WEEK OF JULY 7. 2025
Big Bill Signed, Bigger Battles Ahead
State of Play:
The Senate is in session this week, but since House Members were called back to Washington last Wednesday, House leadership took this week off.
Congress passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” last week, following marathon voting sessions and a few late nights. President Trump signed the bill into law.
Driving the News:
President Trump announced today that the US will impose a 25 percent blanket tariff on all imports from Japan and South Korea beginning August 1. He is expected to announce new tariff rates by July 9th to take place by August 1.
Trump also threatened an additional 10 percent tariff on countries in the Brics alliance “aligning themselves with anti-American policies.”
Three Things to Watch in Tech:
1. Senate Banking Explores Web3: The Senate Banking Committee will dive into the world of Web3 in a hearing Wednesday to examine the future hosting platform for the digital assets market.
While relevant congressional committees are working to tackle a market structure for digital assets, there has not been as great a focus on the platform to host digital assets themselves, Web3, which is characterized by blockchain technology.
Witnesses include subject matter experts from primarily blockchain related companies including the former CFTC Commissioner Summer Mersinger, and Jonathan Levin from Chainalysis. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Dan Robinson from Paradigm are also expected to testify.
It will be interesting how the Committee approaches decentralization and Web3 concerns with the current legislation moving on a regulatory framework. While there have been some legislative initiatives centered around blockchain exploration, there has not been substantive attention given to its applications.
2. What’s Going on With the TikTok Ban?: The US ban on the social media app TikTok has been delayed twice since it was originally scheduled to take effect in January.
The US has a nearly finalized deal to sell TikTok and plans to present it to China soon, with President Trump saying discussions with Beijing could start as early as Monday or Tuesday.
While the issue had been delayed amid other national priorities, such as legislative negotiations and foreign policy tensions, Trump now hopes his relationship with President Xi will help secure China's approval for the sale.
TikTok is working on a US-only version of the platform that will hit app stores on September 5th. They are planning on phasing out the original app soon after.
The US faces a new deadline of September 17 to complete the transaction, though it remains unclear whether Beijing will agree.
3. NDAA and Approps Are the Next Bills for Tech: Now that Congress has passed OBBB, it is now time for them to shift their attention to other must-pass legislation including the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and keeping the federal government afloat through annual spending bills.
These two bills are traditionally large vehicles for emerging tech funding and regulations, including how the Pentagon procures emerging technologies for military use, and funding research through NIST, NSF, DOE, and other major federal agencies.
The Senate Armed Services Committee will begin marking up the landmark bill this week in both open and closed sessions critical to national security.
The House Armed Services Committee is expected to follow suit next week when Members return.
As for spending, the FY26 appropriations process hangs in the balance and is dependent on how the Senate proceeds with the recission package deadline by July 18. The Senate Appropriations Committee will start marking up its bills on Thursday, including CJS, Ag-FDA and Legislative Branch.
The House began its markups last month, and will continue those through July. However, there is a chance Congress is faced with a shutdown on September 30 if spending priorities are not aligned by then.
What's Happening This Week
Tech Hearings
Tech Events
Punchbowl News - Discussion on financial services innovation and payments security w/ Visa - Tuesday, July 8 at 8:30 AM EST
The Cato Institute - Virtual Discussion on "What Would Online Age Verification Mean for Speech, Privacy, and Youth Online Safety?" - Tuesday, July 8 at 12:00 PM EST
The American Association for the Advancement of Science - Virtual Discussion on "Powering AI: Data Centers' Growing Need for Energy and What it Means for the Grid and Locally" -Tuesday, July 8 at 2:00 PM EST
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research - Discussion on "Free Speech and Tech Policy at the U.S. Supreme Court, 2025" - Wednesday, July 9 at 9:15 AM EST
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research - Book Discussion on "The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones" - Wednesday, July 9 at 5:00 PM EST
