DC Insight - 11/3/23

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Major college conferences team up on federal NIL legislation
Axios – November 1, 2023
The most prominent collegiate athletic conferences are coming together to build grassroots support for federal legislation regulating how athletes profit off their name, image, and likeness (NIL). The coalition, which includes conferences such as the Big Ten, SEC and ACC, aims to bar the use of NIL in college recruiting to try to keep third-party individuals and groups out of the process as much as possible.

Granger won’t seek reelection in 2024
Roll Call – November 1, 2023
House Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger announced she will retire from Congress rather than run again next year. Granger was first elected in 1996, has been the top Republican on the Appropriations Committee since 2018, and is a staunch supporter of military spending, having led Republicans on the State-Foreign Operations panel and serving as the chairwoman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

GOP adds social policy riders to House Labor-HHS-Education spending bill
Roll Call -  November 1, 2023
House Republicans unveiled a revised version of their fiscal 2024 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill that includes a number of new conservative social policy riders related to abortion, gun control and diversity. The revised bill, posted on the House Rules Committee’s website Monday night, comes ahead of possible floor action the week of Nov. 13. LHHS report here.

Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024
House Committee on Rules –
Amendments for the Labor-Health and Human Services-Education and the Commerce-Justice-Science bills are due Friday, November 3 and Monday, November 6, respectively. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) opted to bring the bills directly to the floor and bypass committee consideration. CJS report here.

House Passes Aid Package to Israel With IRS Cuts
US News and World Report – November 2, 2023
The House narrowly approved an aid package for Israel– a vote that ordinarily would have been an easy bipartisan victory but one complicated by Democrats’ accusation of a political “poison pill” in the GOP’s attempt to offset the new spending with cuts to the IRS. In a 226-196 vote, 12 Democrats joined all but two Republicans to approve the legislation, which stands apart from the package the White House requested by leaving out humanitarian aid for Gaza and military support to Ukraine while also being paid for by cuts to IRS funding. It has no prospects in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Democrats largely opposed the $14.3 billion aid package, acknowledging that while they support aid for Israel, the mechanism for providing it, along with the lack of funding in other areas, made it a nonstarter.

FACT SHEET: President Biden Issues Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence
The White House – October 30, 2023
President Biden issued a landmark Executive Order to ensure that America leads the way in seizing the promise and managing the risks of artificial intelligence (AI). The Executive Order establishes new standards for AI safety and security, protects Americans’ privacy, advances equity and civil rights, stands up for consumers and workers, promotes innovation and competition, advances American leadership around the world, and more.

Senate Passes Hawley Resolution Condemning Antisemitism on College Campuses
Senator Josh Hawley Press Release - October 26, 2023
The U.S. Senate passed by voice vote U.S. Senator Josh Hawley's resolution condemning Hamas and the antisemitic student groups on college campuses that have celebrated the Oct. 7 terrorist attack against Israel.

With Nearly All U.S. Confucius Institutes Closed, Some Schools Sought Alternative Language Support
US Government Accountability Office – October 30, 2023
Confucius Institutes offer Chinese language and culture programs on U.S. college campuses. Because the government of the People's Republic of China partners with schools and partially funds the institutes, researchers and others have raised concerns about undue influence and more.