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During negotiations on One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), one of the most controversial points of the law was an amendment proposed by Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) to impose a decade-long federal moratorium on AI.
On the other side of the issue, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R. Tennessee) has become the main voice for the AI moratorium, introducing amendments that attack languages from the OBBB.
The Blackburn amendment ultimately won the Senate by 99-1 votes, but the two initially announced legislative compromises on Senate vote day.
However, later that day, Blackburn opposed the compromise and encouraged his colleagues to vote against it.
Artificial intelligence (AI) remains a hot topic across the beltway and across the US, especially as technology evolves and is inserted into everything from smartphones to social media and beyond. The Senate clearly has no immunity in this conversation, and body decisions affect the financial aspects of the AI equation as much as the social aspects.
During negotiations on One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), one of the most controversial points of the law was an amendment proposed by Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) to impose a decade-long federal moratorium on AI. Cruz and Moratorium supporters argue that without this measure, California, Illinois and other blue states will regulate AI in ways that are harmful to the country. It’s begun do.
On the other side of the issue, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R. Tennessee) has become the main voice for the AI moratorium, introducing amendments that attack languages from the OBBB. Blackburn and her allies argued that the moratorium would also prevent conservative states from passing reasonable regulations on AI, such as Tennessee’s work to protect performers’ portraits and identities, and Arkansas’ work to protect children from exploitation.
Blackburn is being corrected I finally won With a 99-1 vote in the Senate, the two announced legislative compromise on Senate vote a-rama day, leading the senators to believe the moratorium would pass in the final package. However, later that day, Blackburn opposed the compromise and encouraged his colleagues to vote against it.
The revised draft version has passed through DC Media. This revealed that the compromise had dropped a 10-year moratorium on carve-outs included to protect state rights into a five-year timeframe.
When asked about the AI law compromise and future in the Senate, Blackburn’s office pointed to the Senate’s statement from a positive vote on her AI amendments.
“As long as I was in Congress, I worked with federal and state lawmakers, parents seeking to protect their children online, and the creative community in Tennessee. “Until Congress passes federal preemptive laws like the Children’s Online Safety Act and the Online Privacy Framework, we cannot prevent the nation from becoming a gap in order to protect vulnerable Americans, including Tennessee creators and valuable children, from harm.”
Blackburn also warned that the provisions “allow Big Tech to continue to exploit children, creators and conservatives.”
But Senate insiders said there may still be a path for more measurement AI moratoriums, perhaps with the NDAA, year-end spending package or the next settlement.
