June 22: This week in AI federal policy

DC/ai Decoded: A weekly newsletter on developments in artificial intelligence, quantum, and data federal policy

This week decoded

Congress is zeroing in on the real-world impacts of AI, with hearings this week on K–12 education, social media harms, capital markets, small business innovation, and AI-enabled policy analysis, alongside continued scrutiny of China and data centers. Lawmakers also continue to roll out a wave of bills that would shape AI governance across deepfakes, workplace surveillance, grid reliability, biological data, and terrorism risk, while pressing the administration on export controls, autonomous weapons, CFIUS reviews, and cybersecurity funding.

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX) reportedly requested committee Republicans submit their AI priorities for a potential vote on a broad AI package. Meanwhile, the White House is reportedly interested in attaching state preemption language to kids’ safety bills moving through the committee, though the breadth of that preemption is yet to be seen.

Read more below

Congress

Hearings

Last week

• On June 16, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Education and the American Family Subcommittee held a hearing on “The Future of K-12 Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”

• On June 17, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a markup of bills including the U.S. Technology Procurement and Access to Trusted Hardware (U.S. Tech PATH) Act.

This week

• On June 23, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing titled “Examining Tech Industry Practices and the Implications for Users and Families: Is This Social Media’s Big Tobacco Moment?” to consider issues including AI safety.

• On June 25, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets holds a hearing on “From Wall Street to Main Street: The Future of How America Invests.”

• On June 25, the House Administration Committee holds a hearing on “The Congressional Research Service and the Future of AI-Enabled Policy Analysis.”

• On June 25, the House Small Business Committee holds a hearing on “From Startup to Scale: The Role of the SBA Office of Investment and Innovation in Powering America’s Small Businesses.”

• On June 25, the House Select Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party Committee holds a hearing on “China’s Economic Espionage and Subnational Influence in the United States.”

Legislation

• Senate Judiciary Committee passed the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES) Act to protect the voice and visual likenesses of individuals and creators from the proliferation of digital replicas created without their consent.

• Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA), and Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) introduced the No Robot Bosses Act to put safeguards on the use of automated decision systems to make work-related decision decisions. (Press release)

• Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA) introduced the Stop Spying Bosses Act to limit employer collection and use of employee data to what is strictly necessary for legitimate purposes; prohibit employers from using employee data to surveil workers’ union activity, political or religious views, immigration status, or off-duty conduct; require employers to disclose to workers what data is being collected, how it is being used, and who has access to it; give workers the right to access and correct their own data, and to review the data used in work-related decisions made about them; and prohibit employers from selling or transferring employee data to third parties. (Press release)

• Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Andy Kim (D-NJ) introduced the Bureau of Industry and Security License Administration Enhancement Act to require “is-informed letters” to go through the standard interagency process, along with terminating any letter within 60 days unless BIS publicly publishes the underlying restriction; require publication detailing how licensing officers apply the “presumption of denial” standard within 90 days of enactment, with a pre-publication submission to Congress, and require review by Commerce of a 2025 BIS rule cracking down on AI-chip smuggling via foreign foundries, with a report to Congress on its findings within 120 days. The House companion bill is led by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and passed out of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. (Text)

• Reps. Kathy Castor (D-FL) and Gabe Evans (R-CO) introduced the Ratepayer Protection Act to require state utility regulators to establish rules to ensure that community members do not pay for the costs of building new power generation, transmission lines, and other upgrades to serve large-load customers, such as data centers. (Press release)

• Reps. Kevin Mullin (D-CA) and Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) introduced the Affordable Innovation for the Grid Act to direct the Secretary of Energy to assess how Artificial Intelligence and High-Performance Computing technologies can strengthen the capacity, reliability, and efficiency of America’s bulk-power system. (Text)

• Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Reps. Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.) and Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas) introduced the Curbing Online Non-Consensual Sexually Explicit Nudity Transfers (CONSENT) Act to curb the sending of sexually explicit images online, also known as cyberflashing, by creating a federal private right of action for victims who receive such images and imposing civil penalties for individuals who send them. (Text)

• Sens. Todd Young (R-IN), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Reps. Matt Van Epps (R-TN) and Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) introduced the Web of Biological Data Act to create a comprehensive, national biological database accessible to American researchers and innovators. (Text)

• Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) introduced the Generative AI Terrorism Risk Assessment Act to direct the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct annual threat assessments of designated terrorist organizations who are using artificial intelligence (AI) to harm Americans and plan potential attacks. (Text)

• Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act to give the public a 50% ownership in the largest U.S. artificial intelligence companies. (Text)

Correspondence

• Reps. Sam Liccardo (D-CA), Jay Obernolte (R-CA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), and Scott Franklin (R-FL) sent a letter to the Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick requesting information regarding the June 12 decision to impose export controls on Anthropic’s Claude Mythos 5 and Claude Fable 5 artificial intelligence models. (Letter)

• Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) sent a letter to the Department of Defense (DOD) requesting information on how it will protect U.S. servicemembers, allied militaries, and host nation civilians under any rapid revision to the 3000.09 Directive, the core policy governing autonomy in weapon systems. (Letter)

• Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent requesting the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to investigate Chinese investment in Airwallex, a cross-border payment platform that processes highly sensitive data for major American companies. (Letter)

• Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) sent a letter to Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Acting Director Nick Andersen on the Trump administration’s reduction of CISA staff and the drastic cuts to CISA’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget. (Letter)

Noteworthy Quotes

CONGRESS

Anthropic Order

• Sen. Angus King (I-ME) said, “What they did was pretty extreme, and I’d want to see what the basis was, as opposed to all the other issues that are swirling around in cybersecurity,” he said. “I’m a little skeptical because of their otherwise announced antipathy to this company.” (Cyberscoop)

• House Homeland Security Committee Chair Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) said, “The administration is right to treat advanced AI cyber capabilities as a national security issue, especially when foreign adversaries and cybercriminals are actively looking for ways to weaponize these tools. At the same time, we need to make sure our response does not unintentionally disadvantage American companies, allied partners, or critical infrastructure defenders who need access to the best secure tools available in order to protect our networks here at home.” (Cyberscoop)

• House Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (D-MS) said, “AI regulations should rely on standards and procedures that provide confidence to the public that decisions are based on the evidence and not on politics,” he said. “Instead, the Trump administration has adopted an ad hoc approach where decisions are made by political appointees in the White House rather than experts and where companies are left guessing on how to comply.” (Cyberscoop)

• Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) said, “I have not had the opportunity to get a brief specifically as to the logic, the reasoning behind it, and so forth. So I’m going to withhold judgment until I get an opportunity to get the rest of the story, so to speak.” (Cyberscoop)

U.S. Equity Stakes in AI Companies

• Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) said the proposal is a “head-scratcher” and “It starts out with my nose wrinkled.” (Semafor)

• Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said of AI leaders, “I don’t mean disrespect when I say this — I’m proud of them, as American entrepreneurs — but I trust them like I trust the rest-stop bathroom.” (Semafor)

Miscellaneous

• On China’s potential efforts to influence American public opinion against data center construction, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said, “We can’t allow any effort by foreign adversaries to extort these fears and undermine our technological development.” (Punchbowl)

• On voter sentiment on data centers, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said, “When you listen to people who show up at zoning meetings, city council meetings, when they talk to me, they’re saying something very consistent, which is they’re really worried about their electricity rates, they’re worried about their utility bills.” (Punchbowl)

• Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said, “The AI companies have a veneer of social benefit, but an underlying motivation of addiction and profit expansion... One observer of the major tech companies said these companies would burn everything to the ground as long as they’re making a profit… We require a teacher to go through licensing before they are in a classroom. We require most complicated technologies to go through an approval process before they are handed out to the American public. What do you think about an idea to make sure that AI technology that is being handed to a teacher go through some expert approval process first to make sure that its actual function is to supplement the teacher’s instruction, rather than its primary function is to try to spin you into higher usage and higher pay rates for the company that owns it?” (Press release)

• In a commencement address to UCLA graduates, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) said, “Our species is devoting trillions of dollars to making artificial intelligence more powerful. We’re devoting basically nothing to making sure that it is controllable. Now, Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak signed a letter three years ago saying that since artificial intelligence poses an existential threat to all humankind, we should take a six-month break in the research. That pause lasted six minutes. Those of you with an understanding of political science, an understanding of money and power in human societies, will know that it is unlikely that we will take a pause in artificial intelligence research. We will be told if we don’t do it, China will. Now, there are those who say that a computer is no threat because it’s in a box without the ability to manipulate the world outside. But rest assured, there are those of our species who would sell humanity to Beelzebub in return for a good stock tip. Now, I’ve recently introduced the most important legislation that I’ll ever introduce: to fund research to build what I call the small box on top of the big box. The big box is artificial intelligence. The small box would monitor for and prevent self-awareness, ambition, survival instinct, and self-direction.” (Press release)

• Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) posted “The Trump DOJ is now arguing in federal court that Elon Musk’s AI company should be allowed to run dozens of unpermitted gas turbines polluting a Black community in Mississippi. They also argued the federal government should have the power to shut down citizen lawsuits like this one entirely. This is the Justice Department intervening on behalf of a polluter, against the people breathing the air it’s polluting. That’s not protecting national security. That’s protecting Elon Musk. Elon Musk just became a trillionaire. The community next to his data center is breathing smog-forming nitrogen oxide and formaldehyde.”

• Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-CA) posted “The Commerce Department imposed licensing requirements that effectively shut down Anthropic’s newest AI models without publicly explaining why. Congress, developers, researchers, and the public deserve to know what criteria this Administration uses to determine what AI we can access–or not. Becoming a gatekeeper for the world’s most powerful technology comes with a responsibility of transparency. I led a bipartisan group to demand answers.”

• Energy and Commerce Committee posted “ICYMI: Winning the race for AI dominance should not come at the expense of families and small businesses. RepGabeEvans’ Ratepayer Protection Act ensures companies foot the bill for their own infrastructure upgrades, not hardworking Americans.”

• Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA) posted “I enjoyed speaking with Congressional Gold Medal award winners about the opportunities artificial intelligence can create for the next generation. AI is a tool young people can learn to use to solve problems, strengthen their skills, increase their productivity, and improve their lives. As this technology continues to develop, it is important that we equip our youth with the skills they will need to succeed in the AI-powered workplace of tomorrow.”

• Rep. Riley Moore (R-WV) posted “Proud to stand with the Teamsters in defense of the American worker as we face the coming challenges AI poses to our workforce. Thank you, TeamsterSOB, for your invitation to speak at the Teamsters 31st International Convention in Las Vegas yesterday!”

• Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) posted The Trump Administration’s WISeR model uses AI technology to delay and deny critical care for seniors on Medicare.How we’re fighting to stop this dangerous program.”

• Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WV) posted “Democrats colluded with Big Tech to silence conservatives. AI makes the leftist censorship regime infinitely more powerful and dangerous. My Preventing AI Censorship Act holds any federal employee personally accountable for using AI to silence, track, or manipulate Americans.”

• Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) posted “Before we can get AI policy right, we need the facts. My AI DATA Act will let workers and businesses know how AI is changing the economy and their jobs.”

• Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) posted “The future of AI must not be decided behind closed doors by billionaires seeking to maximize their power and profit. It should be decided by the American people. That’s why I’m introducing the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act.”

• Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) posted “The possibilities of quantum technologies are not abstract or theoretical – they are right in front of us, and without greater financing flexibility, we risk falling behind global competitors like China. The time to invest in these technologies and bolster American quantum leadership is now. We must elevate the importance of harnessing all that quantum has to offer – this legislation is one step in doing so.”

• Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) posted “HUGE news: my bill with MarshaBlackburn to protect Americans from AI deepfakes, the NO FAKES Act, just passed unanimously out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. One step closer to becoming law and protecting the voice and likeness of all Americans. Let’s get this done.”

• Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) posted “Proud to co-sponsor the NO FAKES Act and see it advance from the Senate Judiciary Committee with strong bipartisan support. This bill will help protect Americans from the unauthorized use of their voice or visual likeness for use in AI. I will continue to work with my colleagues to get this bill signed into law.”

• Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) posted “Interconnection studies are taking years when they should take months. Today I introduced the Affordable Innovation for the Grid Act to assess how AI and High-Performance Computing can optimize our bulk-power system and cut through that backlog”

• Energy and Commerce Committee posted “As demand for AI infrastructure grows, the financial burden should not be passed on to the American people. RepGabeEvans’ Ratepayer Protection Act will ensure the costs of grid upgrades are appropriately paid for, protecting families and small businesses from shouldering the cost of expensive data centers.”

• Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) posted “Artificial intelligence is here to stay, and America has an opportunity to lead. Grateful for the chance to speak at the USA AI Summit about the role we play in creating a regulatory environment that drives domestic development in a positive direction.”

• Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) posted “For all the good AI can do, there has to be a line. No one should have to worry that their face or voice can be stolen and used to deceive others.That’s why I’ve been pushing the bipartisan NO FAKES Act from day one. People should decide what happens to their own likeness, not Big Tech, not scammers, not anyone else.I’m grateful to the thousands of sagaftra members who are raising their voices on this issue. The technology is moving fast. Congress can’t afford to fall behind.”

• Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) posted “Pennsylvania can lead the AI revolution and power America’s future. But we need the infrastructure and energy production to meet this moment. Permitting reform is key to unlock PA’s energy potential.”

• Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) posted “It’s the government’s job to help people navigate the AI revolution. That starts with reversing Republicans’ cuts to health care.”

• Rep. Luz Rivas (D-CA) posted “I am proud to be joining the Congressional Artificial Intelligence Caucus! As AI becomes more common in everyday life it is important for Americans to have the knowledge and tools to use this technology responsibly, safely, and effectively. I look forward to working with co-chairs RepMcCaul and RepDonBeyer and our colleagues to expand innovative opportunities for our communities.”

What I’m Reading This Week

• Inside the White House’s AI Power Center, Maria Curi, Axios.

• Trump Advisers Weigh Structure of AI Stakes, Eleanor Mueller, Semafor.

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.

Contact us at Stacey@ZeroOneStrategies.com

Check out our other newsletter, DC Decentralized: A weekly newsletter on developments in digital asset and blockchain federal policy