Lame Duck Session of Congress Could Prove Consequential for AI, Biometrics Sectors: Analysis

With the 2024 Presidential election now mercifully concluded, Congress is back in session. And while it may be a “lame duck” session, representatives face some consequential legislation to consider, including a package concerning the regulation of artificial intelligence technologies.

As detailed in an analysis by the government affairs arm of the law firm Greenberg Traurig – which includes former members of Congress – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) “has been leading bipartisan, bicameral efforts to develop an artificial intelligence legislative package that can pass during the lame duck session.” This package could include bills that would establish a National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) and an AI Safety Institute within the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

The CREATE AI Act of 2023 (S. 2714 in the Senate and H.R. 5077 in the House) aims to create a shared research infrastructure for artificial intelligence (the NAIRR), which is currently being piloted by the National Science Foundation. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation favorably reported the bill last year, on July 31, 2023. This resource could potentially be used for advancing computer vision and facial recognition research.

The Future of Artificial Intelligence Innovation Act (S. 4178 in the Senate and H.R. 9497 in the House) has also passed through committee stages, with a focus on advancing research, standards development, and public-private partnerships related to AI safety.

Another bill that might be included in the package is the Defiance Act, which would allow victims of deepfakes to sue; it was unanimously passed by the Senate this past summer.

And there is also the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act, which combines the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children’s and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), and has provisions requiring online platforms to implement privacy protection measures and restrict minors’ access to potentially harmful content. But, as Greenberg Traurig’s advisory notes, Mike Johnson, the current House Speaker, “has indicated that while he supports the concept of the bill, he believes the current bill language would have negative unintended consequences.”

While other bills may end up in the AI package being championed by Senator Schumer, these are the ones that seem to be most consequential for the identity technology industry. But there is another legislative matter being faced in this lame duck session that would be consequential for a wide range of sectors beyond biometrics and identity: discretionary funding.

Federal funding for discretionary programs makes up about 30 percent of the federal budget, and will expire in December. This funding is typically divided into 12 appropriations bills, and last year those were combined into two larger packages that each combined six bills.

This year, there is a proposal to combine all 12 appropriations bills into one omnibus package—an idea to which Speaker Johnson has expressed his opposition. And according to the Greenberg Traurig note, “House and Senate leadership and the White House have not yet agreed upon topline numbers to cap spending for the 12 bills, and the two chambers are roughly $90 billion apart.”

So far, lawmakers have tried to buy time for deliberations by passing short-term funding extensions. The latest one is set to expire on December 20, 2024.

The Greenberg Traurig analysis notes that Speaker Johnson “may seek to enact another continuing resolution that extends into next year so that the bills can be considered by new Republican majorities,” unless President-elect Trump pushes for the bills to be cleared this year. “In 2017, an omnibus appropriations bill wasn’t signed until May 5, more than halfway through the fiscal year, disrupting the early months of Trump’s first year,” the analysis notes.

The note, authored by Rob Mangas, Charles Bass, and Rod Frelinghuysen, has been forwarded to members of the International Biometrics + Identity Association by IBIA leadership to alert them to the potential legislative issues.

Source: Greenberg Traurig

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November 20, 2024 – by Alex Perala