Shortly before adjourning for 2025, the Senate passed two bills to broaden disclosure and registration requirements related to the regulation of foreign agents under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) and the Lobbying Disclosure Act (“LDA”): the Disclosing Foreign Influence in Lobbying Act (S. 856 / H.R. 1883)
Continue Reading Senate Advances Bills To Broaden Foreign Agent Disclosures in Lobbying Reports
Commerce Department Solicits Feedback on AI Exports Program
The Commerce Department today published a Request for Information (RFI) inviting the public to submit comments on U.S. artificial intelligence exports. The RFI asks stakeholders to weigh in on aspects of the Department’s new “American AI Exports Program,” an initiative intended to “promot[e] the export of full-stack American AI technology
Continue Reading Commerce Department Solicits Feedback on AI Exports ProgramCommerce Department and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Exploring a Patent Tax and Patent Fee Changes
The Trump Administration is considering multiple proposals to raise revenue from patent holders, including direct assessments on patent holders, changes to the existing patent fee schedule, and potentially a new mechanism for sharing profits from university-owned patents obtained through federal research funds.
Patent Tax
First, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is
Continue Reading Commerce Department and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Exploring a Patent Tax and Patent Fee ChangesCongress Weighs Foreign Agent Disclosure and Registration Bills
Congress is considering several bills to broaden disclosure and registration requirements related to the regulation of foreign agents under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) and the Lobbying Disclosure Act (“LDA”): the Foreign Registration Obligations for Nonprofit Transparency (“FRONT”) Act (S. 2305), Disclosing Foreign Influence in Lobbying Act (S. 856 / H.R. 1883) and the Lobbying Disclosure Improvement Act (S. 865 / H.R. 1887). Additionally, multiple proposed amendments to the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would increase certain disclosure obligations. Together, these legislative proposals indicate continued lawmaker interest in regulating foreign influence in the United States.Continue Reading Congress Weighs Foreign Agent Disclosure and Registration Bills
Senate Nixes State AI Enforcement Moratorium, For Now
Federal legislation to “pause” state artificial intelligence regulations will not become law—for now—after the Senate stripped the measure from the budget reconciliation package, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1).
The Senate voted 99–1 to strike the moratorium language from the bill during a marathon 27-hour “vote-a-rama” on July 1. The Senate voted 51–50, with Vice President J.D. Vance breaking the tie, to pass the bill (without the moratorium) and send it back to the House. The House passed the Senate-amended bill on July 3 by a vote of 218–214, with all Democrats and two Republicans voting against. President Trump signed the bill into law on July 4.Continue Reading Senate Nixes State AI Enforcement Moratorium, For Now
Senate Parliamentarian Clears Revised State AI Enforcement Moratorium for Reconciliation Bill, But Passage Remains in Doubt
In a surprise move, Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled that a proposed moratorium on state and local AI laws satisfies the Byrd Rule, the requirement that reconciliation bills contain only budgetary provisions and omit “extraneous” policy language. While MacDonough’s determination allows the Senate Commerce Committee’s version of the moratorium to
Continue Reading Senate Parliamentarian Clears Revised State AI Enforcement Moratorium for Reconciliation Bill, But Passage Remains in DoubtGeorgia Senate Launches Abrams-Focused Inquiry, Signaling Growing Risk of State Legislative Investigations
Last week, the Georgia state Senate authorized a sweeping investigation of former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, continuing a national trend of increased state legislative investigations. Although state-level investigations continue to lag far behind congressional investigations, state legislatures appear to be replicating what we see on the federal level with increasing
Continue Reading Georgia Senate Launches Abrams-Focused Inquiry, Signaling Growing Risk of State Legislative InvestigationsFEC Year in Review 2024
With a game-changing advisory opinion (AO 2024-01), 2024 started out with a bang at the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”). Other consequential opinions, enforcement actions, and regulations continued in the following months, challenging the notion that the divided Commission cannot find consensus.
In this alert, we highlight the FEC’s major
Continue Reading FEC Year in Review 2024Tech Policy in a Second Trump Administration: AI Promotion and Further Decoupling from China
Technology companies will be in for a bumpy ride in the second Trump Administration. President-elect Trump has promised to adopt policies that will accelerate the United States’ technological decoupling from China. However, he will likely take a more hands-off approach to regulating artificial intelligence and reverse several Biden Administration policies related to AI and other emerging technologies.Continue Reading Tech Policy in a Second Trump Administration: AI Promotion and Further Decoupling from China
SEC Enforcement Order Highlights Far Reach of Pay-to-Play Restrictions
August 23, 2024, Covington Alert
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week issued a cease-and-desist order that demonstrates the SEC pay-to-play rule’s expansiveness and the SEC’s readiness to enforce it to the letter, even when it is virtually impossible that a political contribution could have influenced a government entity’s
Continue Reading SEC Enforcement Order Highlights Far Reach of Pay-to-Play Restrictions