Overview

• The Senate parliamentarian asked Senators Cruz and Cantwell to rewrite the AI moratorium provision over concerns it may breach Byrd Rule reconciliation procedures.
• The provision would bar states from enforcing AI regulations for ten years if they want access to $500 million in AI deployment funds and could jeopardize $42 billion in BEAD broadband grants.
• Republican Senators Marsha Blackburn, Ron Johnson, and Josh Hawley have voiced objections, with Hawley preparing an amendment to strip the clause during the upcoming vote-a-rama.
• Advocacy groups and state leaders, including Common Sense Media and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, warn the moratorium undermines child protections and infringes on states’ autonomy.
• So far this year, 28 states have adopted or enacted more than 75 AI measures, highlighting a broader clash between federal preemption and state experimentation.