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Samuel Klein

Samuel Klein helps clients realize their policy objectives, manage reputational risks, and navigate the regulatory environment governing political engagement.

As a member of Covington’s Election and Political Law practice, Sam assists clients facing Congressional investigations and offers guidance on ethics laws; with the firm’s Public Policy group, Sam supports strategic advocacy across a breadth of policy domains at the federal, state, and local levels.

Sam spent one year as a law clerk at the Federal Election Commission. His prior experience includes serving as an intern to two senior members of Congress and helping clients communicate nuanced policy concepts to lawmakers and stakeholders as a public-affairs consultant.

Contact:Read more about Samuel KleinEmail

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

Nearly a year after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) launched the SAFE Innovation Framework for artificial intelligence (AI) with Senators Mike Rounds (R-SD), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Todd Young (R-IN), the bipartisan group has released a 31-page “Roadmap” for AI policy.  The overarching theme of the Roadmap is “harnessing the full potential of AI while minimizing the risks of AI in the near and long term.”

In contrast to Europe’s approach to regulating AI, the Roadmap does not propose or even contemplate a comprehensive AI law.  Rather, it identifies key themes and areas of agreement and directs the relevant congressional committees of jurisdiction to legislate on key issues.  The Roadmap recommendations are informed by the nine AI Insight Forums that the bipartisan group convened over the last year.

  • Supporting U.S. Innovation in AI.  The Roadmap recommends least $32 billion in funding per year for non-defense AI innovation, and the authors call on the Appropriations Committee to “develop emergency appropriations language to fill the gap between current spending levels and the [National Security Commission on AI (NSCAI)]-recommended level,” suggesting the bipartisan group would like to see Congress increase funding for AI as soon as this year. The funding would cover a host of purposes, such as AI R&D, including AI chip design and manufacture; funding the outstanding CHIPS and Science Act accounts that relate to AI; and AI testing and evaluation at NIST.
    • This pillar also endorses the bipartisan Creating Resources for Every American to Experiment with Artificial Intelligence (CREATE AI) Act (S. 2714), which would broaden nonprofit and academic researchers’ access to AI development resources including computing power, datasets, testbeds, and training through a new National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource.  The Roadmap also supports elements of the Future of AI Innovation Act (S. 4178) related to “grand challenge” funding programs, which aim to accelerate AI development through prize competitions and federal investment initiatives.
    • The bipartisan group recommends including funds for the Department of Defense and DARPA to address national security threats and opportunities in the emergency funding measure.  
  • AI and the Workforce.  The Roadmap recommends committees of jurisdiction consider the impact of AI on U.S. workers and ensure that working Americans benefit from technological progress, including through training programs and by studying the impacts of AI on workers.  Importantly, the bipartisan group recommends legislation to “improve the U.S. immigration system for high-skilled STEM workers.”  The Roadmap does not address benefit programs for displaced workers.

Continue Reading Bipartisan Senate AI Roadmap Released

As the 2024 elections approach and the window for Congress to consider bipartisan comprehensive artificial intelligence (AI) legislation shrinks, California officials are attempting to guard against a generative AI free-for-all—at least with respect to state government use of the rapidly advancing technology—by becoming the largest state to issue rules for…

Continue Reading California establishes working guidance for AI procurement

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Senators Todd Young (R-IN), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) recently introduced the Future of AI Innovation Act, a legislative package that addresses key bipartisan priorities to promote AI safety, standardization, and access.  The bill would also advance U.S. leadership…

Continue Reading New Bipartisan Senate Legislation Aims to Bolster U.S. AI Research and Deployment

On February 20, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) announced a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) task force in the House of Representatives, with the goal of developing principles and policies to promote U.S. leadership and security with respect to AI.  Rep. Jay Olbernolte (R-CA) will chair…

Continue Reading New Bipartisan House Task Force May Signal Legislative Momentum on Artificial Intelligence

Federal circuit courts are split on a core question of corruption law: whether state and local officials, and agents of organizations that contract with or receive benefits from the federal government, may lawfully accept gratuities.

It is generally a federal crime for state and local officials to act in their…

Continue Reading Gratuity or Gift?  The Supreme Court May Soon Delineate the Difference

On December 12, the U.S. House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (the “Select Committee”) adopted a broad set of policy recommendations intended to reduce the United States’ economic and technological ties with China across a broad swath of the economy.

The Select Committee passed the 53-page report, containing 130 recommendations, on a bipartisan, though not unanimous, voice vote.  The report is organized around three pillars:

  1. “Reset the Terms of Our Economic Relationship with the PRC,” emphasizing the scope of the United States’ strategic dependence on China;
  2. “Stem the Flow of U.S. Capital and Technology Fueling the PRC’s Military Modernization and Human Rights Abuses,” which calls for increasingly hawkish trade and investment-review policies; and
  3. “Invest in Technological Leadership and Build Collective Economic Resilience in Concert with Allies,” focused on strengthening the workforce, critical supply chains, and related capabilities.

The report urges Congress and the Administration to deploy a variety of tools to compete with China, including by building on the Biden Administration’s recent executive orders on artificial intelligence and outbound investment.  With respect to trade, the Select Committee recommends implementing stricter export controls and moving China to a new tariff column, effectively revoking its permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status.  Furthermore, the report calls for broadly expanding authorities for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), as well as for investments in international economic development to counter China’s efforts to influence the economic affairs of trading partners through its Belt and Road initiative.  The report recommends several steps to protect U.S. innovators from intellectual-property-related abuses and sanction companies in China that threaten U.S. national security.Continue Reading House Select Committee report urges “new path” for economic engagement with China

Recently, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced new legislation to address transparency and accountability for artificial intelligence (AI) systems, including those deployed for certain “critical impact” use cases. While many other targeted, bipartisan AI bills have been introduced in both chambers of Congress, this bill appears to be one…

Continue Reading Bipartisan group of Senators introduce new AI transparency legislation