Week of July 24, 2023
Electoral maps over the weekend got a brand new makeover. Rather than reflecting party dominance, this newly drawn map shows if your state is Team Barbie or Team Oppenheimer. Either way, Barbenheimer swept the nation over the weekend, allowing moviegoers to beat these scorching summer temperatures.
Congressional activity is also heating up as Members make their way into the final work week before August recess. Committees in both Chambers are holding a host of markups to get their legislative priorities on the docket prior to leaving for August recess. This week we are keeping an eye on the House Financial Services markup of legislation to regulate digital assets and stablecoins, Senate Homeland’s markup of cyber legislation, and last but not least Senate Commerce’s markup of children’s online privacy legislation.
With Congress hearing into its August break, the Franklin Square Group newsletter will return to your inbox on Tuesday, September 5.
What We’re Watching:
Biden Announces Voluntary AI Commitments with Industry: The White House announced on Friday commitments from seven AI and big tech companies to voluntarily agree to AI safeguards. The safeguards include eight primary safeguards, including the development and deployment of AI watermarking mechanisms for audio and visual AI-generated content, as well as third-party assessments regarding biosecurity and cybersecurity and publicly report flaws and risks in the companies’ technology. Microsoft, OpenAI, Google, Meta, Amazon, Anthropic and Inflection AI, were the seven companies that publicly took the pledge. The White House is said to also be working on an executive order to push Congress for more AI regulatory authority as well. It remains to be seen how this, and future executive actions will play into Senate Majority Leader Schumer’s continued push to craft comprehensive AI legislation.
House Financial Services To Markup Digital Assets Legislation: The House Financial Services Committee this Wednesday will tackle draft legislation to regulate digital assets and stablecoins. The Committee will vote on H.R. 4763, the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act to, create a market structure framework to govern digital assets and cryptocurrencies, as well as the H.R. 4766, Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act of 2023, to provide a regulatory structure for stablecoin payments. The legislation is said to be a product of bipartisan negotiations, after Chair McHenry (R-NC) postponed the rumored markup from last week to allow for continued discussion. If passed, this will be the first legislation to provide oversight authority to financial regulators around cryptocurrency.
House Select China Committee to Examine Emerging Tech Competition: The Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party will hold another primetime hearing this Wednesday to examine U.S. competitiveness in critical and emerging tech, and ways to counter Chinese leadership in certain areas of advanced technology such as quantum and AI. The Committee has been active in working with U.S. tech companies on ways to boost U.S. leadership, and in April, Chair Mike Gallagher (R-WI) met with several Silicon Valley executives to discuss relations between China and the U.S. in the tech industry. Gallagher has expressed his support for prohibiting U.S. investment from asset managers in Chinese AI companies following reports highlighting U.S. investments in AI, quantum computing, and semiconductors, and finding that U.S. investments totalled $40.2 billion in Chinese AI companies. These conversations and more will likely be detailed during the hearing.
What’s Happening This Week:
Tech Hearings
Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on AI Regulations - Tuesday, July 25 at 3:00 PM ET
Senate Homeland Security Committee markup of Cyber and AI Legislation - Wednesday, July 26 at 9:00 AM ET
House Financial Services Committee markup of Stablecoin legislation - Wednesday, July 26 at 10:00 AM ET
Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on U.S. competitiveness - Wednesday, July 26 at 10:00 AM ET
Senate Judiciary Intellectual Property Subcommittee hearing on "Oversight of the United States Patent and Trademark Office" - Wednesday, July 26 at 2:30 PM ET
House Select Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party Committee hearing on "Commanding Heights: Ensuring U.S. Leadership in the Critical and Emerging Technologies of the 21st Century" - Wednesday, July 26 at 7:00 PM ET
Senate Commerce markup on Kids Online Legislation - Thursday, July 27 at 10:00 AM ET
Tech Events
The Government Executive Media Group - "Navigating the Future of Defense Cloud SAAS (Software as a Service)" - Monday, July 24 at 2:00 PM ET
The Center for Strategic and International Studies - "National Security and Spectrum for 5G," focusing on the implications of Chinese leadership in the field - Tuesday, July 25 at 2:00 PM ET
The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies - "Artificial Intelligence, Anti-Discrimination and Bias" - Tuesday, July 25 at 2:00 PM ET
D-Fend Solutions - "Cyber Takedown: Next-Generation Counter UAS (unmanned aerial systems)" - Wednesday, July 26 at 10:00 AM ET
The Atlantic Council - U.S. Agency for International Development AI Community of Practice workshop - "Gender Inclusive AI Governance" - Wednesday, July 26 at 10:00 AM ET
The Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association - "A Holistic and Integrated Approach to Achieving Zero Trust for the DoD" - Thursday, July 27 at 1:00 PM ET
What’s Interesting This Week:
3... 2... 1... Liftoff! … On July 24, 1950, the first successful rocket launch occurred at Cape Canaveral. The rocket, Bumper 8, was a captured German V-2 modified with a US Army Corporal second stage. Cape Canaveral’s location in the southeast is an ideal site for rocket launches in the United States. By launching eastward, rockets are able to take advantage of the linear velocity of the Earth’s rotation. This velocity is greatest towards the equator, making the southern United States preferable. And by launching towards the ocean, away from populated areas, safety downrange from the launch is maximized in case of problems.
