State of Play
The House and Senate are in session this week following the Senate’s weekend work-a-thon. Members are in the home stretch before breaking for a two-week spring recess, but Senate Majority Leader Thune has cautioned that the recess may get canceled if a deal on DHS funding can’t be reached.
Driving the News
Tensions in Congress are escalating with President Trump pushing a hardline stance on both Iran and a prolonged Department of Homeland Security funding standoff that has now stretched over a month.
Senate Republicans explored a compromise to fund DHS without ICE to break the impasse, but Trump rejected the proposal and is pressuring lawmakers to hold out for broader immigration and voter ID legislation.
Meanwhile, the standoff is creating operational disruptions, including airport security delays, as lawmakers also face looming deadlines on surveillance authorities like FISA.
Three Things to Watch in Tech
Will Trump’s AI Plan Go As Planned?: With President Trump’s AI legislative framework out, it begs the question of what’s next for implementation and how quickly Congress can move on a federal approach, including passing legislation to preempt state AI laws.
Democrats strongly criticized the proposal as too industry-friendly and lacking protections on labor, accountability, and AI risks, with many backing legislation to repeal the underlying executive order.
With major disagreements persisting amongst Republican Members on state preemption and political calculations ahead of 2026, prospects for near-term bipartisan agreement remain uncertain.
Financial Services Looks to Tokenization for Securities Modernization: The House Financial Services Committee will convene a hearing Wednesday to examine the growing role of tokenization in capital markets and whether existing securities laws are equipped to regulate blockchain-based financial products without stifling innovation.
Members are expected to focus on potential regulatory gaps, overlapping requirements, and risks to investor protection and market integrity, while also exploring how tokenization could enhance capital formation.
Witnesses include industry stakeholders from SIFMA, the Blockchain Association, DTCC, and Nasdaq, and they are expected to opine on legislation directing the SEC and CFTC to evaluate regulatory needs and clarifying the use of blockchain records across market participants.
House Judiciary Zeros in on Patent Oversight: The House Judiciary Courts, Intellectual Property, & Artificial Intelligence Subcommittee is set to hold its highly anticipated oversight hearing with new USPTO Director John Squires on Wednesday, marking Congress’s first formal opportunity to question the new director on policy direction and agency priorities.
Members are expected to focus on the USPTO’s recent rulemaking on revisions to the Patent Trial and Review Board (PTAB), and its potential implications for innovation, as well as broad industry impacts extending beyond tech. Members will also discuss the state of patent quality and how improving examination can help solve problems on the back-end without the need to gut the PTAB process.
Squires is also likely to discuss the direction the PTO will take on IP for emerging technologies and artificial intelligence, which have played heavily into the regulatory conversation on AI.
🏛️ Tech Hearings
The Senate Armed Services Committee holds a hearing on "enterprise security and information technology operations of Department of Defense networks and systems" - Tuesday, March 25 at 2:30 PM EST
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee holds a markup including S. 1682 (119), the "Alex Gate Safety Act of 2025"; S. 1885 (119), the "Stop the Scroll Act"; S. 1962 (119), the "Satellite Cybersecurity Act of 2025"; S. 3597 (119), the "National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2026"; S. 3618 (119), the "No Fentanyl on Social Media Act" - Wednesday, March 26 at 10:00 AM EST
The House Judiciary Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee holds a hearing on "Oversight of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office" - Wednesday, March 26 at 10:00 AM EST
The House Financial Services committee holds a hearing on the “Tokenization and the Future of Securities: Modernizing Our Capital Markets” - Wednesday, March 26 at 10:00 AM EST
The Joint Economic Committee holds a hearing to examine the rising global scam economy, focusing on modernizing federal approaches to protect Americans from foreign fraudsters - Wednesday, March 26 at 1:30 PM EST
The House Financial Services Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence Subcommittee holds a hearing on "Innovation at the Speed of Markets: How Regulators Keep Pace with Technology" - Thursday, March 26 at 10:00 AM EST
The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee holds a hearing to examine Export-Import Bank Reauthorization - Thursday, March 26 at 10:00 AM EST
The House Education and Workforce Committee holds a hearing on “U.S. Universities Under Siege: Foreign Espionage, Stolen Innovation, and the National Security Threat” - Thursday, March 26 at 10:15 AM EST
The House Armed Services Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation Subcommittee holds a hearing on the “Information Technology Posture of the Department of Defense” - Thursday, March 26 at 3:30 PM EST
🗓️ Upcoming Events
The Henry L. Stimson Center - Virtual Discussion on "The AI Infliction Point: How the U.S. and Taiwan Respond to AI's Economic Security Challenges" - Tuesday, March 24 at 9:00 AM EST
International Government Affairs Professionals - International Government Relations & Political Campaigns Forum, focusing on "the critical intersection of AI-driven elections and modern advocacy strategies" - Tuesday, March 24 at 10:00 AM EST
The Institute of World Politics - Discussion on AI-Powered Simulation Training for Diplomacy, Negotiation, and Crisis Communication" - Tuesday, March 24 at 5:00 PM EST
Broadband Breakfast - Virtual Discussion on "Quantum computing implications for cybersecurity, AI and the future of high-speed data processing" - Wednesday, March 25 at 12:00 PM EST
Axios - AI+DC Summit 2026 - Wednesday, March 25
Commerce Department and National Institute of Standards and Technology - Virtual Meeting of the Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology for an update on major programs at NIST, strategic priorities and budget - Friday, March 27 at 10:00 AM EST
