House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) isn’t giving up on preventing states from regulating artificial intelligence despite a big defeat in the Senate this week.
Guthrie said Congress will continue to work on establishing a federal framework for AI policy and stop “50 other standards” in the states.
Guthrie committed to the effort even though 99 senators rejected the idea of preempting state AI laws when they passed their version of the reconciliation bill Tuesday. The Kentucky Republican said the overwhelming Senate vote “surprised” him.
“I’m not sure why it went that way when people advocating for it voted against it,” Guthrie said. “I don’t know the dynamics of that. Everybody has their own vote.”
Guthrie said he was in favor of the compromise between Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) that came apart hours before the vote Tuesday. The agreement would have reduced the preemption of state laws to five years, instead of the 10-year ban the House passed.
“I was fine with it being shorter,” Guthrie said. “Ten years was a long time.”
Guthrie said the idea was to first impose a state preemption and then work on getting a federal AI standard on the books. Five years should be enough time since Congress will “hopefully” get a federal law in the next two years, he added.
Guthrie, Cruz and technology companies say stopping AI regulation in the states is critical for the United States to win the AI race with China. Forcing companies to navigate a “patchwork” of state laws will slow development of the technology, they say.
But if the AI preempting debacle in the Senate is any guide, restricting the states before establishing a federal standard will be an arduous task.
Democrats, led by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), scored a major win this week when they were joined by every GOP senator, except Thom Tillis (N.C.), in defeating the provision. Even Cruz voted against his own proposal.
The proposed freeze drew fierce opposition from state officials from both parties, consumer groups, unions and religious figures. The opponents all cited congressional inaction in several areas, including social media, as reason to doubt that lawmakers would take rapid action to regulate AI.
If Guthrie wants to avoid the “patchwork” anytime soon he’ll have to convince all these folks that Congress can indeed take action.
