Lawmakers refiled the Remote Transactions Parity Act (HR-2193) and Senate companion the Marketplace Fairness Act Thursday in a bid to influence development of online sales tax legislation despite perceptions that progress on the issue is generally on hold amid legal challenges to state laws (see 1704130058). Both bills would allow states to collect sales taxes from companies that have no physical presence in the state. Reps. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., and John Conyers, D-Mich., led the filing of HR-2193. Lead co-sponsors are Reps. Lou Barletta, R-Pa.; Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah; David Cicilline, D-R.I.; Suzan DelBene, D-Wash.; Jackie Speier, D-Calif.; Steve Stivers, R-Ohio; and Steve Womack, R-Ark. Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., led filing of MFA. Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., are co-sponsoring the bill. The National Retail Federation was among those lauding introduction of the bills. “The states know they can’t fix this on their own, but they agree with retailers that Congress has stalled for far too long,” said NRF Senior Vice President-Government Affairs David French in a news release. “Online sellers should not continue to receive an unfair price advantage.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee set a Tuesday hearing on how intellectual property acts as a “driver of innovation” that makes “our lives healthier, safer, and more productive,” the committee said Wednesday in a brief notice. It didn’t disclose further details about the hearing’s focus but it appears aimed at coinciding with the annual April 26 celebration of World IP Day, an industry lobbyist told us. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R--Iowa, has taken an interest in IP issues as Senate Judiciary chairman, including likely leadership in shepherding the anticipated Senate companion to the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act (HR-1695). Grassley is also expected to speak Tuesday at the Institute for Policy Innovation’s World IP Day event. The hearing is to begin at 10 a.m. in 226 Dirksen.

SEC conflict minerals reporting requirements had overall mixed results, witnesses told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee panel. Chairman Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., told us the panel will consider whether any legislative action is needed. “The SEC is limited in scope in what they can do, and all the witnesses agree that a more comprehensive approach that involves governance by the [Democratic Republic of the Congo] is going to be necessary, but we realize the limitations of the current government in the DRC,” he said. “We’ll consider” whether legislation is needed, he said. Acting Chairman Michael Piwowar announced in January the SEC is reconsidering whether to continue advancing the reporting requirements. The agency didn't comment. The rule brought transparency to supply chains of tungsten, tin,= and tantalum originating in the DRC, but had limited effects disrupting gold smuggling and violence of armed groups, Information Technology Industry Council Senior Vice President-Environment and Sustainability Rick Goss testified. The U.S. government should reconsider elements of the conflict minerals reporting requirement and should build off conflict minerals' due diligence guidance by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (here), said Goss.

The Senate Finance Committee postponed its vote scheduled to have been Thursday (see 1704050035) on whether to advance U.S. Trade Representative nominee Robert Lighthizer for full Senate consideration, a spokeswoman for the committee’s Republican majority said, citing scheduling conflicts among senators. The committee will consider the nomination after a two-week spring break that began when senators left Capitol Hill Friday, the spokeswoman said.

President Donald Trump's nomination of Makan Delrahim as DOJ's top antitrust enforcer was sent to the Senate and was referred to the Judiciary Committee, the White House said in a Thursday news release. Delrahim, now deputy counsel to the president, is considered a traditional Republican on antitrust issues (see 1703280020).

The Senate Finance Committee plans to consider whether to advance to the floor the nomination of Robert Lighthizer as U.S. trade representative at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, the committee said. In a brief interview Tuesday, ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., continued to assert a legislative waiver is needed to exempt Lighthizer from legal requirements barring individuals who have represented foreign entities from being USTR or deputy USTR (see 1703150027). Wyden said his staff and that of Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, are "having conversations" on "how it might be possible to get the necessary waiver. Senate Democrats want Republicans to consider unrelated legislation in exchange for clearing the path for Lighthizer’s prospective confirmation. Hatch said he hopes Senate Democrats drop their "unrelated demands" for Lighthizer's advancement. "Mr. Lighthizer’s nomination has been subject to unprecedented delay and unrelated demands for far too long, and we cannot afford to have this crucial position void of leadership any longer," Hatch said. "Throughout his confirmation hearing he demonstrated a clear vision and dedication to advancing a strong trade agenda, which many of my Democratic colleagues praised."

A bicameral and bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the Protecting Data at the Border Act Tuesday. The authors are Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., as expected (see 1703170019), and Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Reps. Jared Polis, D-Colo., and Blake Farenthold, R-Texas. “By requiring a warrant to search Americans’ devices and prohibiting unreasonable delay, this bill makes sure that border agents are focused on criminals and terrorists instead of wasting their time thumbing through innocent Americans’ personal photos and other data,” Wyden said. The bill “will put an end to the government’s intrusive practices” at the border, Paul said. Wyden’s office posted the 22-page text and a summary. The Center for Democracy and Technology backs the bill, said Greg Nojeim, who directs the center's Freedom, Security and Technology Project: “A search of your cell phone or social media account is a direct look behind the curtain that covers the most intimate aspects of your life. A border stop shouldn't be an excuse for extreme surveillance such as downloading the entire contents of your phone.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., in a Wednesday letter to swiftly report U.S. Trade Representative nominee Robert Lighthizer out of committee (see 1703220015) for a Senate floor vote. “Mr. Lighthizer has led a distinguished career as a trade policy practitioner and has a reputation as a staunch advocate for American industry,” said Executive Vice President and Head-International Affairs Myron Brilliant. “He will represent the nation’s interests well as he works with international partners and addresses trade challenges at the negotiating table and before the World Trade Organization.” A committee spokesman said the committee hasn’t scheduled a vote on whether to clear Lighthizer, and the panel will announce it 48 hours in advance.

Acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen and Commissioner Terrell McSweeny will testify Tuesday before the Senate Commerce's Consumer Protection Subcommittee on the cost of consumer scams, law enforcement efforts to fight them and other outreach and education programs, said the subcommittee in a notice. Other witnesses are Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, consultant Frank Abagnale and KWCH Hutchinson, Kansas, reporter Mike Schwanke. The 2:30 p.m. hearing will be in 253 Russell.

A bipartisan Senate Finance Committee staff memo we obtained highlighted U.S. Trade Representative nominee Robert Lighthizer's past representations of foreign entities, representations in pending trade matters, and tax documentation as "issues ... appropriate to bring to the attention of Committee Members in advance of the hearing." His confirmation hearing was Tuesday. While at Skadden Arps, Lighthizer represented Brazil in 1985, potentially requiring a legislative waiver to secure Senate confirmation (see 1701030014). Lighthizer on Jan. 17 initially said in an answer to a questionnaire he hadn't represented, advised or otherwise aided a foreign government or political organization in a trade matter. He revised it Jan. 27 to mention his involvement with Brazil. The Republican majority committee staff said it doesn't view this as clearly constituting a representation within the meaning of the 1974 Trade Act. At the hearing, Lighthizer said USTR's role has been to take the lead in sorting out the executive branch's overall approach to trade policy, and he expects to work collaboratively with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and White House trade leaders including National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn. “I expect it to work the way it has,” he testified. “I expect it to be very collaborative.” Lighthizer pledged to strongly assert U.S. intellectual property rights, in response to questions by Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. The U.S. maintains a competitive advantage in innovation and science, and weak IP enforcement would compromise that, as U.S. IP rights holders are wrestling with slow and inefficient patent protection, IP theft, and insufficient property protection overseas, Lighthizer said. Hatch also expressed concern the Obama administration brought no IP cases to the World Trade Organization. Lighthizer said he expects to bring “as many actions as are justified both to the WTO and in our bilateral agreements. This will be a point of emphasis." Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., asked if President Donald Trump’s businesses around the world might pose conflicts of interest in trade discussions. Lighthizer said learning any deep knowledge of the Trump family’s business dealings around the world would “absolutely not” help him do his job as USTR. “I don’t want to know anything about it,” Lighthizer said.