- Congress faces a busy week ahead with less than two weeks before a possible federal shutdown.?
- House Speaker Johnson pulled his stopgap proposal ahead of its scheduled vote last week due to lack of GOP support. Johnson has delayed a vote until this week to build consensus, however, with the attachment of the SAVE Act, the bill will face opposition in the Senate.?
- Senate Majority Leader Schumer is out today with a letter to OMB Director Sholanda Young, calling for federal agencies to have civil rights offices to protect against AI bias.
- Oral arguments commence today in a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals case against Congress’ rule banning TikTok.?
- While polling numbers suggested Vice President Harris claimed victory in last week’s presidential debate, the event has had little impact on how people intend to vote in November.?
- According to an ABC News poll, Americans by 58-36% say Harris won the debate – a reversal from the Biden-Trump match in June, which Former President Trump was seen as winning by 66-28%.?
- 50 days remain before heading to the polls on November 5.?
THREE THINGS TO WATCH IN TECH:
- House Energy and Commerce Eyes Children’s Privacy: The House Energy and Commerce Committee is planning to hold a full committee markup Wednesday. While it has not yet been noticed, the hearing is anticipated to be a redo of the Committee’s July privacy and children’s online safety markup. Whether the House considers the Senate-passed version of the Kids Online Safety and Protection Act (KOSPA) or its own Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) remains to be seen.?
- AI Insiders Head to Washington: The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law will be holding a hearing with “AI insiders” Tuesday afternoon, to explore perspectives on the current state AI oversight and regulation. Witnesses include former employees from large LLM companies such as OpenAI and Google AI, as well as individuals from Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) and UC Berkeley's California Initiative for Technology and Democracy. There has been public outcry from several former employees of large AI companies, calling for government intervention in a letter published in June. And last Monday, a group of 113 signatories published a letter in support of California’s SB1047. Committee Members will seek to get to the bottom of these concerns from those developing the technologies they are concerned about. Whether or not Congress will take federal action by the end of the year remains unclear.?
- House Frustrations with the SEC: The House Financial Service Digital Assets Subcommittee will tackle current SEC enforcement actions on digital assets in its hearing Wednesday. The hearing’s nostalgic title, “Dazed and Confused: Breaking Down the SEC’s Politicized Approach to Digital Assets,” serves to highlight the SEC’s frowned upon methods of “regulation by enforcement” in the crypto landscape. The Commission has been sharply criticized for issuing Wells Notices to digital asset companies on issues around securities violations in the absence of federal legislation to create a regulatory structure. Members will hear from experts from industry and advocacy groups, as well as examine five bills around harnessing digital assets innovation.
What's Happening This Week
- House Armed Services will hold a field hearing on “Fielding Technology and Innovation: Industry Views on Department of Defense Acquisition” - Monday, September 16 at 9:00 AM at the UCSC Silicon Valley Campus
- Senate Judiciary Privacy, Technology, and the Law Subcommittee will hold a hearing to “Examine AI, focusing on insiders' perspectives” - Tuesday, September 17 at 2:00 PM EST
- House Financial Services Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion Subcommittee hearing on “Dazed and Confused: Breaking Down the SEC’s Politicized Approach to Digital Assets” - Wednesday, September 18 at 10:00 AM EST
- Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation will hold a hearing to “Examine aviation cybersecurity threats” - Wednesday, September 18 at 10:00 AM EST?
- Senate Aging Committee will hold a hearing to “Examine how scammers are stealing from older adults, focusing on fighting fraud” - Thursday, September 19 at 10:00 AM?
- House Energy and Commerce Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee will hold a hearing on “Federal Trade Commission Practices: A Discussion on Past Versus Present” - Thursday, September 19 at 10:30 AM
