February 2: This week in AI federal policy

DC/ai Decoded: A weekly newsletter on developments in artificial intelligence and quantum U.S. policy.

This week decoded

House Republican leadership is reportedly hosting a series of meetings with rank-and-file Republicans and key Democrats to advance their goal of passing a federal AI regulatory framework by the end of 2026.

Legislation was introduced to use AI to identify outdated regulations for elimination, while the executive branch begins testing AI to write new regulations.

President Trump’s decision to allow China to purchase advanced chips continues to attract concern from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Read more below

Congress

Hearings

Last week

• On January 28, the Senate Armed Services Committee Cybersecurity Subcommittee held a hearing on the Defense Department’s cyber force generation plan and the associated implementation plan.

This week

• On February 3, the House Education and the Workforce Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Building an AI-Ready America: Adopting AI at Work.”

• On February 4, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee holds a hearing on “Hit the Road, Mac: The Future of Self-Driving Cars.”

Legislation

• Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) introduced the Children Harmed by AI Technology (CHAT) Act, to protect minors from the risks posed by AI companion chatbots. Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) introduced companion legislation in the Senate. (Text)

• Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) introduced the Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Streamline the Code of Federal Regulations Act to use AI to identify outdated regulations for elimination. Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) introduced companion legislation in the Senate. (Text)

Correspondence

• Select Committee on China Chair John Moolenaar (R-MI) sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick detailing how Nvidia products were used by CCP-backed AI company DeepSeek and then procured by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and recommending clarification of H200 restrictions to include measures that would prevent prohibited end users from gaining similar access and tighter restrictions on PRC-origin AI models to address the risks posed by using AI models developed by PRC entities such as DeepSeek, Alibaba, and Tencent in the United States. (Letter)

• Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Peter Welch (D-VT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) sent a letter to ISO New England (ISO-NE) about how grid operator plans to protect residential ratepayers from data center-driven price increases. (Letter)

• Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General Joseph Cuffari urging an investigation into current and future DHS procurements that enable the collection, retention, and analysis of sensitive personal data. (Letter)

Publications, Meetings, and Events

• Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) published an op-ed entitled “The DATA Act Will Unleash A New Energy Era,” saying “My legislation will allow large facilities to build and operate fully isolated, off-grid power systems without the burdensome regulatory requirements that apply to traditional utilities. For Arkansas, the DATA Act offers a direct benefit: by allowing large facilities—such as data centers and advanced manufacturers—to build fully off-grid power systems, the state can attract new industries without forcing expensive grid upgrades that would otherwise show up on Arkansans’ utility bills.” (Op-ed)

Trump Administration

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

• HHS published a request for information (RFI) seeking input from the public on the potential adoption of diagnostic imaging technical standards and certification criteria for health information technology under the ONC Health IT Certification Program to better enable the access, exchange, and use of diagnostic images by health care providers and patients. The comment period closes on March 16. (Federal Register)

U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission

• U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission holds a hearing on “India, China, and the Balance of Power in the Indo-Pacific” to consider economic and technology issues within India-China relations, including India’s efforts to build self-reliance in critical and emerging technology sectors like artificial intelligence, semiconductors and pharmaceutical supply chains. (USCC)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA)

• The Government Accountability Office published a report on “Weather Safety: Agencies Face Challenges Related to Multilingual Weather Alerts, and AI Project Needs Better Planning” recommending the National Weather Service develop an updated implementation plan for its AI language translation project. (Report)

Noteworthy Quotes and Events

ADMINISTRATION

Department of Transportation (DOT)

• On the use of AI to write federal transportation regulations, DOT general counsel Gregory Zerzan said, “We don’t need the perfect rule on XYZ. We don’t even need a very good rule on XYZ. We want good enough. We’re flooding the zone.” He also said, “It shouldn’t take you more than 20 minutes to get a draft rule out of Gemini.” (ProPublica)

Office of the National Cyber Director

• Alexandra Seymour, principal deputy assistant national cyber director for policy, said the Trump Administration will be “undertaking diplomacy efforts to promote American AI cybersecurity standards and norms, establishing industry best practices for secure AI deployment and harnessing the full potential of AI tools.” She added, “While AI is already helping industries enhance security and address the challenge of escalating cyberattacks, this administration will promote the rapid implementation of AI-enabled cyber defensive tools to detect, divert and deceive threat actors who continue targeting our vital systems and sectors on our federal systems. We must get our house in order. They need rapid modernization, and we’re working on policies to harden our networks, update our technologies and ensure we’re prepared for a post-quantum future.” (AIScoop)

Department of Defense

• U.S. Army posted “The U.S. Army is now an AI-first force. Guided by SecWar’s bold leadership, the USArmy team has integrated http://GenAI.mil in our daily battle rhythm, accelerating our innovation and readiness. The mission for the Army Team is to continue mastering this tool to unleash a new era of operational dominance.”

White House

• AI & Crypto Czar David Sacks posted “The policy debate over AI is overfitted to the social media wars. AI is a completely different form factor. The rise of AI assistants will make this clear.”

CONGRESS

• Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said, “I think we’ve got a moral imperative to make sure that AI is actually good for people. I have no doubt that these companies are going to get filthy rich, but is it going to be good for children? Is it going to be good for parents? Is it going to be good for the American worker? I think we have a moral obligation to see that.” (Axios)

• On AI chatbots and child safety, Hawley said, “I couldn’t believe that this was actually happening. Talking to these parents, seeing the evidence of the chats, seeing the widespread nature of this, just convinced me, to my core, that we’ve got to do something here to protect kids.” (Axios)

• On energy demand, Hawley said, “This is a real thing for folks who already feel their bills are too high. The idea that some Silicon Valley company will come in and jack up utility prices — that’s not speculative.” (Axios)

• In floor remarks, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said, “And when we talk about the decline and the standard of living in America, the fact that 60% of the people in our country today are struggling as we speak to put food on the table, we must understand that in our country right now Big Tech oligarchs are working overtime to become even wealthier by throwing American workers out on the street and replacing them with robots or artificial intelligence. Nobody knows exactly what the impact of A.I. and robotics will be, but there are some very sophisticated studies which suggest that tens of millions of jobs will be replaced by A.I. and robotics, and we are in no way prepared for that. And that is why I have called for a moratorium on new A.I. data centers until we make sure that the economic gains of these revolutionary technologies benefit the working families of this country and not just a handful of wealthy billionaires in Silicon Valley. A.I. and robotics are neither good nor bad.”

• On her proposal for a “tech NATO” coordinated body of democratic technology leaders to establish shared rules for emerging technologies, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) said, “I definitely think we need to use our might to counter China, and the best way to do that is to create an alliance with other smart technology countries. If you just took us, and Japan, and Europe and India and basically a few others and said, ‘Okay, we’re going to say these are the rules of the road for technology: You can’t have a government back door. You have to respect these IP rights. You have to do this.’ And the world should only buy from countries who meet these standards.” (Remarks)

• Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security Bennie Thompson (D-MS) released a statement regarding news reports that Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Acting Director Madhu Gottumukkala uploaded sensitive and nonpublic documents into the ChatGPT AI app, saying, “News reports that CISA Acting Director Gottumukkala uploaded FOUO information to ChatGPT follow reports that he failed a counterintelligence polygraph. At best, he’s in over his head, if not unfit to lead. Secretary Noem and her minions are taking a wrecking ball to DHS’s credibility and must be stopped.” (Press release)

• Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) posted “Artificial Intelligence is the future — and America must lead. Proud of the USArmy’s push to strengthen their readiness and technological edge through AI”

• Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) posted “Over the past 50 years, the Code of Federal Regulations has grown to nearly 200,000 pages, including duplicative or outdated rules. These create unnecessary burdens for individuals and businesses. That’s why I introduced the Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Streamline the Code of Federal Regulations Act of 2026, a modern approach to eliminating outdated regulations.”

• Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) posted “American AI dominance shouldn’t mean higher energy prices for Arkansans. My DATA Act will modernize power regulations to keep energy prices down.”

• On his CHAT Act, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) said, “We have a responsibility to make sure our children are protected, not exploited, by AI technology. Parents across the country deserve peace of mind knowing that AI platforms interacting with their kids have real safeguards in place, including age verification, parental consent, and clear boundaries. The CHAT Act puts families first and ensures innovation never comes at the expense of our children’s safety.” (Press release)

• Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-OK) posted “Congress must work to Constitutionally ensure that AI is properly monitored against vulnerabilities.”

• Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) posted “The median age of a first-time home buyer in the US is 40. At this rate, young Americans don’t even have a shot at owning a home. The American Dream gets crushed when a President prioritizes building AI data centers for billionaires over housing for Americans.”

• Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) posted “Families and small businesses shouldn’t see their energy bills go up to subsidize massive AI data centers. In states like Ohio, where data centers are rapidly expanding, there has to be a plan that protects ratepayers first.”

• Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) posted “In Tennessee, AI is powering breakthroughs in health care, manufacturing, nuclear energy, and more. But without strong federal safeguards, it also threatens our children, creators, and communities. That’s why I’m introducing the TRUMP AMERICA AI Act.”

• Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) posted “Good. If you build an AI that makes child pornography on demand for anyone in the world to use, you should be held accountable. I’m glad the EU is stepping up and investigating if the Trump administration won’t.”

• Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) posted “We have a responsibility to make sure our children are protected, not exploited, by AI technology. Parents across the country deserve peace of mind knowing that AI platforms interacting with their kids have real safeguards in place, including age verification, parental consent, and clear boundaries. The CHAT Act puts families first and ensures innovation never comes at the expense of our children’s safety.”

• Landsman also posted “AI is being used to make healthcare decisions — and no one has been told how it works. They need to fully disclose everything. States didn’t volunteer for this program. Providers didn’t volunteer. Patients didn’t volunteer.”

• Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT) posted “As a teacher, I recognize the challenges of incorporating new technology into the classroom. While AI is rapidly advancing, we must thoughtfully consider how to implement it in schools to ensure that educators can focus on the strategies that have been proven to promote academic success.”

• Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) posted “Biden’s weak foreign policy let our adversaries run wild -- allowing China to surge ahead in AI. President Trump is changing this with massive investment in chips, more secure supply chains, and strong alliances to ensure long-term US leadership. No more playing catch up.”

What I’m Reading This Week

• Vying for Quantum Supremacy U.S.-China Competition in Quantum Technologies, Joseph Federici, U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

• From Innovation to Impact: AI Adoption in U.S. Financial Services, FinRegLab.

• DeepSeek Was a Warning Shot. China is Building Its Next Surprise, Washington Post.

• AI Risks from Non-State Actors, Kyle Chan, Michael E. O’Hanlon, Qi Haotian, and Zheng Lefeng, Brookings.

• America’s AI Regulatory Patchwork is Crushing Startups and Helping China, James Richardson and Eric Tanenblatt, Fortune.

• The Adolescence of Technology, Dario Amodei, darioamodei.com.

• Geopolitics in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, Jake Sullivan and Tal Feldman, Foreign Affairs.

About Zero One Strategies

Zero One Strategies is a specialized government relations practice dedicated to navigating the complex landscape of U.S. federal policy in emerging technologies. As advancements in technology continue to outpace regulatory frameworks, Zero One Strategies aims to provide strategic guidance and bipartisan advocacy for innovators and businesses operating at the forefront of technological development.

The practice focuses on key areas such as artificial intelligence, digital assets, blockchain, decentralized technologies, cybersecurity, data, and digital infrastructure, as well as the multiple policy issues impacting these sectors, including tax and financial services.

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