WEEK OF JUNE 9. 2025 

I can see CLARITY now, the rain is gone…

State of Play: 

  • The House and Senate are in session this week. 

  • The Senate has just three weeks to negotiate the budget reconciliation package ahead of the July 4th deadline. The bill also faces an uphill battle when it is sent back to the House over rising tensions regarding SALT, Medicaid, clean-energy credits, business taxes, as well as the AI state moratorium. More on that below.

Driving the News: 

  • US-China negotiations are kicked off today in London. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are leading the nation in talks with China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng over how to move forward on trade, including tech restrictions like export controls on chips, rare earth minerals and magnets, as well as visas. President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to the talks last Thursday, but outcomes remain unclear as China has committed to reducing reliance on the US and the Administration’s moves on tariffs and export controls.

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Three Things to Watch in Tech:

1. The Fate of the State AI Moratorium: Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz issued new reconciliation bill text late last week that

includes

the existing 10-year moratorium on state AI laws, but ties the funding to state funding for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. 

  • The move is in response to the widespread speculation that the House-passed version of the state AI provision would not make it past the Senate Byrd Rule, which prohibits non-germane issues in budget legislation. 

  • Cruz’s provision alters the moratorium on state laws that “limit, restrict, or otherwise regulate” AI systems, but allows states to enact measures that encourage AI use.

  • Vice President Vance also spoke out on the provision during an episode of Theo Von’s podcast, suggesting that he does not think it will be included in the final bill. 

  • The provision faces an uphill battle given it could still be caught in the Byrd Rule, despite being tied to funding, as well as mounting Republican opposition in both chambers. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) have expressed strong concern about the provisions' anti-federalist approach. 

2. CLARITY’s Unclear Future: It is another big week for crypto, as the Senate tries again to pass stablecoin legislation and the House moves on its digital assets market structure bill. 

  • On stablecoins, after stalling last week over amendment negotiations, Senate Thune filed cloture on the GENIUS Act today. This will tee up a final vote later this week. 

  • The House Financial Services and House Agriculture Committees will hold markups of the CLARITY Act this week. Both Committees held hearings last week to get stakeholders’ feedback on the bill to create crypto market structure. The bill has garnered significant opposition from Committee Democrats over conflicts of interest on President Trump’s family stablecoin ventures. 

3. Trump Tackles Cybersecurity in New Executive Order:  President Trump issued a new

executive order

that rescinds several Biden- and Obama-era policies on digital identity initiatives, including the digital-ID roadmap. 

  • The executive order also includes mandates for agencies to promote secure software development, and as well as focus efforts on post-quantum cryptography and encryption. 

  • The executive order did not offer a replacement for the digital identity roadmap, which some industry stakeholders fear could leave Americans’ sensitive data more vulnerable to network cyber attacks. 

  • The issue is likely to arise again when nominations clear for President Trump’s pick for national cyber director Sean Cairincross and pick for CISA director Sean Plankey. Both are expected to receive a vote in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee this week.

What's Happening This Week

Tech Hearings

  • House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on “Securing Americans’ Genetic Information: Privacy and National Security Concerns Surrounding 23andMe’s Bankruptcy Sale” - Tuesday, June 10 at 10:00 AM EST

  • House Financial Services Committee markup of the CLARITY Act - Tuesday, June 10 at 10:00 AM EST

  • House Agriculture Committee markup of the CLARITY Act - Tuesday, June 10 at 10:00 AM EST

  • Senate Agriculture Committee nominations hearing to consider Biran Quintenz to be Commissioner and Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission - Tuesday, June 10 at 3:00 PM EST

  • House Ways and Means Committee hearing with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent - Wednesday, June 11 at 10:00 AM EST

  • House Oversight Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs hearing on “Clearing the Path: Reforming Procurement to Accelerate Defense Innovation” - Wednesday, June 11 at 10:00 AM EST

  • Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to examine the privacy and national security implications of the 23andMe bankruptcy - Wednesday, June 11 at 10:15 AM EST

  • House Science Committee markup of quantum and AI - Wednesday, June 11 at 2:00 PM EST

  • House Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee hearing on “Security to Model: Securing Artificial Intelligence to Strengthen Cybersecurity” - Thursday, June 12 at 10:00 AM EST

  • House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing on South and Central Asia on the AI Arms Race and Export Controls - Thursday, June 12 at 10:00 AM EST

Tech Events

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