released a discussion draft of the Great American AI Act, bipartisan legislation to create a federal framework for how the United States governs artificial intelligence.
Create a federal framework for how the United States governs artificial intelligence.
Occurrences
Today, Congressman Jay Obernolte (R-CA) and Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA) released a discussion draft of the Great American AI Act, bipartisan legislation to create a federal framework for how the United States governs artificial intelligence.
Evidence
Obernolte and Trahan released a discussion draft of the Great American AI Act, described as bipartisan legislation to create a federal framework for U.S. AI governance. The release says the draft is for public feedback before formal introduction.
The draft is marked DISCUSSION DRAFT, 119th Congress, H.R. __, and names Mr. Obernolte and Mrs. Trahan as sponsors. Its table of contents includes frontier AI governance, transparency, audits, whistleblower protections, federalization of state AI model-development laws, AI fraud deterrence, workforce, cybersecurity, and AI R&D provisions.
Axios reported within the lookback window that Trahan co-authored the Great American Artificial Intelligence Act with Jay Obernolte, a 269-page discussion draft that would freeze state AI development regulation for three years, and that more than 200 state legislators demanded removal of the preemption language.
The White House said it issued a comprehensive national legislative framework addressing key AI policy objectives and looked forward to working with Congress to turn the framework into legislation the President can sign.
The White House framework says the federal government must establish a federal AI policy framework, recommends congressional preemption of burdensome state AI laws, and sets out recommendations on children, communities, IP, free speech, innovation, workforce, and state-law preemption.
AP reported that a proposed 10-year ban on state AI regulation was stripped from the tax-and-spending bill in a 99-1 Senate vote, and that many conservatives argued comprehensive federal legislation was needed but should not override state authority.
Assessments
Obernolte materially advanced the promise in federal office by co-authoring and releasing the Great American AI Act discussion draft, which was broad enough to propose a federal AI governance framework. But the evidence shows it remained a discussion draft for feedback, with no enacted federal framework or formally delivered statutory regime. The White House framework was also only legislative recommendations, and a related federal preemption effort failed. Because there was serious legislative effort but the promised outcome was not delivered, this is not fulfilled.