Overview

• A Senate parliamentarian ruled that the AI moratorium qualifies for reconciliation, allowing passage with a simple majority vote.
• The measure bars states from enacting or enforcing AI regulations for ten years in order to unlock a $500 million AI deployment fund and potentially $42 billion in BEAD broadband grants.
• High-profile opponents—including Senators Blackburn, Hawley, Paul, Johnson and Representative Greene—alongside Arkansas Governor Sanders and 40 state attorneys general are demanding its removal.
• Critics warn that the moratorium would void existing state safeguards on AI harms, from bias audits and deepfake bans to child-protection laws, without providing new federal protections.
• Proponents contend a uniform federal approach is essential to prevent a patchwork of state rules and to bolster U.S. competitiveness with China in artificial intelligence development.