U.S. Senate rejects proposal to pause state AI legislation
The U.S. Senate passed a sweeping tax and spending bill on Tuesday but rejected a proposal to pause state AI regulations for 10 years. The provision had passed in the House version but was removed by the Senate in a 99-to-1 vote, with only Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina opposing. Earlier, a five-year compromise proposed by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz also failed to reach consensus.
At a Glance
- The U.S. Senate passed a sweeping tax and spending bill on Tuesday, but removed a provision that would have paused state-level AI regulations for 10 years.
- The AI provision was removed by a 99-1 vote before sunrise on Tuesday, with only Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina voting against it. This came after a five-year compromise proposal by Senator Ted Cruz, the Republican chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, failed to advance.
- Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, said in a statement posted on X: "This allows us to work together nationwide to build a new federal framework for artificial intelligence that protects consumers while accelerating American AI leadership."
In-Depth Analysis
Under pressure from President Trump, Republican leaders in both the Senate and the House are pushing to complete the legislative process on the bill before the July 4th holiday.
In May, the House narrowly passed a version of the bill that included the provision to pause state-level AI regulations for 10 years. Before the bill can be sent to the president for signature, the House must pass the Senate version, or the two chambers must negotiate to resolve their differences.
The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 51 to 50, with all but three Republicans voting in favor. Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote.
Before the vote, Cruz had proposed a compromise AI provision. He agreed to shorten the proposed pause from 10 years to 5 years and agreed to exempt certain laws, including those addressing deceptive acts or practices, online safety for children, and protections for individuals' names, images, voices, or likenesses.
On Monday morning, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick praised the updated provision, calling it a "pragmatic compromise" between Cruz and Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.
However, Blackburn then unexpectedly rejected the compromise, saying it was "still unacceptable." She stated that the provision would "allow big tech companies to continue exploiting children, creators, and conservatives."