Blumenthal Sees Lame-Duck Opportunity for Passage of Kids’ Bills

The lame-duck session will provide a good chance to get kids’ privacy legislation signed into law, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told us Thursday.

The House Commerce Committee last week passed the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) (HR-7891) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) (HR-7890) by voice vote. The Senate passed its own versions of the bills by a 91-3 vote in July.

House Commerce Committee Republicans told us in interviews it’s unclear how much of a priority it is for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to bring them to the floor. Johnson said in June he’s committed to achieving consensus on data privacy and child protections. His office didn’t comment now. Blumenthal and House Commerce Committee Democrats told us they want to see the Senate-passed package signed into law or language stronger than what passed the House Commerce Committee.

“I’m very hopeful that we’ll see action as soon as possible,” said Blumenthal, who is lead Senate Democrat on KOSA. “The likelihood is [passage during] the lame-duck” session, but “I have no deep insight into” Johnson’s plans in the House. “The Senate [version of KOSA] is a strong bill that passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, so I’m hopeful it will be the basis for the bill that passes.”

Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., told us he expects House Commerce to tweak bill language to a point where he can support it on the House floor. “We have to protect our children, and we hope” to gain near-unanimous support on the floor.

Guthrie is one of several Republican committee members who met with Johnson leading up to House Commerce’s abandoned markup on a comprehensive data privacy bill (see 2406270046 and 2406260062). Republicans told us at the time that Johnson opposed the comprehensive bill as drafted, which led to the markup cancellation. Senate Republicans are urging Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., to bring the kids’ bills to the floor (see 2406270046). Scalise’s office didn’t comment.

Guthrie said he hasn’t spoken with Johnson about the bills. “I know it’s an extreme priority for the committee, particularly for the chairwoman,” he said. “I’m not saying one way or another” whether Johnson will bring them up. “I just don’t know.”

“We got the bill out, and we’ll see now where leadership is,” said Rep. Bob Latta, R-Ohio, who met with Johnson before the canceled markup. Asked where he stands on the two bills, Latta said, “If I voted for it at committee, I’m voting for it” on the floor. Johnson’s priority is passing a funding package before the end of the month, he said.

House Innovation Subcommittee Chairman Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., introduced the House version of KOSA with Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla. Although no formal discussions have been scheduled with Johnson, Bilirakis said, “We’re moving the ball forward, and I’m discussing it with leadership and with Democrats,” either through staff or informal discussion on the floor.

House sponsors must close some of KOSA’s loopholes before gaining broad support, said Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo. During last week’s markup, DeGette said she would have preferred passing the Senate version of KOSA. She told us Thursday it doesn’t necessarily need to be exact Senate language, but it should be much stronger than the version the House Commerce Committee approved. Both Democrats and Republicans at the markup took issue with the bill’s duty of care provision.

The difference between the House and Senate versions is “significant,” said Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass.: “I think we all made clear that there’s plenty of work that we need to do to improve that bill and get it closer to the Senate version.” Trahan said another area that needs improvement is the safe harbor provision, which will protect researchers’ access to social media data.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., introduced COPPA 2.0 with Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. Cassidy told us he’s hopeful House Republican leadership is supportive: “Usually the reason not to take something up would be because you don’t know it can pass. Sounds like it would pass. ... My bias is to think” Johnson will bring the bills to the floor.