Week of February 12, 2024
Today is one of the busiest sick days of the year following yesterday’s big game, but the Franklin Square team is here to bring you the Tech Weekly. Congratulations to Kansas City Chiefs fans (in particular, Franklin Square Partner and Kansas City fan Wes McClelland) for holding their title as reigning champs.It’s another busy week in Washington, where the Senate has been working through the weekend on trying to pass a foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. While the bill has bipartisan support, some Republican members are pulling out the procedural punches to hold up a vote. The vote is expected to pass regardless by Wednesday before Members break for their what-would-have-been two-week recess. On the hearing front, committees are holding several interesting tech hearings on topics including the use of crypto in illicit finance, oversight of the U.S. tech enterprise, and examining the overall security of U.S. communications systems.
What We’re Watching:
House Financial Services Looks at Crypto and Illicit Finance: The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets will be holding a hearing on Thursday to examine different approaches to combat the use of crypto for illicit finance. While most of the hearing details are under wraps for now, there is likely to be significant discussion on ways to include much discussed provisions to combat illicit use of digital assets in the FIT21 Act to provide a regulatory framework around crypto. The hearing falls on the heels of the full committee’s oversight hearing of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI) on Wednesday. There has been much scrutiny from crypto champions and skeptics alike on how to best combat foreign adversaries from utilizing crypto as a means for money laundering and other illicit activity.
House Science to Examine the Federal Tech Enterprise: After a deepdive into federal emerging tech research initiatives in last week’s hearing, the House Science Committee this week will be examining the whole federal tech enterprise. The hearing features an all-star cast in the science community with reps from DOE, NIST, NIH, and Dr. Arati Prahbakar from OSTP. The hearing is expected to feature significant discussion on AI as agencies work to implement the President’s EO, as well as other emerging tech initiatives on quantum, biotech, and more.
Energy and Commerce Focuses on Communications Cybersecurity: The House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee will be looking at the security of U.S. communications systems this Thursday. This is a hearing in a line of similar ones examining cybersecurity strengths and weaknesses in U.S. communications and telecommunications systems, and the need for better security measures from foreign adversaries. In light of the FBI’s recent findings of Chinese-linked hacker group Volt Typhoon infiltrating U.S. routers in preparation for future attacks, the hearing will likely focus heavily on legislative proposals to combat foreign adversaries from meddling in U.S. critical communications infrastructure.
What’s Happening This Week:
Tech Hearings
House Science Hearing on U.S. Science and Tech Enterprise - Thursday, February 15 at 10:00 AM ET
HFSC hearing on Oversight of FinCEN - Wednesday, February 14 at 10:00 AM ET
House Energy and Commerce hearing on securing communications - Thursday, February 15 at 10:00 AM ET
House VA Hearing on AI - Thursday, February 15 at 10:00 AM ET
HFSC hearing on crypto and approaches to combat illicit activity - Thursday, February 15 at 2:00 PM ET
Tech Events
State of the Net Conference - Monday, February 12
The R Street Institute - "The Artificial Intelligence Governance Puzzle: Assembling the Pieces of Policy and Trust" - Monday, February 12 at 12:00 PM ET
The Center for Strategic and International Studies - "Digital Empires: The Global Battle to Regulate Technology" - Monday, February 12 at 2:00 PM ET
The Advanced Technology Academic Research Center - "Report of Quantum Potential - The Responsible Adoption of Quantum Technologies" - Tuesday, February 13 at 3:00 PM ET
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research - "U.S. Outbound Investment in China: Implications and Possible Congressional Action" - Tuesday, February 13 at 10:00 AM ET
The Peterson Institute for International Economics - "Artificial Intelligence and Trade: Will ChatGPT Handle Your Supply Chains?" - Wednesday, February 14 at 9:00 AM ET
The Peterson Institute for International Economics - "The Art and Science of Patience: Relative Prices and Inflation" - Thursday, February 15 at 9:00 AM ET
Federal Secure Cloud Advisory Committee Meeting on AI EO - Thursday, February 15 at 1:00 PM ET
What’s Interesting This Week:
Taylor Swift’s Super Bowl Splash…. It only seems appropriate to acknowledge the other major player in this year’s Super Bowl, Taylor Swift. According to Apex Marketing Group, the Grammy winner’s impact on NFL revenue has been anything but invisible. Swift is attributed to bringing in, are you ready for it, $331.5 million since her first appearance at the Chiefs’ September 24 game!
