November 18, 2024
It's Monday, Pros! ICYMI, President-elect Trump last night named Brendan Carr to be chair of the FCC.
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1 big thing: House staffers to watch
Here's a list of House staff to watch next year who could help shape tech policy under a fully Republican-controlled Congress, per Maria.
Dan Ziegler, policy director for House Speaker Mike Johnson
Ziegler joined the speaker's office to run the policy shop last November, soon after Johnson assumed the speakership.
- He was previously a principal at Williams and Jensen where he lobbied on behalf of the News Media Alliance for the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act and antitrust issues impacting digital news publishers.
- Ziegler was also previously the executive director for the Republican Study Committee for four years, including when Johnson was RSC chair.
Emily Hebein, legislative director, Rep. Bob Latta
Hebein has held various roles since 2018 for Latta, who is a top contender for Energy and Commerce Committee chair.
- Her portfolio includes trade, science and technology, telecommunications and taxes.
- She previously was an outreach associate for TechFreedom, a libertarian-leaning think tank.
Brian Fahey, legislative director, Rep. Brett Guthrie
Fahey has held this role for about three years under Guthrie, who is also in the running to be the next E&C chair.
- Previously, he worked on legislation for Rep. John Curtis, who has just been elected as Utah's newest senator, and Sen. Joni Ernst.
Landon Heid, professional staff member for the majority, House Select Committee on China
Heid focuses on U.S.-China tech competition issues.
- He previously worked at the State Department, where his assignments included foreign service officer at the U.S. embassy in Beijing and tech policy officer at the China Coordination Office in D.C.
- In addition, Adam Chan, who graduated from law school last spring, is serving as a national security legal fellow for the committee.
Melodie Ha, professional staff member for the minority, House Select Committee on China
Ha is a national security professional with expertise on Chinese emerging technology.
- Although the panel does not have the power to take legislative action, it's preparing to elevate U.S.-China tech issues and influence other committees.
2. Hill hearing watch
Here's what we're tracking on the Hill this week.
1. AI fraud: Tomorrow at 2:30pm ET, Senate Commerce's consumer protection, product safety and data security subcommittee convenes a hearing on protecting consumers from AI fraud and scams.
- Witnesses include UC Berkeley's Hany Farid, Consumer Reports' Justin Brookman, Truepic's Mounir Ibrahim and Dorota Mani, the mother of a deepfake pornography victim.
2. China watch: The Senate Judiciary panel on privacy, technology and the law gathers tomorrow at 2pm ET for a hearing titled "Big Hacks & Big Tech: China's Cybersecurity Threat."
3. Patent markup: Lawmakers on the full Senate Judiciary Committee are set to take up the PREVAIL Act on Thursday at 10am ET.
- The committee had pulled the bill — which would prevent repeat challenges of the same patent in the Patent Trial and Appeal Board — from a markup last week, our Axios Pro Health Care Policy colleague Victoria Knight reported.
- Advocates say the legislation would help protect tech startups and innovators from patent abuse perpetuated by Big Tech companies.
✅ Thank you for reading Axios Pro Policy, and thanks to editors Mackenzie Weinger and David Nather and copy editor Bryan McBournie.
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