will be holding a hearing to examine AI innovations in an effort to protect and defend the U.S. The hearing falls in a line of hearings held with industry and government representatives to examine opportunities and shortfalls in AI technology, and ensure they are being applied to national security efforts. While witnesses have not yet been announced, Members are likely to hear perspectives from stakeholders who are developing advanced technologies, and deep dive into their possible applications as well as possible adversarial uses. The Committee is also rumored to be holding a hearing with Microsoft President Brad Smith over its federal cybersecurity email breach last year, likely in June.
What’s Happening This Week:
Tech Hearings
Senate Energy hearing on growing demand for electrical power - Tuesday, May 21 at 10:00 AM EST
Senate HSGAC hearing on Zelle - Tuesday, May 21 at 2:30 PM EST
Senate Finance hearing on trade enforcement - Tuesday, May 21 at 2:30 PM EST
House Rules meeting on crypto legislation - Tuesday, May 21 at 4:00 PM ET
House Foreign Affairs markup on AI export bill - Wednesday, May 22 at 9:00 AM EST
House Homeland hearing on AI - Wednesday, May 22 at 10:00 AM EST
House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on Section 230 - Wednesday, May 22 at 10:00 AM EST
Tech Events
The Government Executive Media Group's Federal Computer Week/Nextgov and Route Fifty - Workshop on AI/Automation - Tuesday, May 21 at 8:30 AM EST
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation's Center for Data Innovation - Insights on U.S. Public Opinion on Artificial Intelligence - Tuesday, May 21 at 12:00 PM EST
PunchBowl News - AI and Economic Opportunity with Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) - Thursday, May 23 at 8:30 AM EST
Axios - The Future of Digital Funds with Rep. French Hill (R-Arkansas) and Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-North Carolina) - Wednesday, May 22 at 12:30 PM EST
The Government Executive Media Group's Federal Computer Week/Nextgov and Route Fifty - Workshop on AI/Automation - Tuesday, May 21 at 8:30 AM EST
The R Street Institute's Cybersecurity Artificial Intelligence Working Group - Cyber Resilience and Innovation in the Age of AI - Wednesday, May 22 at 4:00 PM EST
What’s Interesting This Week:
A Message From D.C…. On May 24, 1844, Samuel Morse sent the first telegraphic message over a line from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore. The message, “What hath God wrought!” was transmitted to his partner, Alfred Vail, who retransmitted the same message back to Morse. This formally opened America’s first telegraph line, launching America’s first form of instant communication in history. The biblical text was selected by Annie Ellsworth, the teenage daughter of the U.S. Commissioner of Patents.
