Last week, the National Association of Attorney Generals wrote to top majority and minority leaders in the House, urging Congress in the Senate to remove provisions in the pending tax and expenditure bills that barred the passage or enforcement of laws regulating artificial intelligence and other machine learning systems. letter It was signed by 49 state attorney generals, including both Republicans and Democrats.
“We are opposed to the budget adjustment bill that will impose a 10-year ban on state laws or regulations to enforce state laws or regulations to address artificial intelligence (“AI”) and automated decision-making systems, voiced against the amendments added by the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Commission.” “The impact of such a widespread moratorium will wipe out and completely destroy the rational state efforts to prevent known harm related to AI.”
The so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” passed the House in one vote, with three Republicans joining all Democrats opposing the legislation. The massive bill, which is at the heart of President Trump’s economic agenda, now faces uncertain prospects in the Senate. Some Republican senators are opposed to deep cuts in Medicaid in the House edition. Others argue that the cuts aren’t deep enough. All Democrats are expected to vote against the measure again.
Individual provisions in the House bill, including a suspension of the AI Act, also face hard headwinds. The “big beautiful bill” is being created as a budget adjustment measure. This means that bypassing the democratic filibuster, they can go straight to the vote across the Senate, where the GOP currently has a majority of three seats. However, provisions under Senate rules that do not affect spending or taxes cannot be included in the settlement bill. Senators can decide that the AI suspension must be removed. If passed without it, the bill must return home for another vote.
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The AI regulations attracted opposition from at least two Republican senators, Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). Last year, Tennessee passed the so-called Elvis Act. This prohibits the misuse of portrait voices of people who have used AI. Blackburn, previously representing Nashville’s country music capital in the House, is a strong supporter of Tennessee’s law and could be voided by AI moratorium provisions.
“We certainly know that Tennessee needs these protections,” Blackburn said at a recent Senate hearing on related measures. “And we can’t call a moratorium until the federal government gives us something that takes the lead.”
But supporters of regulations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have argued that a 10-year “suspension” on state law is essential to prevent a patchwork of 50 different regulatory systems that hinder AI development and investment.
As passed by the House of Representatives, the provision declares that “the law or regulation regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems cannot be enforced in the decade beginning on the date of this law.”
Opponents of the measure argue that the language is so broad it will prevent the establishment or enforcement of a wide range of automated data processing systems that are not related to the generator AI. Analysts estimate that as many as 700 current or pending state laws could be affected by the measure.
“This bill does not propose a regulatory scheme that replaces or supplements the laws that the state is enacting or currently considering, leaving Americans who are not fully protected from the potential harms of AI,” the state AGS letter read. Additionally, the bill aims to wipe out the already in place state-level framework. It is irresponsible to impose a widespread suspension on all state actions while legislators do not act in this region, and deprives consumers of reasonable protection. ”
President Trump has personally shaking Republican members, moving his “one big beautiful bill” into muscle at the finish line and began twisting his weapons this week in the Senate.
