The House voted 234-193 Friday to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (S-2938), which requires the Department of Health and Human Services to provide technical assistance and issue guidance to state governments on “improving access to telehealth for services covered under Medicaid” and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The Senate passed S-2938 Thursday night 65-33. President Joe Biden intends to sign the measure. The House didn’t hold a requested vote on the Promoting U.S. International Leadership in 5G Act (HR-1934), which would direct the secretary of state to assist in enhancing U.S. leadership at international standards-setting bodies that handle 5G and other telecom issues (see 2206210048).

Bipartisan legislation introduced Thursday would “create new protections against selling or transferring Americans’ sensitive personal information to high-risk foreign countries.” Introduced by Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.; Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.; and Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., the Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Surveillance Act would block bulk export of private data to countries like China. The bill would direct the Commerce Department to identify low-risk countries that would be exempted.

The House voted 259-162 Wednesday for the Active Shooter Alert Act (HR-6538), short of the two-thirds majority of present lawmakers needed to pass the measure under suspension of the rules. HR-6538 would direct DOJ to create a national active shooter alert system. The measure would direct DOJ to coordinate with the FCC, Transportation Department and FEMA to use the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System to issue active shooter alerts (see 2206210048). HR-6538 drew support from 215 Democrats and 44 Republicans, including House Commerce Committee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. The chamber "will take up this legislation again and pass it -- making clear that Democrats are on the side of protecting our families and supporting our courageous first responders," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. The bill "would help law enforcement send out AMBER-style alerts when a gunman opens fire," ensuring "passersby do not unknowingly walk into a dangerous area." House Republicans "overwhelming and inexplicably voted to oppose the needs of law enforcement heroes and to keep this crucial, life-saving information away from our communities,” Pelosi said.

The Senate voted 64-34 Tuesday on a motion to proceed to consider the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act as an amendment to shell bill S-2938. The measure includes language requiring the Department of Health and Human Services to provide technical assistance and issue guidance to state governments on “improving access to telehealth for services covered under Medicaid” and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The Senate’s Tuesday vote set up potential votes later this week on S-2938.

Congress should be able to pass its chips package in July, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday (see 2206150075). They issued a joint statement after a bipartisan, bicameral four corners meeting on Congress’ China bill. “We expressed our belief that there is no reason that we should not pass this bill through Congress in July,” they said. “Democrats have already made accommodations in the name of reaching an agreement, which we are optimistic can happen soon.”

The House planned votes as soon as Tuesday night under suspension of the rules on two communications-oriented bills: the Promoting U.S. International Leadership in 5G Act (HR-1934) and Active Shooter Alert Act (HR-6538). HR-1934, first filed during the last Congress (see 2001030049), would direct the secretary of state to assist in enhancing U.S. leadership at international standards-setting bodies that handle 5G and other telecom issues. HR-6538 would direct DOJ to create a national active shooter alert system. The measure directs DOJ to coordinate with the FCC, Transportation Department and FEMA to use the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System to issue active shooter alerts.

Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., urged the Commerce Department to develop “a comprehensive strategy to address unnecessary consumer costs, mitigate e-waste, and restore sanity and certainty to the process of purchasing new electronics.” Such a move would “follow the EU’s lead” after the European Commission’s recent ruling “obligating electronics manufacturers to adopt a common charger for mobile devices” by 2024 (see 2206090048), the senators said in a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo released Friday. “Consumers frequently must pay for new specialized charging equipment and accessories for their different devices. This is not merely an annoyance; it can be a financial burden.” As “specialized chargers become obsolete with the introduction of new products, or as consumers change the brand of phone or device that they use, their outdated chargers are usually just thrown away,” the senators said: “When electronics are not disposed of properly, e-waste can spread toxins in water, pollute soil, and degrade the air we breathe.” The EU “has wisely acted in the public interest by taking on powerful technology companies over this consumer and environmental issue,” the senators said: The U.S. “should do the same.”

FCC nominee Gigi Sohn “gave us the state of play” on her stalled Senate confirmation process (see 2206070046) during an off-the-record June 10 Movement Labs webinar, “but it was a pretty small part of the call,” liberal campaign firm Movement Labs CEO Yoni Landau told us Friday. The webinar last week drew the attention of Breitbart, which published invitation details that said Sohn’s confirmation “would fill out a 3-2 progressive majority” at the FCC “capable of breaking up Sinclair’s right-wing propaganda machine.” Sohn said during a December confirmation her past social media posts critical of conservative media outlets would have no bearing on how she would behave as a policymaker (see 2112010043). The Movement Labs invitation touted the June 10 event as an opportunity to hear from Sohn “about why she is right for this role, ask her tough questions about text, and get involved in pushing” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., “and a few scared Democrats to grow a spine and put this woman in power.” Movement Labs wanted to get Sohn’s “take on the future of texting technology” and robocalls given the group’s frequent use of text messaging as part of its work, Landau told us: “We had a staffer on our team who was really excited” Sohn agreed to appear “and then wrote this invitation with contents that didn’t have anything to do with” the actual event. Sohn “didn’t see that or approve of it” before Movement Labs sent the invitation out, he said. Sohn didn’t comment.

If TikTok continues to refuse to testify, the House Commerce Committee will be forced to consider compelling the company’s appearance before the panel, ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., said Friday. TikTok knowingly allows the Chinese Communist Party to access Americans' data, which is "unacceptable and a complete betrayal of our trust,” she said. “TikTok has gone on record numerous times claiming that they do not share U.S. user data with the Chinese government, CCP, or any Chinese state-owned entities.”

The Senate passed the State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act by unanimous consent Tuesday. Introduced by Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and ranking member Mike Lee, R-Utah, S-1787 would strengthen the right of state attorneys general to litigate antitrust cases in courts of their choosing. Sponsors in the House are expecting passage in the lower chamber (see 2202090066). Senate passage is “the beginning of a new era of antitrust reform and proof-of-concept for a bipartisan reform coalition of conservatives and progressives,” House Antitrust Subcommittee ranking member Ken Buck, R-Colo., said in a statement.