Overview

• The Senate parliamentarian ruled that the AI moratorium can be included in the budget reconciliation bill, allowing passage with a simple majority
• Under the provision, states risk losing federal broadband funding through the BEAD program if they enforce new or existing AI regulations over the next decade
• Sen. Ed Markey has proposed an amendment to strip the moratorium, and he needs four Republican votes in addition to all Senate Democrats to succeed
• Tech giants including Google, Microsoft and Meta have together spent nearly $19 million lobbying for the provision in the first quarter of 2025
• Opponents from across the political spectrum, such as Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Josh Hawley and Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, say it undermines states’ rights and consumer safeguards