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☆ There's a messy battle over AI going on in DC — and there's no end in sight
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Why does the US not have federal AI regulation? Biden signed the executive order on "Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence" near the end of 2023. Another challenge comes from AI experts and researchers choosing private sector jobs instead of ones in the government, a kind of "brain drain," Zhang said. "Less than 40% go to government looking to create all those AI regulations and governance structures." AdvertisementThe vast majority of AI experts end up working in the private sector rather than for universities or federal governments.

Persons: —, hasn't, Joe Biden, Trump, Kevin McCarthy, Biden, I'm, Jason Green, Lowe, It's, Sen, Martin Heinrich, Sam Altman, Bill O'Leary, Rebecca Finlay, Finlay, we're, she's, Daniel Zhang, Zhang, Drew Angerer, That's, there's Organizations: Service, White, Business, Bills, Republican, Artificial Intelligence, Federal Government, Science & Technology, Congress, Microsoft, Google, Defense, Center, Senate, Washington, Getty, Stanford Institute for, AI, Stanford's, for, Biden Locations: Silicon Valley, Korean, Washington , DC, Congress, North America

☆ The TikTok divest-or-ban bill is a First Amendment disaster, but it may still stand up in court
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Maybe…Earlier attempts to ban or force a sale of TikTok often haven't stood up in court. Other parties, like TikTok creators, may launch separate legal challenges in the coming weeks, as they have done in the past. AdvertisementTrump's 2020 order to ban TikTok was halted by a federal judge who said it likely exceeded executive authority. While the bill is framed around forcing US ownership of TikTok, it's likely to result in a ban, which strengthens the free-speech argument. Congress hasn't proven that an outright sale or ban of TikTok is the only way to protect national-security interests.

Persons: Joe Biden, ByteDance, TikTok, haven't, TikTokers, Matthew Schettenhelm, Hans, Lena Shapiro, Ramya Krishnan Organizations: Service, Business, ACLU, Bloomberg Intelligence, Cornell Law School, TikTok, University of Illinois College of Law, Chinese Communist Party, Intelligence Law, CCP, Columbia University Locations: Montana, Texas, Washington, China

☆ Your salary history can hold you back from making more money throughout your career. Biden wants to ban it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Across the economy and country, women — and especially women of color — are paid less than their peers. "Relying on a candidate's salary history can exacerbate preexisting inequality in our pay structures, and disproportionately impact women and workers of color. And, as the National Women's Law Center chronicles , some employers use previous salaries as a benchmark for determining a new worker's salary — again essentially locking in some of the biases that could've kept that number lower. Research on salary history bans suggests that they are effective in narrowing pay gaps; one study , which focused on California's statewide salary history ban alongside other localities that enacted bans, found that the gender earning ratios increased, with women over the age of 35 particularly benefiting. The actions are pegged to the 15th anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which, per the EEOC , is the first piece of legislation President Barack Obama signed into law.

Persons: —, Biden, Shalanda Young, could've, Lilly, Barack Obama, SCOTUS, Congress hasn't, Young Organizations: Service, Business, Management, National Women's Law, Research, Congress

☆ A $174,000 salary isn't enough for members of Congress. In fact, they should probably give themselves a $100,000 raise.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

With a salary of $174,000 per year, members of Congress make more than 80% of American households. Stunted salary growth and limited perksThe salaries for members of Congress haven't budged in nearly 15 years. Historically, Democrats have been more willing to push for higher pay for members of Congress, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. For simplicity's sake, let's put the number at $274,000 — a $100,000 raise for members of Congress. Nor is jacking up lawmakers' salaries likely to be a panacea that solves every problem in a troubled institution.

Persons: that's, —, It's, David Schweikert, we're, Daniel Schuman, reimbursements, Schuman, Patrick McHenry of, — he's, he's, Republican Sen, Mitt Romney, who've, Democratic Sen, Elizabeth Warren of, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, Steny Hoyer, Dan Kildee of, who's, Kildee, Sen, Elizabeth Warren, Kent Nishimura, Maxwell Frost of Florida, Deb Fischer, Nebraska, JD Vance, Ohio, Ro Khanna, Tom Williams, Chip Somodevilla, Vance, Khanna, Gregg Harper, Harper, I'm, Warren, let's Organizations: Service, DC, Arizona, Business, POPVOX, budged, Senate, Republican, Democratic, Getty, United States Senate, —, Bureau of Labor Statistics Locations: Washington, Arizona, multimillionaires, Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, Utah, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Alexandria, Cortez of New York, Cortez, Dan Kildee of Michigan, DC, Ohio, California, America, Mississippi

☆ Matt Gaetz seeks to oust Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Rep. Matt Gaetz introduced a motion to vacate against House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday. A motion to vacate allows a single lawmaker to force chamber-wide consideration of the speakership. Removal from the role requires a majority of the House to vote in favor. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementAdvertisementFlorida Rep. Matt Gaetz on Monday introduced a motion to remove California Rep. Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House amid a broiling intraparty feud among Congressional Republicans.

Persons: Matt Gaetz, Kevin McCarthy, —, Gaetz, McCarthy, Biden, Congress hasn't Organizations: Service, California, Congressional Republicans, Democratic, Congress Locations: Florida

☆ Matt Gaetz seeks to oust Kevin McCarthy as House speaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rep. Matt Gaetz introduced a motion to vacate against House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday. AdvertisementAdvertisementRep. Matt Gaetz of Florida on Monday introduced a motion to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California as speaker of the House amid a broiling intraparty feud among congressional Republicans. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe feud between Gaetz and McCarthy has been building since McCarthy's election to the position in January, which took 15 painstaking votes amid heavy resistance from Gaetz and other GOP members. The speaker's fate could also be determined by Democrats, whose votes helped McCarthy pass a stop-gap spending bill to avert a government shutdown over the weekend. AdvertisementAdvertisementAccording to NBC, some Democrats are looking for political concessions from McCarthy, and it's unclear whether McCarthy has already started courting Democrats for their votes.

Persons: Matt Gaetz, Kevin McCarthy, —, Kevin McCarthy of, Gaetz, McCarthy, Biden, Congress hasn't, Katherine Clark Organizations: Service, Democratic, Congress, GOP, NBC Locations: Florida, Kevin McCarthy of California

But he’s hoping that they will give senators some realistic direction as he tries to do what Congress hasn't done for many years — pass meaningful regulation of the tech industry. “It’s going to be a fascinating group because they have different points of view,” Schumer said in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of the forum. Many members of Congress agree that legislation will probably be needed in response to the quick escalation of artificial intelligence tools in government, business and daily life. In the United States, most major tech companies have expressed support for AI regulations, though they don’t necessarily agree on what that means. Blumenthal’s framework calls for a new “licensing regime” that would require tech companies to seek licenses for high-risk AI systems.

Persons: Chuck Schumer, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Schumer, Republican Sen, Mike Rounds, “ It’s, ” Schumer, ” Rounds, “, ”, Mark Warner, Democratic Sen, Martin Heinrich of, Todd Young, Indiana —, Sam Altman, Forrester, Sen, Young, ” Young, “ We’ve, Dana Rao, We’ve, Richard Blumenthal, Conn, Josh Hawley, ” Blumenthal, ___ O'Brien, Ali Swenson, Kelvin Chan Organizations: WASHINGTON, Capitol, Microsoft, Republican, Associated Press, AP, Democratic, European Union, Adobe Locations: South Dakota, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Indiana, U.S, United States, Europe, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Providence , Rhode Island, New York, London

☆ A $1 trillion platinum coin could save the US from economic catastrophe in less than a month. It would be fast, legal, and no bigger than a regular coin.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

One potential solution: Minting a trillion-dollar platinum coin to pay off debts and avert disaster. Some economists say that means it's time for a break-the-glass option: A trillion-dollar coin. The coin — which doesn't need to be bigger than your average purse change, and can be made quickly — is part of a potential debt ceiling loophole. Yes, a trillion-dollar coin is silly, but would Biden "rather not look silly and hurt seniors and hurt Medicare than the other way around?" Yellen has been critical of that route as well, saying in 2021 that she believes it is Congress' job to raise the debt ceiling.

☆ Senate GOP populists push Republican colleagues to back railway regulations, arguing 'their voters' are the most affected by disasters
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Vance, Hawley, and Rubio are touting a bill to enact new regulations on the rail industry. They're trying out a new argument for their Republican colleagues: these are your voters. Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Marco Rubio of Florida, are touting the Railway Safety Act of 2023. "When derailments occur, it is predominantly Republican voters—their voters—who bear the brunt and who rush to put out the fires." "Look, I think if the vote were held today, we'd get 65 votes in the Senate," he told Insider.

☆ Sorry crypto world, but SEC isn’t backing down on ‘regulation by enforcement’
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Alison Frankel | Thomson Reuters | Alison Frankel Has Covered High-Stakes Commercial Litigation As A Columnist For Reuters Since A Dartmouth College Graduate | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Right now, Wahi argued, crypto users are simply left guessing about their exposure to SEC enforcement — and that's not sustainable. That strategy, Hodl Law asserted, didn't give token-holders fair notice about whether their coins are securities. Otherwise, Hodl Law said, Ethereum users have no idea if the SEC will swoop in with an enforcement action. The SEC also said that it's not obliged to warn crypto users about its interpretation of securities laws. It also, however, provides the first robust explanation of an argument I expect to see more often in SEC crypto cases: SEC enforcement, according to Wahi, is precluded by the Supreme Court’s recently articulated major questions doctrine.

☆ Police chief in Pennsylvania 'shocked' he wasn't stiffed by Donald Trump on a bill for rally security
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Wilkes-Barre Township Police Chief Will Clark had low expectations when billed Donald Trump's political action committee. Clark's own department in Pennsylvania still has an unpaid bill for extra security at a "Make America Great Again Rally," back in 2018. Along with the Trump campaign, Clark also tried sending the bill to the Republican National Committee and Lou Barletta, the Trump-endorsed former Pennsylvania congressman who failed to oust Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in that race. To date, there's only one other known instance of late — also unexplained — where the Trump campaign paid some of the money it owed a municipal government. In this case, it was the city of La Crosse, Wisconsin, for a 2020 campaign event that then-Vice President Mike Pence headlined.

☆ Police chief 'shocked' he wasn't stiffed by Donald Trump on a bill for rally security
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Wilkes-Barre Township Police Chief Will Clark had low expectations when billed Donald Trump's political action committee. Along with the Trump campaign, Clark also tried sending the bill to the Republican National Committee and Lou Barletta, the Trump-endorsed former Pennsylvania congressman who failed to oust Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in that race. The Trump campaign said in 2020 that public safety billing inquiries should go to the Secret Service. To date, there's only one other known instance of late — also unexplained — where the Trump campaign paid some of the money it owed a municipal government. In this case, it was the city of La Crosse, Wisconsin, for a 2020 campaign event that then-Vice President Mike Pence headlined.

☆ Tech leaders dish on how asinine it is to try to describe their companies, products, and worth to Congress
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Hanna Kang | Kayla Gallagher | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +24 min

Tech companies are worried an aging Congress can't meet or even understand their demands. Younger members of Congress are beginning to take the lead in conversations on tech issues. Hawley said younger members are generally more critical of big tech. However, he added, new technologies are more widely used by younger people, and users tend to understand technology better. Meanwhile, major tech companies continue to ramp up their federal lobbying spending, together spending more in 2021 than in any other year in history.

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