House Commerce Republicans clear sweeping tech plans in party-line vote

The House Commerce Committee voted 29-24 to advance the communications title of the GOP megabill. The bill includes a host of thorny tech and telecommunications provisions, including a spectrum provision set to raise $88 billion by selling frequencies and implementing a decade-long moratorium on state AI regulation. Democrats attacked the spectrum plan as a “cash grab” to fund tax breaks for the wealthy. Democrats also tried and failed to knock out the GOP’s 10-year moratorium on states implementing AI measures, a provision that might not pass muster with parliamentary rules.