Posts Tagged: "115th Congress"

Capitol Hill Roundup

This week on Capitol Hill, the House of Representatives will host almost every hearing that will relate to technology and innovation, including three hearings originally scheduled for last week but moved due to the national day of mourning for former President George H. W. Bush. Hearings in the House will focus on topics including advanced fuels for next generation engines, efforts to speed the development of innovative medical treatments, legislation for freeing up broadband Internet spectrum for public use and government IT acquisition processes. Over in the Senate, there will be a hearing in the middle of the week on Chinese espionage that will explore how entities in that country have been involved in cyberattacks and Internet piracy against American targets.

Capitol Hill Roundup for the Week of December 3, 2018

This week on Capitol Hill, the Senate appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on efforts leading to advanced nuclear reactor technology while the Senate rules committee will consider a bill that would amend the nomination process and the required qualifications for the Register of Copyrights. Over in the House of Representatives, hearings on artificial intelligence applications for national defense, Google’s data collection practices and a recently passed bill for bridging the digital divide will also take place this week.

Capitol Hill Roundup

This week on Capitol Hill is another light one in terms of hearings focusing on topics related to technology and innovation. Although the House of Representatives is in session all week after the Columbus Day holiday, there are no hearings scheduled for the week as of Sunday,  and the House is about to enter a few weeks’ worth of district work periods. In the Senate, the Commerce Committee convenes a hearing to look at recent consumer data privacy laws passed in Europe and California, and the Banking Committee explores the potential of blockchain and cryptocurrencies in the national financial system.

Capitol Hill Roundup

This week in Capitol Hill hearings focuses solely on meetings happening at the U.S. Senate. The one hearing scheduled at the U.S. House of Representatives, which was to explore whether the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was addressing small business concerns regarding 21st century telecom systems, has been postponed to a later date. In the Senate, the Commerce Committee will hold hearings on automated system for rail vehicles and challenges in the creation of rural infrastructure for broadband Internet. The Indian Affairs Committee is also exploring broadband challenges and the Superfund Subcommittee will discuss the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) implementation of science transparency rules.

Joint Economic Committee Holds Hearing on Innovation Economy, Barriers to Accessing Capital

One panel witness, Rachel King, CEO of the Rockville, MD-based biotech firm GlycoMimetics, said that she was greatly concerned by the effects of the IPR process and how it weakens the company’s ability to enforce its own patents. “There are very few areas of the nation’s economy that are as dependent on patents as the biotechnology industry,” King said. “Our investors rely on the strength of patents in order to make investments in companies like ours and we need to make sure that these rights are robust and enforceable.” King was very supportive of the STRONGER Patents Act as a piece of legislation that properly addresses the current deficiencies with the IPR process.