State of Play
The Senate is in session for its final two week sprint. The House has adjourned for August.
Senators have a lot on their legislative plate before heading home, with votes expected on Russia sanctions, government funding, Cabinet nominations, and crypto market structure legislation amid growing Republican divisions over reconciliation and election policy priorities.
Driving the News
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is balancing pressure from the White House and competing GOP factions while pursuing a bipartisan funding deal to avoid a government shutdown ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline. The Senate is notably not expected to vote on its version of the NDAA this week, while the House passed its version before leaving Washington.
The week also features several technology-focused hearings, including sessions on AI's impact on the workforce, AI-enabled fraud targeting seniors, and the infrastructure needed to power artificial intelligence and next-generation communications.
On the industry front, 77 technology companies signed onto a letter urging the Trump Administration not to restrict open-weight AI models, arguing that an outright ban would weaken U.S. AI competitiveness, concentrate market power, and push developers toward lower-cost Chinese alternatives despite ongoing national security concerns over model distillation.
Three Things to Watch in Tech
OpenAI in DC: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will return to Washington this week to brief Trump administration officials and lawmakers on the company's next generation of AI models. At the same time, the White House is nearing its deadline to implement its executive order on advanced AI security.
His visit comes just days after OpenAI disclosed that two of its most advanced models escaped a research environment and hacked into the AI platform Hugging Face, an incident that has intensified congressional concerns about frontier AI risks.
In response, lawmakers are weighing new legislation, including the bipartisan AI Kill Switch Act and potential Senate Commerce Committee proposals, that would give the government greater authority to slow or halt AI systems deemed to pose catastrophic security threats.
AI Data Center Debates Heats Up: Congress and the Trump Administration are advancing parallel efforts to shield consumers from rising electricity costs tied to AI-driven data center growth, with the House Energy and Commerce Committee approving the bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act and the White House promoting a voluntary pledge for technology companies to fund needed grid upgrades.
Despite broad agreement that large data centers should bear more of the infrastructure costs they create, lawmakers remain divided over whether additional measures, including a moratorium on new data center construction, are needed to address environmental and community impacts.
The debate is increasingly shaping federal and state AI infrastructure policy ahead of the midterm elections, as states like New York pursue stricter limits while industry and utilities push for continued expansion with cost-sharing safeguards.
Senate HELP Tackles AI Workforce Concerns: The Senate HELP Committee is set to hold a hearing Wednesday on AI’s impact on the workforce, marking one of Congress's clearest efforts yet to examine AI policy through the lens of jobs, worker protections, and economic transition.
The hearing follows Sen. Mark Warner's introduction of a multi-bill AI legislative package focused on preparing workers for technological disruption, signaling growing bipartisan interest in addressing AI-driven labor market changes before displacement accelerates.
Testimony from workforce, academic, and business leaders could help shape future legislation on retraining programs, employer responsibilities, and federal investments in workforce readiness, expanding Congress's AI agenda beyond model safety and privacy.
Are you looking to hire someone for a tech government affairs role? Send us a note at [email protected] with a job posting you'd like us to share in next week's newsletter.
🏛️ Tech Hearings
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee holds a hearing on "The Impact of AI on the Workforce" - Wednesday, July 29 at 2:00 PM EST
The Senate Special Committee on Aging holds a hearing on "The AI Deception Machine: Deepfakes, Chatbots, and the New Frontier of Senior Fraud" - Wednesday, July 29 at 3:30 PM EST
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Telecommunications and Media Subcommittee holds a hearing on "Intelligent Networks: Powering Artificial Intelligence and Transforming Communications" - Thursday, July 30 at 10:00 AM EST
🗓️ Upcoming Events
The Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association and the Defense Intelligence Agency - DIA TECHINT (Technical Intelligence) 2026 Conference - Tuesday, July 28 to Wednesday, July 29
Digital Government Institute - 930Gov Forum, with the theme "Mission-Enabled Modern Technology" - Tuesday, July 28 at 8:30 AM EST
The Manhattan Institute - Discussion with Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) on "Charting America's Path Through the AI Revolution" - Tuesday, July 28 at 6:00 PM EST
The Center for Strategic and International Studies - Forum on "Launching the International Call to Action for 6G Leadership and Security" - Wednesday, July 29 at 9:30 AM EST
Federal Communications Commission - Virtual Meeting of the 2027 World Radiocommunication Conference Advisory Committee's Informal Working Group 4: Mobile Satellite and Space Science Services - Wednesday, July 29 at 11:00 AM EST
Secure World Foundation - Discussion on "An Initial Conversation: Orbital Data Centers & Space Sustainability" - Wednesday, July 29 at 11:00 AM EST
Broadband Breakfast - Virtual Discussion on "Phishing, Robocalls and Spam" - Wednesday, July 29 at 12:00 PM EST
The Government Executive Media Group's ATARC - Next-Gen Cyber Operations: AI in Action Summit - Thursday, July 30 at 8:00 AM EST
