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Category Archives: Congress

Generative Artificial Intelligence and Copyright Law

CRS Legal Sidebar, Generative Artificial Intelligence and Copyright Law, Updated May 11, 2023: “Recent innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) are raising new questions about how copyright law principles such as authorship, infringement, and fair use will apply to content created or used by AI. So-called “generative AI” computer programs—such as Open AI’s DALL-E 2 and… Continue Reading

A Failure of Supervision: Bank Failures and The San Francisco Federal Reserve 

House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Hearing – May 23, 2023 – A Failure of Supervision: Bank Failures and The San Francisco Federal Reserve Jeremy Newell, Senior Fellow – Bank Policy Institute & Founder and Principal, Newell Law Office, PLLC – Document Michael E. Clements, Director – Financial Markets and Community Investment, U.S. Government Accountability… Continue Reading

Digital Privacy Legislation is Civil Rights Legislation

EFF: “Our personal data and the ways private companies harvest and monetize it plays an increasingly powerful role in modern life. Corporate databases are vast, interconnected, and opaque. The movement and use of our data is difficult to understand, let alone trace. Yet companies use it to reach inferences about us, leading to lost employment,… Continue Reading

Wyden Responds to Harlan Crow, Re Gifts to Clarence Thomas

Follow up to previous posting – Wyden Statement on Harlan Crow Stonewalling Committee Inquiry, May 17, 2023 – Wyden Responds to Harlan Crow, Restates Questions on Gifts to Clarence Thomas. “New Letter to Crow’s Attorney Outlines Committee Jurisdiction and Extensive Legislative and Investigative History on Gift and Estate Taxes and Billionaire Tax Compliance Senate Finance… Continue Reading

Criminal Prohibitions on Leaks and Other Disclosures of Classified Defense Information

CRS Report – Criminal Prohibitions on Leaks and Other Disclosures of Classified Defense Information. Updated May 11, 2023 – “High-profile leaks and disclosures of protected government information have prompted frequent congressional interest in the criminal penalties for disclosing government secrets. In one recent case, a U.S. Air National Guardsman allegedly posted photographs on social media… Continue Reading

IRS submits Direct File report to Congress; Treasury Department directs pilot to evaluate key issues

“The Internal Revenue Service submitted a report today to Congress evaluating a Direct File option for taxpayers and is taking steps to begin a pilot project for the 2024 filing season following a directive from the Treasury Department. The report to Congress, required by the Inflation Reduction Act, evaluated the feasibility of providing taxpayers with… Continue Reading

S.1564 – AI Leadership Training Act

S. 1564 – To require the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to establish, or otherwise ensure the provision of, a training program on artificial intelligence for Federal management officials and supervisors, and for other purposes. May 11, 2023. “U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and… Continue Reading

Oversight of A.I.: Rules for Artificial Intelligence

Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing. May 15, 20223 – Oversight of A.I.: Rules for Artificial Intelligence – Hearing video Witnesses – Samuel Altman, CEO OpenAI San Francisco, CA – Download Testimony: “…OpenAI is a leading developer of large language models (LLMs) and other AI tools. Fundamentally, the current generation of AI models are large-scale statistical prediction… Continue Reading

Wyden Statement on Harlan Crow Stonewalling Committee Inquiry

Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement in response to the letter he received from an attorney representing billionaire Republican activist Harlan Crow: “I was disappointed but unsurprised by billionaire Republican activist Harlan Crow’s refusal to respond to my questions about the gifts he’s lavished on Justice Clarence Thomas and his… Continue Reading

Threat of TikTok ban has creators scrambling to build followings on Instagram, YouTube

CNBC: “With U.S. officials threatening a nationwide TikTok ban, creators and small business owners who rely on the app are growing concerned. “They’ve captured the lightning in the bottle that other platforms just haven’t been able to do yet,” said Chad Spangler, who uses his large TikTok following to promote his art. Creators have been turning… Continue Reading

Appearances by Sitting U.S. Supreme Court Justices at Congressional Committee and Subcommittee Hearings (1960-2022)

CRS – Appearances by Sitting U.S. Supreme Court Justices at Congressional Committee and Subcommittee Hearings (1960-2022): “This Insight provides historical information and analysis related to appearances by sitting U.S. Supreme Court Justices at congressional committee and subcommittee hearings during the period 1960 through 2022 (confirmation hearings are excluded from the analysis). Congressional hearings are used,… Continue Reading