HAPPY THURSDAY! Welcome to Overnight Energy, The Hill’s roundup of the latest energy and environment news. Please send tips and comments to Rebecca Beitsch at rbeitsch@thehill.com. Follow her on Twitter: @rebeccabeitsch. Reach Rachel Frazin at rfrazin@thehill.com or follow her on Twitter: @RachelFrazin.

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NEW RENEWABLE NEWS: The House on Thursday passed a broad bill that aims to boost energy efficiency and renewable energy sources as part of an attempt to combat climate change. 

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The chamber approved the 900-page Clean Energy and Jobs Innovation Act in a 220-185 vote. 

The legislation would create research and development programs for solar, wind, advanced geothermal energy and hydroelectric power as well as lessening pollution from fossil fuel production. 

It would also establish more rigorous building codes and bolster energy efficiency requirements and weatherization programs. 

The bill moved rapidly through the House. It was first introduced last week and did not go through any legislative hearings.

A similar energy innovation package that was introduced in the Senate earlier this year has recently been reenergized after legislators came to an agreement on an amendment seeking to phase down the use of a type of greenhouse gas. 

A senior House Democratic aide told The Hill that if the Senate passes its own bill, the chambers can go to conference to resolve their disagreements. The aide said that House Democrats urge Republicans to take some action on clean energy, either moving by their own bill or taking up the House bill.  

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Speaking in favor of the House legislation, Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiPelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It ‘isn’t worth the paper it’s signed on’ On The Money: Anxious Democrats push for vote on COVID-19 aid | Pelosi, Mnuchin ready to restart talks | Weekly jobless claims increase | Senate treads close to shutdown deadline Trump signs largely symbolic pre-existing conditions order amid lawsuit MORE (D-Calif.) praised it as one step in the fight to tackle climate change. 

“It takes actions that scientists, researchers and experts tell us is needed by launching the research and development needed to unleash a clean energy revolution and reduce pollution in our communities, making a bold down payment for future climate action by modernizing America’s energy innovation infrastructure,” she said. 

The top Republicans on the Natural Resources, Energy and Commerce and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees released a joint statement criticizing the legislation this week. 

“Here we are in the middle of a global pandemic and Speaker Pelosi wants to spend more than $135 billion on a piece of legislation that will never become law,” said Reps. Rob BishopRobert (Rob) William BishopOVERNIGHT ENERGY:  House passes sweeping clean energy bill | Pebble Mine CEO resigns over secretly recorded comments about government officials  | Corporations roll out climate goals amid growing pressure to deliver House passes sweeping clean energy bill OVERNIGHT ENERGY: California seeks to sell only electric cars by 2035 | EPA threatens to close New York City office after Trump threats to ‘anarchist’ cities | House energy package sparks criticism from left and right MORE (R-Utah), Greg WaldenGregory (Greg) Paul WaldenOVERNIGHT ENERGY:  House passes sweeping clean energy bill | Pebble Mine CEO resigns over secretly recorded comments about government officials  | Corporations roll out climate goals amid growing pressure to deliver House passes sweeping clean energy bill Hillicon Valley: DOJ proposes tech liability shield reform to Congress | Treasury sanctions individuals, groups tied to Russian malign influence activities | House Republican introduces bill to set standards for self-driving cars MORE (R-Ore.), and Frank LucasFrank Dean LucasOVERNIGHT ENERGY:  House passes sweeping clean energy bill | Pebble Mine CEO resigns over secretly recorded comments about government officials  | Corporations roll out climate goals amid growing pressure to deliver House passes sweeping clean energy bill OVERNIGHT ENERGY: California seeks to sell only electric cars by 2035 | EPA threatens to close New York City office after Trump threats to ‘anarchist’ cities | House energy package sparks criticism from left and right MORE (R-Okla.). “This bill is chock-full of government mandates that would raise what Americans pay for everything from the vehicles they drive to what they pay to heat, cool, and power their homes.” 

Read more about the bill’s passage here. 

SAY YOUR GOODBYES: The CEO of the company behind the proposed Pebble Mine has announced his resignation after an environmental group released comments that he made describing a close relationship with public officials. 

CEO Tom Collier of the Pebble Limited Partnership will step down after he “embellished both his and the Pebble Partnership’s relationships with elected officials and federal representatives in Alaska, including Governor Dunleavy, Senators Murkowski and Sullivan and senior representatives of the US Army Corps of Engineers,” said a statement from Pebble’s parent company Northern Dynasty Minerals. 

“The comments were clearly offensive to these and other political, business and community leaders in the state and for this, Northern Dynasty unreservedly apologizes to all Alaskans,” the statement read. 

In case you forgot, an environmental group this week published tapes of conversations between Pebble and Northern Dynasty execs and investigators pretending to be potential investors. 

In tapes published this week by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Collier said he and Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) are “pretty good friends” and said that the governor’s chief of staff formerly sat on a committee that advised Collier on matters related to the Pebble Mine. 

“I’ve flown down to Juneau where the governor’s mansion is and had private dinners with him in the mansion. So the governor and I are pretty good friends,” he said.

Northern Dynasty CEO Ronald Thiessen also discussed access to the White House and using the governor’s office for said access. 

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“We can talk to the chief of staff at the White House any time we want,” he said, but warned that there are records about who the White House chief of staff has calls with and said that it’s better to go through Alaska’s governor.

“It’s better for us if we want to push that envelope that Tom talks to the Governor of the State of Alaska and the Governor of the State of Alaska picks up the phone and calls the Chief of Staff to the White House,” Thiessen said. 

Collier also made comments about what he believed to be support for the mine from Alaska’s two senators, including saying that the chairman of the company’s board rents an apartment from a staff of Sen. Dan SullivanDaniel Scott SullivanOVERNIGHT ENERGY:  House passes sweeping clean energy bill | Pebble Mine CEO resigns over secretly recorded comments about government officials  | Corporations roll out climate goals amid growing pressure to deliver Will Republicans’ rank hypocrisy hinder their rush to replace Ginsburg? Hillicon Valley: DOJ indicts Chinese, Malaysian hackers accused of targeting over 100 organizations | GOP senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal | QAnon awareness jumps in new poll MORE (R-Alaska).  

“We have a very close relationship with one of his top advisors who in fact – our – the guy who was my predecessor, John Shively, rents an apartment in Alaska from his, from Sullivan’s state director. And the two of them have worked together for 20 years so John knows her well and talks to her regularly,” he said. 

Both also expressed optimism about support from Sen. Lisa MurkowskiLisa Ann MurkowskiOVERNIGHT ENERGY:  House passes sweeping clean energy bill | Pebble Mine CEO resigns over secretly recorded comments about government officials  | Corporations roll out climate goals amid growing pressure to deliver The Hill’s Morning Report – Sponsored by Facebook – Trump previews SCOTUS nominee as ‘totally brilliant’ Abortion stirs GOP tensions in Supreme Court fight MORE (R-Alaska), with Thiessen saying that Murkowski’s father accompanied him to London while Thiessen courted investors. 

In the tapes, Thiessen projected that the mine could be in operation for much longer than the 20-year period that’s currently proposed, remaining in operation for 200 years. 

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In the statement released Wednesday, Thiessen called the release of the tapes “unethical” but also criticized comments made within them. 

“The unethical manner in which these tapes were acquired does not excuse the comments that were made or the crass way they were expressed,” he said. “On behalf of the Company and our employees, I offer my unreserved apology to all those who were hurt or offended, and all Alaskans.” 

And the subjects of the conversations were not pleased: 

The officials mentioned in the tapes disputed the comments made by the executives in statements to local news outlets. 

Dunleavy’s office said that executives “embellished their relationships with state and federal officials at all levels;” Sullivan said the comments contained fabrications and said “it’s clear that the company executives are floundering;” and Murkowski has said she’s not remaining “quiet in the corner.”

Both Sullivan and Murkowski have also recently put out statements saying that a permit for the mine shouldn’t be issued as it’s currently proposed. 

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The proposed gold and copper mine would be located in the world’s largest commercial sockeye salmon producing region, and has divided conservatives, with prominent figures like Donald Trump Jr. and Tucker CarlsonTucker CarlsonJudge tosses Karen McDougal’s defamation suit against Tucker Carlson OVERNIGHT ENERGY:  House passes sweeping clean energy bill | Pebble Mine CEO resigns over secretly recorded comments about government officials  | Corporations roll out climate goals amid growing pressure to deliver Former Florida attorney general calls Kyle Rittenhouse ‘a little boy out there trying to protect his community’ MORE opposing it. 

Read more about Collier’s resignation here.

I’M CALLING CORPORATE: Companies are increasingly setting their own goals for carbon neutrality in the absence of a federal plan to address global warming, bracing their business for the stark financial realities wrought by climate change.

But while the patchwork of climate goals may score points with consumers and increase pressure for major action, a corporate-led climate movement would still leave the U.S. lagging behind its global counterparts.

As Climate Week plugs along in New York, the United Nations announced Monday that the number of commitments from local governments and businesses to reach net-zero emissions has doubled in less than a year.

Morgan Stanley, AT&T and Walmart all set new climate goals in the past week, the latest in a string of companies with some $11.4 trillion in combined annual revenue whose goals range from ambitious plans to cut emissions to those that largely continue business as usual but seek to offset their pollution by buying carbon credits.

Tyler Wry, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business who has studied the business response to coronavirus and climate change, said he takes the pledges with “a healthy dose of skepticism.”

“On one hand, I think it’s great that the discourse is shifting towards taking climate change seriously,” he said.

“It’s just important that we don’t take all of these statements at face value, that we actually have some sort of follow-up and hold these companies’ feet to the fire around these commitments. Because it’s really easy around these points like Climate Week to signal virtue and support and then not have follow-through because the day to day pressures of corporate decisionmaking don’t always lend themselves to continued attention,” he added.

The push for climate goals comes amid a broader effort from corporate America to stake out social issues to align their brand with and as studies paint a more dire picture of how climate change will affect a company’s bottom line.

“Climate change poses a major risk to the stability of the U.S. financial system and to its ability to sustain the American economy,” the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a Wall Street watchdog, wrote in a landmark report earlier this month.

But companies’ responses have been as varied as the businesses themselves.

Morgan Stanley, like many other major U.S. firms, has settled on a 2050 target for net-zero financed emissions, mirroring the hard-stop deadline for reaching net-zero emissions recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

AT&T pledged to reach carbon neutrality by 2035, and Walmart said it would do so by 2040, while acknowledging its plans for doing so are not yet fully fleshed out and rely on technology just beginning to reach the market.

Amazon, has said it will reach net-zero emissions by 2040, but has been open about the uncertainty surrounding its path to reaching that goal.

Read more about what the companies are up to here.

HOSTILE CLIMATE FOR NEW NOAA HIRES: House Democrats expressed opposition on Thursday to two new reported hires at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) over their skepticism about the science behind climate change. 

A group of 85 Democrats led by Reps. Jamie RaskinJamin (Jamie) Ben RaskinOVERNIGHT ENERGY:  House passes sweeping clean energy bill | Pebble Mine CEO resigns over secretly recorded comments about government officials  | Corporations roll out climate goals amid growing pressure to deliver On The Money: House panel pulls Powell into partisan battles | New York considers hiking taxes on the rich | Treasury: Trump’s payroll tax deferral won’t hurt Social Security House panel pulls Powell into partisan battles over pandemic MORE (Md.), Suzanne BonamiciSuzanne Marie BonamiciOVERNIGHT ENERGY:  House passes sweeping clean energy bill | Pebble Mine CEO resigns over secretly recorded comments about government officials  | Corporations roll out climate goals amid growing pressure to deliver Pelosi, Blumenaur condemn ‘egregious abuses of power’ by Trump against Oregon protestors Federal agents deployed to Portland did not have training in riot control: NYT MORE (Ore.) and Kathy CastorKatherine (Kathy) Anne CastorOVERNIGHT ENERGY:  House passes sweeping clean energy bill | Pebble Mine CEO resigns over secretly recorded comments about government officials  | Corporations roll out climate goals amid growing pressure to deliver OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Democrats push resolution to battle climate change, sluggish economy and racial injustice | Senators reach compromise on greenhouse gas amendment stalling energy bill | Trump courts Florida voters with offshore drilling moratorium Trump courts Florida voters with moratorium on offshore drilling MORE (Fla.) wrote to the heads of NOAA and the Commerce Department asking for the appointment of climatology professor David Legates to be withdrawn. 

“As the new deputy assistant secretary of Commerce for environmental observation and prediction—reporting directly to the acting NOAA administrator—Legates would clearly be in a position to seriously damage the agency’s scientific integrity,” they wrote. 

Legates has cast doubt on climate science, writing a paper contradicting previous findings about the role that climate change plays in damaging polar bear habitats and has also pushed a discredited theory that the sun is responsible for climate change. 

Meanwhile, Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Jared HuffmanJared William HuffmanOVERNIGHT ENERGY:  House passes sweeping clean energy bill | Pebble Mine CEO resigns over secretly recorded comments about government officials  | Corporations roll out climate goals amid growing pressure to deliver OVERNIGHT ENERGY: House Democrats tee up vote on climate-focused energy bill next week | EPA reappoints controversial leader to air quality advisory committee | Coronavirus creates delay in Pentagon research for alternative to ‘forever chemicals’ COVID-19 complicates California’s record-setting wildfire season  MORE (D-Calif.) wrote a separate letter to express their “dismay” at the reported hiring of Ryan Maue, a meteorologist who has been vocal in questioning the science connecting climate change to extreme weather events, as NOAA’s chief scientist. 

“Dr. Maue’s appointment is now only one of many examples of a larger pattern of corrupting federal agencies to support the anti-science agenda of the White House,” they wrote. 

Maue has been critical of Democrats and assertions that climate change is exacerbating natural disasters.

In a now-deleted tweet he wrote, “seems the Democrats have coordinated their efforts to use the devastating California fires as an opportunity to score political points in the upcoming election by blaming them solely on climate change (and Trump).

OUTSIDE (AND INSIDE) THE BELTWAY:

Many Superfund Sites are Dangerously Threatened by Climate Change, NBC News, InsideClimate News and The Texas Observer report

NJ Assembly passes nation’s toughest ban on plastic and paper bags, NorthJersey.com reports

Forest Service employees ordered to scrub mentions of racism, social justice, E&E News reports

Ocean Heat Waves Are Directly Linked to Climate Change, The New York Times reports

 

ICYMI: Stories from Thursday (and Wednesday night)…

Biden picks up endorsement from progressive climate group 350 Action

Corporations roll out climate goals amid growing pressure to deliver

Pebble Mine CEO resigns over secretly recorded comments about government officials 

Nearly 40 Democratic senators call for climate change questions in debates

House passes sweeping clean energy bill 

 

FROM THE HILL’S OPINION PAGES:

No, President TrumpDonald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It ‘isn’t worth the paper it’s signed on’ Trump ‘no longer angry’ at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE is not the ‘environmental president,’ writes Jacqueline Savitz, the chief policy officer at Oceana Action. 

Mary Anne Hitt , the national director of campaigns at the Sierra Club, writes in favor of clean energy

Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert Kaplan said Monday that near-zero interest rates will likely be needed for the next two to three years. 

Kaplan told Bloomberg Television that he would prefer the Federal Reserve not commit to low borrowing costs beyond that point. He also said he expects the U.S. unemployment rate to reach 4 percent or 3.5 percent by 2023, dropping from its current 8.4 percent. 

“I probably think it’s appropriate to remain accommodative, or maybe even highly accommodative,” Kaplan said. “I’m not sure it’s appropriate to decide right now that at that point we should leave rates at zero; I would rather leave those judgments to future committees.”

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The interview marked Kaplan’s first public remarks since he voted against the Fed’s move to commit to low rates until inflation reaches and is on pace to “moderately exceed” 2 percent, according to Reuters. 

He told Bloomberg Television that the costs of making the commitment outweighed any benefits. 

Kaplan added that a fall in stock prices after the Fed’s decision was made public last week could be a healthy correction as long as credit spreads don’t widen. But he noted the markets haven’t completely taken into account the Fed’s announcement. 

He also said the U.S. economy is probably growing at a 30 percent annual pace this quarter and expects it to continue its growth into 2021 as it continues to combat the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Reuters.

General Electric, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of coal-fired power plants, announced Monday it would no longer build such facilities.

It’s a remarkable exit that will have far-reaching consequences on the coal industry as more and more utilities are increasingly shifting away from coal-fired generation.

“GE will continue to focus on and invest in its core renewable energy and power generation businesses, working to make electricity more affordable, reliable, accessible, and sustainable,” the company said in a release, adding that it will still service existing coal power plants.

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“GE’s steam power business will work with customers on existing obligations as it pursues this exit, which may include divestitures, site closings, job impacts and appropriate considerations for publicly held subsidiaries.”

GE also produces equipment for nuclear plants as well as wind turbines.

Despite efforts from the Trump administration to bolster the coal industry, market forces have pushed utilities to cheaper, cleaner forms of electricity, with many utilities opting to retire coal-fired power plants early.

Last year coal production fell to the lowest level since 1978, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). 

Coal production in 2019 was just 7 percent lower overall than production in 2018, part of a larger trend of coal production easing since production peaked in 2008. Production is expected to decline again this year.

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Welcome to Hillicon Valley, The Hill’s newsletter detailing all you need to know about the tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. If you don’t already, be sure to sign up for our newsletter with this LINK.

Welcome! Follow our cyber reporter, Maggie Miller (@magmill95), and tech reporter, Chris Mills Rodrigo (@chrisismills), for more coverage.

WORK FROM HOME FATIGUE: Six months after states began issuing stay-at-home orders, many employees have settled into working-from-home routines that are likely to persist in some form beyond the pandemic.

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But with that seismic shift comes concerns about productivity, fatigue and cybersecurity. Those issues are likely to become more prominent as a greater share of the labor force makes remote work a long-term practice.

A record 49 percent of Americans reported having telecommuted in a Gallup poll released last month, and the average telecommuter spent nearly 12 out of 20 days working at home, up from just below six days the year prior. Among college graduates, 76 percent reported having telecommuted.

“Prior to [the pandemic], telecommuting and remote work was certainly practiced widely and was rapidly increasing, but this is a complete left turn in terms of the rapidness telework and remote work has been adopted,” Timothy Golden, a professor of management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute that has been studying remote work for years, told The Hill.

Several companies have embraced that shift, especially in the fast growing technology sector.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey made waves earlier this year when he announced that Twitter and Square employees could work remotely indefinitely. Facebook, Amazon and Google have all extended work from home policies for their white-collar employees through the end of the year.

But tech isn’t the only industry making changes. Deutsche Bank last week set an office return date of July 2021.

Some companies have also resisted embracing remote work.

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Read more here.

 

TAKING MATTERS INTO THEIR OWN HANDS: A group of Facebook’s most vocal critics on Friday announced the creation of a group to analyze and weigh in on the platform’s moderation decisions as the company’s own independent oversight board has yet to launch.

The new group, which calls itself the Real Facebook, consists of more than two dozen academics, journalists and civil rights leaders.

Its meetings will be available to the public, with the first one scheduled to be streamed on Facebook Live on Wednesday hosted by New York Times contributing opinion writer Kara Swisher.

Many members of the new group have been critical of the pace of Facebook’s Oversight Board launch.

CEO Mark ZuckerbergMark Elliot ZuckerbergHillicon Valley: Productivity, fatigue, cybersecurity emerge as top concerns amid pandemic | Facebook critics launch alternative oversight board | Google to temporarily bar election ads after polls close Conservative groups seek to block Facebook election grants in four swing states: report Facebook critics launch alternative oversight board MORE first revealed his intentions to launch an oversight board in November 2018, but he didn’t formally announce the makeup of the board until May of this year.

The board, which is meant to have final and binding say over whether content should be allowed on, or taken down from, Facebook’s platforms, will consist of 20 experts who are scheduled to begin reviewing content cases in October.

But the board will not be fully operational until after the U.S. elections on Nov. 3.

Read more here.

 

GOOGLE ELECTION AD FREEZE: Google will bar election-related advertising after all polls close on Nov. 3, a spokesperson for the company confirmed Friday.

The move was prompted by the possibility that final election results might be delayed this year because of the high volume of mail-in voting driven by the coronavirus pandemic.

The ban will be temporary but last at least one week.

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Ads referencing officeholders, candidates, political parties, ballot measures or elections will not be allowed, according to an email to advertisers obtained by The Hill.

Ads on election-related search queries will also be prohibited. Google said it will evaluate other ads on a case-by-case basis.

The search engine giant has implemented similar bans before, most recently the election in Belarus last month.

The company also placed a ban on certain advertising around the time that the coronavirus was declared a pandemic in March. Some actors, like government institutions and public health agencies, have had the ban lifted while others are still not able to advertise about COVID-19.

Read more.

 

QANON CONCERNS CONTINUE: Disinformation targeting Latino communities is ramping up ahead of Election Day, when the demographic is expected to play a crucial role in key battleground states. 

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Advocacy groups and election security experts alike say material is circulating on social media platforms and online messaging apps that pushes false conspiracies that echo larger disinformation campaigns in English.

The misinformation efforts, some of which reflect the QAnon conspiracy theory, are especially critical in Florida, a crucial swing state where polls show Democratic presidential nominee Joe BidenJoe BidenFormer Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump’s No. 1 Supreme Court pick Bloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida MORE is running behind Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonBloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida Hillicon Valley: Productivity, fatigue, cybersecurity emerge as top concerns amid pandemic | Facebook critics launch alternative oversight board | Google to temporarily bar election ads after polls close Trump pledges to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, designate KKK a terrorist group in pitch to Black voters MORE’s 2016 support among Latino voters. 

Advocates said the misinformation could dissuade Latino voters, who have historically low levels of voter participation, from voting in this year’s election.  

One example, according to NALEO, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that facilitates Latino participation in American politics, is a Facebook page “Cubanos por el Mundo” that makes false claims that the Cuban government is planning a caravan at the southern border to create a migratory crisis before the election to sabotage President TrumpDonald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr ‘has brought shame’ on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump’s No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE.

Read more here.

 

A(I) SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP: The Trump administration on Friday announced that it had signed an artificial intelligence (AI) research and development agreement with the United Kingdom.

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The U.S. and the U.K. formally committed to the Declaration on Cooperation in Artificial Intelligence Research and Development, which is meant to promote cooperation between the two nations on AI development along with recommending priorities for AI planning and programming, including student and researcher collaboration. 

According to the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the agreement is the result of a meeting between President Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson last year, during which a U.S.-U.K. Special Relationship Economic Working Group was established to promote collaboration on economic growth. 

“America and our allies must lead the world in shaping the development of cutting edge AI technologies and protecting against authoritarianism and repression,” U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios said in a statement Friday. “We are proud to join our special partner and ally, the United Kingdom, to advance AI innovation for the well-being of our citizens, in line with shared democratic values.”

Alok Sharma, a member of Parliament and the U.K.’s secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, tweeted his support on Friday after signing the AI declaration on behalf of the U.K. 

“I look forward to collaborating with our US partners on #AI and advancing our shared vision to harness the benefits of this technology for all,” Sharma tweeted. 

The move follows increasing efforts by the Trump administration to ramp up investment in AI and quantum computing. 

Read more here.

 

UNDERWOOD TAKES THE GAVEL: The House Homeland Security Committee announced Friday that Rep. Lauren UnderwoodLauren UnderwoodHillicon Valley: Productivity, fatigue, cybersecurity emerge as top concerns amid pandemic | Facebook critics launch alternative oversight board | Google to temporarily bar election ads after polls close Underwood takes over as chair of House cybersecurity panel Obama announces first wave of 2020 endorsements MORE (D-Ill.) will take over as chair of the panel’s subcommittee on cybersecurity, infrastructure protection and innovation. 

Underwood, who serves as vice chair of the full Homeland Security panel, will take over the subcommittee chair position from Rep. Cedric RichmondCedric Levon RichmondHillicon Valley: Productivity, fatigue, cybersecurity emerge as top concerns amid pandemic | Facebook critics launch alternative oversight board | Google to temporarily bar election ads after polls close Underwood takes over as chair of House cybersecurity panel Rep. Bill Pascrell named chair of House oversight panel MORE (D-La.).

Richmond stepped down from the Homeland Security panel earlier this week to take a position on the House Ways and Means Committee, filling a position previously held by the late Rep. John LewisJohn LewisHillicon Valley: Productivity, fatigue, cybersecurity emerge as top concerns amid pandemic | Facebook critics launch alternative oversight board | Google to temporarily bar election ads after polls close Underwood takes over as chair of House cybersecurity panel Trump to pay respects to Ginsburg at Supreme Court MORE (D-Ga.).

The cybersecurity subpanel has in the past addressed issues around election security, state and local cybersecurity needs, bolstering the cybersecurity workforce and oversight of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Science and Technology Directorate.

Underwood said in a statement Friday that she was “honored to step into this leadership role to secure our cyber and physical infrastructure in a way that reflects American values.”

She emphasized that “with the 2020 election currently underway across Illinois and the country, this committee’s work is more critical than ever before.”

Read more here.

 

NEW CYBER BILL: A group of bipartisan House and Senate lawmakers on Friday introduced legislation to increase resources to help local governments, small businesses and nonprofit groups to defend themselves against cyberattacks. 

The Improving Cybersecurity of Small Organizations Act would require the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to develop and issue guidance on cybersecurity policies for small businesses, nonprofits and local governments. 

Both CISA and the Small Business Administration (SBA) would be required to promote the guidance, and the SBA would additionally be required to issue a report on the state of small business cybersecurity every two years.

The bill is sponsored in the House by Reps. Anna EshooAnna Georges EshooHillicon Valley: Productivity, fatigue, cybersecurity emerge as top concerns amid pandemic | Facebook critics launch alternative oversight board | Google to temporarily bar election ads after polls close Lawmakers introduce legislation to boost cybersecurity of local governments, small businesses Democratic chairman says White House blocked FDA commissioner from testifying MORE (D-Calif.) and John KatkoJohn Michael KatkoHillicon Valley: Productivity, fatigue, cybersecurity emerge as top concerns amid pandemic | Facebook critics launch alternative oversight board | Google to temporarily bar election ads after polls close Lawmakers introduce legislation to boost cybersecurity of local governments, small businesses Underwood takes over as chair of House cybersecurity panel MORE (R-N.Y.), the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee’s cybersecurity subcommittee. Sens. Jacky RosenJacklyn (Jacky) Sheryl RosenHillicon Valley: Productivity, fatigue, cybersecurity emerge as top concerns amid pandemic | Facebook critics launch alternative oversight board | Google to temporarily bar election ads after polls close Lawmakers introduce legislation to boost cybersecurity of local governments, small businesses Senators introduce bipartisan bill to help women, minorities get STEM jobs MORE (D-Nev.) and John CornynJohn CornynHillicon Valley: Productivity, fatigue, cybersecurity emerge as top concerns amid pandemic | Facebook critics launch alternative oversight board | Google to temporarily bar election ads after polls close Lawmakers introduce legislation to boost cybersecurity of local governments, small businesses On The Trail: Making sense of this week’s polling tsunami MORE (R-Texas) introduced the legislation in the Senate. 

Eshoo said in a statement Friday that the legislation was necessary, as “small businesses, small nonprofits and small local governments can’t afford to hire cybersecurity professionals, yet they are still vulnerable to debilitating cyberattacks.”

Both Rosen and Cornyn separately praised the bill as addressing cybersecurity challenges faced by small businesses and local governments.  

Read more here.

 

EU TO APPEAL: The European Union announced on Friday that it will appeal a July court ruling that annulled its 2016 finding that Apple owed Ireland up to 13 billion euros in unpaid taxes.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said it is appealing the EU general court’s opinion to the European Court of Justice, the EU’s highest court.

The commission “respectfully considers that in its judgment the General Court has made a number of errors of law,” Margrethe Vestager, executive vice president of the commission, said in a statement.

The commission ruled in August 2016 that Ireland’s tax treatment of Apple constituted illegal “state aid” that gave the tech giant an unfair advantage over other companies. The ruling was criticized by U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, who expressed concerns that American companies were being disproportionately targeted.

Ireland and Apple contested the 2016 ruling. In July, the EU general court ruled in favor of Ireland and Apple, finding that the commission incorrectly determined that Apple received a selective economic advantage over its competitors.

Read more here.

 

OBJECTION: An advocacy group for drone manufacturers and developers this week raised serious concerns around a clause in the proposed version of the annual defense spending bill that would ban Chinese and other foreign-made drones, arguing the ban could “hurt the drone industry.”

A clause in the House-passed 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would prohibit federal procurement or operation of certain foreign-made drones, including those from China, due to national security concerns. 

The Alliance for Drone Innovation – which represents major drone-related companies, including Chinese technology group Da-Jiang Innovations (DJI) – pushed back against the clause in a letter sent to the leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees this week.

“By imposing a ban on the procurement and operation of foreign-made drones in the final conference report, this provision would be detrimental to the U.S. drone industry,” the Alliance wrote to the lawmakers. “While it may seem counterintuitive, we believe a ban on drones and drone components from outside America would actually hurt the development of the U.S. drone industry.”

The Alliance argued that “manufacturing a drone simply cannot be done today without parts and knowledge from all over the world, and a country-based ban would hurt the Americans who build drones as well as the Americans who use them for recreation, business, conservation, and even saving lives.”

Concerns around foreign-made drones have been tied to strong efforts by the Trump administration and members of Congress to push back hard against China, zeroing in particularly on Chinese tech groups, such as social media platform TikTok and telecommunications company Huawei. 

Read more here.

 

Lighter click: Reminder that it’s fat bear week

An op-ed to chew on: Congress should help college students bridge the digital divide 

 

NOTABLE LINKS FROM AROUND THE WEB:

Facebook is turning VR into a platform–but some indie developers fear its power (The Verge / Adi Robertson) 

Trump’s ban on diversity training sends tech companies scrambling (Protocol / Emily Birnbaum)

QAnon leaders look to rebrand after tech crack downs (NBC News / Ben Collins)

Alphabet Settles Shareholder Suits Over Sexual Harassment Claims (New York Times / Daisukue Wakabayashi)

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Millennial voters are backing Democrats over Republicans by a more than two-to-one ratio heading toward November’s midterms, according to a Pew Research Center poll released Thursday.

Sixty-two percent of millennial voters said if the 2018 elections were held today, they would vote for the Democratic candidate, while only 29 percent said they would support the Republican. 

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While millennial voters have historically supported Democrats, the Pew survey signals strong support for the party as it works to recapture control of Congress. 

The 2014 midterm elections saw 50 percent of millennial voters backing Democratic candidates, while 41 percent of the generation supported the GOP, according to Pew. 

Fifty-three percent of millennials said they supported Democrats in 2010, and 37 percent said they supported Republicans. 

The midterm elections will serve as a referendum on President TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE’s first two years in office, and multiple generic ballot polls in recent days have found Democrats with double-digit leads.

Pew reported that 65 percent of millennials disapproved of the job Trump was doing, while only 27 percent approved. 

The Pew Research Center poll on the 2018 congressional elections was conducted on Jan. 10-15. 

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The Cook Political Report, a top nonpartisan election handicapper, shifted nine House races to more favorable for Democrats in this year’s midterm elections.

The new rating changes released on Friday come a few days after Pennsylvania’s nationally watched House special election, where Democrats will likely have a huge upset in a district that President TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE won by nearly 20 points in 2016.

Democrat Conor Lamb declared victory and leads Republican state Rep. Rick Saccone by 627 votes, but some media outlets have yet to call the race.

ADVERTISEMENTSome of the most notable rating changes include three races that have shifted from “lean Republican” to “toss-up”: the seats held by GOP Reps. Leonard LanceLeonard LanceGun debate to shape 2020 races GOP fears Trump backlash in suburbs Bottom Line MORE (N.J.), Brian FitzpatrickBrian K. FitzpatrickBipartisan group demands House prioritize communities of color in coronavirus relief bill Fitzpatrick to face Democrat Christina Finello in key Pennsylvania House race Key races to watch in Tuesday’s primaries MORE (Pa.) and Keith RothfusKeith James RothfusLobbying world Conor Lamb gets 2020 challenger touted by Trump The 31 Trump districts that will determine the next House majority MORE (Pa.).

Fitzpatrick’s and Rothfus’s seats became more favorable for Democrats after Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court redrew the state’s congressional map in its gerrymandering case. While Republicans are challenging the new lines, they’re still likely to go into effect for the midterms.

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Following Tuesday’s likely victory, Lamb is looking to switch districts and is preparing a run for Rothfus’s seat. The seat Lamb is poised to win will not exist under the new map, and the area will be drawn into a new, open-seat district that is even more favorable territory for Republicans.

Other notable rating changes include the shift from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican” for Rep. Steve PearceStevan (Steve) Edward PearceFive Latinas who could be Biden’s running mate New Mexico Dems brace for crowded race to succeed Udall The 31 Trump districts that will determine the next House majority MORE’s (R-N.M.) open seat and the special election to fill the seat vacated by ex-Rep. Pat TiberiPatrick (Pat) Joseph TiberiOhio New Members 2019 Many authors of GOP tax law will not be returning to Congress GOP Rep. Balderson holds onto seat in Ohio MORE (R-Ohio). Rep. Ami BeraAmerish (Ami) Babulal BeraThe Hill’s Coronavirus Report: Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas says country needs to rethink what ‘policing’ means; US cases surpass 2 million with no end to pandemic in sight Exclusive investigation on the coronavirus pandemic: Where was Congress? The Hill’s Coronavirus Report: David Miliband says world won’t be safe until poor nations get more aid; Cuomo rips WHO MORE’s (D-Calif.) seat, which is a frequent GOP target, has also shifted from lean Democrat to likely Democrat.

There are also several seats that were already considered safe for Democrats that have tilted even more in their direction, including the shift from “likely Democrat” to “solid Democrat” in the seats held by Rep. Salud CarbajalSalud CarbajalFederal employees push for COVID-19 protections in ‘dangerous’ workplaces Hispanic Caucus demands protections for agricultural workers in next coronavirus bill Activists, analysts demand Congress consider immigrants in coronavirus package MORE (D-Calif.), Charlie CristCharles (Charlie) Joseph CristGOP sees groundswell of women running in House races The Hill’s Campaign Report: Biden’s Tampa rally hits digital snags Biden rise calms Democratic jitters MORE (D-Fla.) and Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.).

Only one rating change favors Republicans due to the new maps in Pennsylvania: the seat that will likely be held by Lamb through the end of year. It will now shift from “toss-up” to “likely Republican.” Saccone has been circulating petitions to run in the new district.