MAGA Congress Caught in Late Night Bill

Attorneys Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian break down the Fong Amendment, inserted into the $580 billion Build America 250 Act at 2 a.m. on May 22 by California MAGA Republican Vince Fong. The provision would preempt state vicarious liability, common carrier, and non-delegable duty doctrines for rideshare companies, reclassifying Uber and Lyft as "digital networks" instead of transportation providers. It would apply retroactively, potentially wiping out 3,000+ pending sexual assault cases consolidated in federal court. Uber spent nearly $1 million lobbying on the bill this quarter alone. The amendment surfaced weeks after a second federal jury hit Uber with an $8.5 million verdict for a driver's sexual assault. One survivor, Jaylynn Dean, wrote to Congress that Uber's own algorithm rated her ride a .81 on a zero-to-one sexual assault risk scale but never warned her, and the driver had been reported multiple times. Brian and Shant explain why the Graves Amendment rental car analogy fails: rental companies don't dispatch drivers, set routes, run background checks, or collect ride data. Uber does all of that. 275 women state lawmakers and 128 House Democrats have demanded the provision be stripped. It passed committee 35-30 but has not reached a floor vote.

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