Maggie Miller

Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) said that he was “pleased to see the [Federal Communications Commission] address the threat to network security posed by vendors such as Huawei and ZTE,” calling it a “critical first step.” But Vice Chairman Warner also said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai should have acted sooner and he "urged" the Trump administration to “work with Congress to pass legislation to help rural carriers remove legacy equipment and to harden the U.S. telecommunications supply chain." "There is a lot of work left to be done,” Warner added.

Matthew Petersen, the vice chairman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), submitted his resignation letter to President Donald Trump, leaving the agency without the necessary number of commissioners to vote on proposed actions. Petersen, a Republican who has served as a commissioner since 2008, wrote that he will formally step down on Aug 31.  Petersen was heavily involved in technology issues, which he highlighted in his resignation letter.

Democratic Reps are pushing to revive funding for a nonpartisan agency intended to better inform lawmakers about technology. At issue is the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), which was created by Congress in 1972 but closed its doors in 1995 after the then GOP-controlled House cut its funding. The agency provided lawmakers and staffers with expertise on science and technology issues relevant to legislation and public policy, including the areas of intellectual property, technological change, and climate.