Congress returns to session before midterms sprint, but no action expected on AI fears

Filed 34m ago · Via Michigan Advance · The Buffoon Desk

THIS STORY IS SCORED

Matt's Blues

Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: Jorge Royan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Congress returns this week for a short session, one week for the House and three for the Senate, before both chambers head back to the campaign trail until mid-November. Government funding is settled through Dec. 11, but the NDAA, the farm bill, a possible reconciliation package, and Trump's push for nationwide voter ID requirements all remain stalled with no path to passage before the midterms.

Speaker Mike Johnson said he wants tech executives to work with Congress on AI rather than impose a moratorium, citing competition with China, while Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called for classified briefings and accused the administration of ignoring warning signs. Neither side expects actual legislation on AI guardrails this session.

The Senate does have a handful of pending nominations it could move, including a labor secretary pick and several judges, but the real business waits for a lame-duck session spanning five weeks after the election.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

Four weeks in Washington to decide nothing on defense money, farm policy, or a technology people in both parties call potentially catastrophic. That's not gridlock, that's a scheduling choice. A fence that needs mending doesn't fix itself just because the men who own it went off to the county fair to get reelected.

Source: Read the original at Michigan Advance → Scored: Matt's Blues · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0

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