Insights

On July 25, 2023, the Senate Judiciary Committee held its fifth hearing this year on artificial intelligence (AI). This is the second hearing held by the Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, and it highlighted the “bipartisan unanimity” in regulating AI technology.

On June 21, 2023, Senate Majority Leader Charles (“Chuck”) Schumer (D-NY) released a broad policy framework, the SAFE Innovation Framework for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy (“the Framework”), to help guide Congress in developing future AI legislation. The Framework emphasizes the importance of maintaining national security, combatting misinformation, protecting intellectual property, and developing transparency requirements for AI systems developers. While the Framework is Senator Schumer’s work product, he’s already started searching for allies in his own party and across the aisle. Leader Schumer has convened a bipartisan working group that includes Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Michael Rounds (R-SD), and Todd Young (R-IN) to consider future AI legislation. They haven’t specifically endorsed Schumer’s framework, but they’ve committed to working with him on the issue. As they look to put an AI bill together, Schumer’s office will be looking to Senate Committees as a major source for legislative language.  

On March 9, 2023, President Biden released his fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget request outlining the administration’s priorities, including a nearly 10 percent increase in discretionary spending over the current enacted funding levels. The President’s budget requests a total of $6.9 trillion federal spending for FY 2024. Of this amount, $4.2 trillion would be in mandatory spending and $1.9 trillion would be in discretionary spending. Defense spending would receive an approximately 3 percent increase from FY 2023 for a total of $885 billion in discretionary spending, while non-defense spending would receive a nearly 4 percent increase from FY 2023 levels for a total of $1.02 trillion in FY 2024. The President’s budget request proposes a 7 percent increase over current non-defense spending level and tax increases among other proposed revenue raisers designed to lower the national deficit by $3 trillion over the next 10 years. 

With the midterm elections (mostly) behind us, Congress is working through a list of must-pass items in the remaining days of the 117th Congress. Heading into the new divided Congress in 2023, with the narrowest Senate majority and House leadership not yet decided, we anticipate a move away from the Speaker-dominant House leadership model with small factions and individual members trying to exert influence over the agenda. We will discuss how razor-thin margins in both Congressional Chambers sets up a dynamic whereby President Biden and both parties in Congress will be motivated to find some common ground on legislation during the lame duck session and in the next two years. We will also provide insights into some key committees and issues that will be top priorities in the next Congress.

Join the Crowell & Moring trade team for a 30-minute update on the U.S.-China trade negotiations, the imposition of tariffs, and the continued escalation of tensions from the White House. Hear the latest on President Trump’s potential next steps, the status of the product exclusion process for Lists 1, 2, and 3, and how to respond to the recent announcement of List 4, covering virtually all the remaining U.S. imports from China.

Now that the 2018 mid-term elections are over, please join the Government Affairs team as they break down the results and provide an overview of the political landscape in 2019. The 116th Congress will be divided, and the change in majority party for the House of Representatives will mean changes in leadership, legislative priorities, and in some cases Congressional stalemate. The government affairs team will discuss these issues, as well as what Members of Congress are likely to focus on as they finish out the current Congress, what effect the new Congressional makeup will have on various industries, and a projection on initial policies and proposals that will be in play for next year.