Heard on the Hill (6-17-24)
What we’re hearing from people we trust on and around the Hill – please send us more tips!
Save the date: As first reported by the Washington Reporter, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s markup date for its sweeping privacy bill will likely be June 26.
Big tech 1: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.) is rumored to be the lead Republican on the House version of Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R., Iowa) American Innovation and Choice Online Act House bill (AICOA). Rep. Jerry Nadler (D., N.Y.) is the lead Democrat. The bill is aimed at stopping self-preferencing among tech giants. However, Democrats have been waiting to roll out the bill, hoping for a different Republican lead. Last Congress this legislation cleared the House Judiciary Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support.
Big tech 2: Reps. Lori Trahan (D., Mass.) and Kat Cammack (R., Fla.) are negotiating over a House version of the Open App Markets Act (OAMA). If they can’t come to an agreement, Cammack may go it alone. This legislation is widely popular, with polling finding over 60 percent of voters approve, and passed the Senate Judiciary Committee 20-2 last Congress. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) is the lead in the Senate.
Carpetbag central: Looking ahead to Tuesday’s primaries, Rep. Tom Cole (R., Okla.) is facing a self-funded primary challenger named Paul Bondar who was recently caught campaigning from Texas, where he voted from earlier this year, by a local news outlet. Cole has the endorsement of President Trump.
Good’s news: Rep. Bob Good’s (R., Va.) campaign tells the Reporter that he’s not going down without a fight on Tuesday. Good’s campaign made 208,000 voter contacts in a district that had fewer than half that in the presidential primary, we’re told. Some of Good’s intra-party foes sent High Noon-branded buses of Republican staffers to campaign for his Trump-endorsed opponent this weekend.
The big shoutout: Polaris’s Jeremy Hunt, who we recently published on the problems with Sen. Dick Durbin’s (D., Ill.) credit card bill, received a shout-out from President Trump for his strong performance on Fox News. Congratulations, Jeremy!