News: House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Brian Mast (R-Fla.) is introducing a bill that would treat the sales of artificial intelligence chips to “countries of concern” similarly to military arms’ sales.
Under the AI Overwatch Act, Congress could block exports of AI chips going to countries like China, Russia and Venezuela. Mast believes that sales of powerful dual-use technologies to geopolitical rivals must have congressional oversight.
“I’ve seen firsthand how adversaries exploit our technology to enhance their military capabilities,” Mast said in a statement. “America must win the AI arms race.”
The bill marks yet another effort by Congress to reign in sales of AI chips to China. President Donald Trump has allowed companies like Nvidia to send some of its chips to the Chinese market. But lawmakers have been advocating for a much more restrictive stance as they say Beijing shouldn’t get a leg up in the AI race.
Bill details. In Mast’s proposed legislation, Congress would have 30 days to pass a resolution to block an export license after an initial notification from the Commerce Department. A simple majority in both chambers would be needed to pass the resolution and it would be privileged in the Senate, meaning it would be put on a fast-track process.
This process would be similar to the exports of military weapons.
In addition, the bill creates a new license exemption program for “trusted” cloud providers sending chips to U.S. allies and partners. This would be a big deal for companies like Microsoft but it likely wouldn’t apply to Nvidia and some other chipmakers. The exemption doesn’t include chips going to those countries of concern.
The bill incorporates many of the changes Mast had proposed to Sen. Jim Banks’ (R-Ind.) GAIN AI Act, which the two failed to include in the annual defense policy bill.
H200 backlash. Mast’s bill comes in the wake of Congress’ discomfort with Trump’s decision last week to allow Nvidia to sell its H200 chip to China.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) led several of his Democratic colleagues in introducing a separate bill Thursday to block the sale of H200s to China.
Republican hawks, while more timid than their Democratic counterparts, have also been uncomfortable with the decision. Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) advocated for his SAFE Chips Act during the GOP lunch Tuesday and House Select Committee on China Chair John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) has asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to brief his panel on the rationale for the H200 decision.
