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Politico
7 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Behind the tanked AI moratorium
With help from Mohar Chatterjee Programming note: We'll be off Friday but will be back in your inboxes on Monday. WASHINGTON WATCH At the center of Sen. Marsha Blackburn's (R-Tenn.) decision this week to withdraw support for an artificial intelligence measure she worked on with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), was her Kids Online Safety Act, according to four people familiar with the situation. The four people, who were granted anonymity to speak about private discussions, said Blackburn had hoped to limit the scope and span of a pause on state AI rules and in turn advance her legislation to a markup in the Senate Commerce Committee, which Cruz chairs. Key context: Last year, Blackburn and her bill co-sponsor Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) nearly got the measure passed. The bill, which requires tech companies to ensure their platforms are designed for kids' safety, passed 91-3 in the Senate. Despite the support of former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, 35 attorneys general and doctor groups, the bill never came to the floor for a vote in the House. Since then, progress has been slow. Cruz hasn't brought up KOSA for a markup, even though his committee has advanced other online safety bills this year, including the Kids Off Social Media Act, which he co-sponsored with Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), as well as the Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act. In hopes of moving her bill, Blackburn worked out an amendment with Cruz on the AI moratorium, the four people said. The amendment would have allowed states to enforce laws passed in recent years to keep kids safe from online sexual predators, bullying, drug sales and other negative health impacts. But the bill still prevented states from putting 'undue or disproportionate burden' on AI systems. What happened next: Midday Monday, a coalition of 130 organizations wrote to Senate leaders explaining that the exemption in Blackburn and Cruz's amendment wouldn't work because state laws protecting children and adults online are intended to burden AI platforms. Some 17 Republican governors also opposed the moratorium. including Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee. Blackburn went to Cruz on Monday and tried to get the 'undue or disproportionate burden' language removed from the bill. But Cruz wouldn't budge, one of the people said. By Monday night, she amended her amendment with Cruz's legislation to include KOSA, tying the amendment's passage to a bill that would create a national framework for protecting kids, according to three of the people. The move was symbolic — the amendment was not likely to pass. But it signaled her priority. She then teamed up with Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) to introduce a new amendment striking the original AI moratorium from the megabill altogether. In the predawn hours on Tuesday that amendment passed 99-1. (Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) was the lone nay vote.) Cruz, clearly frustrated, said the moratorium had Trump's support. Cruz office didn't return a request for comment, and Blackburn's office declined to comment. WELCOME TO FUTURE PULSE This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. We will be off tomorrow for the holiday — and will be back in your inboxes on Monday! Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Danny Nguyen at dnguyen@ Carmen Paun at cpaun@ Ruth Reader at rreader@ or Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@ Want to share a tip securely? Message us on Signal: Dannyn516.70, CarmenP.82, RuthReader.02 or ErinSchumaker.01. CHECKUP A health care system serving 2.5 million patients across Massachusetts is turning to artificial intelligence to keep people out of the emergency room during heat waves. When extreme heat hits, emergency departments are packed with people experiencing dehydration, heat cramps or kidney or heart problems, reports POLITICO's Ariel Wittenberg. 'We'll see a 10 percent jump of people in the emergency department not just for heat illness, but also weakness or syncope or other conditions due to the heat,' said Dr. Paul Biddinger, chief preparedness and continuity officer at Mass General Brigham, a nonprofit academic health system that's developing a new alert system to warn people about the dangers of heat waves. In February, MGB was one of five applicants to join a sustainability accelerator operated by IBM. The program aims to help communities facing environmental and economic stress through the use of technology. IBM received more than 100 proposals on how to use AI to advance climate sustainability and resilience. The idea is simple: Use AI to comb through electronic health records to identify patients who have health conditions or take drugs that might make them particularly vulnerable to heat. The AI program would warn them when a heat wave is approaching and instruct patients on how to protect themselves so they don't end up in an emergency room. The tool would include security features to protect patient health information. Ideally, the combination of personalized information, real-time heat data, and 'actionable messages' will help empower patients to protect themselves. 'We think patients will pay more attention if it is their doctor, their hospital saying, 'Hey, you're at risk and here's what to do,' than if they just see on the news that it will be hot tomorrow,' Biddinger said. Why it matters: Heat kills an estimated 2,300 people every year, in the United States, according to federal records, more than any other type of extreme weather event, and results in the hospitalization of thousands of others. Those numbers are expected to increase as climate change turbocharges temperatures, with one estimate from the Center for American Progress calculating that emergency rooms could be inundated with an additional 235,000 visitors each summer. The same report estimates that health care costs related to extreme heat would amount to $1 billion annually.
CNN
01-07-2025
- Business
- CNN
US Senate votes to strike controversial AI regulation moratorium from Trump agenda bill
The US Senate has voted nearly unanimously to remove a 10-year moratorium on the enforcement of state artificial intelligence regulations from Republicans' sweeping domestic policy bill. The provision in the Senate bill would have effectively prevented states from enforcing many proposed and existing AI-related laws — including regulations around sexually explicit and political deepfakes — for the next decade. Earlier this month, Senate Commerce Committee Republicans had moved to tie compliance with the moratorium to crucial federal funds for deploying internet infrastructure. While some tech leaders have advocated for a single federal law rather than a patchwork of state regulations, the moratorium had raised alarms among other tech workers and leaders, academics, advocacy groups, state regulators and lawmakers. Opponents of the provision worried that it could hamstring efforts to hold tech companies accountable for potential harms to society, especially in light of the fact that there is currently no comprehensive federal legislation regulating AI. On Monday night, the Senate voted 99-1 in favor of an amendment to strike the provision from the bill. The amendment was co-sponsored by Sens. Ed Markey, Maria Cantwell and Marsha Blackburn. 'This 99-1 vote sent a clear message that Congress will not sell out our kids and local communities in order to pad the pockets of Big Tech billionaires,' Markey said in a statement, adding, 'I look forward to working with my colleagues to develop responsible guardrails for AI.' The vote came during the Senate's marathon 'vote-a-rama' on various amendments to the agenda bill. Republicans have been aiming to have the bill on President Donald Trump's desk by July 4, but the legislation must still go back to the House if it passes the Senate. At least one House lawmaker, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, had warned that she would vote 'no' on the agenda bill if the Senate did not remove the AI moratorium provision. Opponents of the AI regulation moratorium cheered the Senate vote on Tuesday. 'State legislatures all across the country have done critical bipartisan work to protect the American people from some of the most dangerous harms of AI technology,' Ilana Beller, democracy organizing manager at the progressive consumer advocacy group Public Citizen said in a statement. 'The defeat of this moratorium will mean vital protections remain in place for millions of Americans.'
CNN
01-07-2025
- Business
- CNN
US Senate votes to strike controversial AI regulation moratorium from Trump agenda bill
The US Senate has voted nearly unanimously to remove a 10-year moratorium on the enforcement of state artificial intelligence regulations from Republicans' sweeping domestic policy bill. The provision in the Senate bill would have effectively prevented states from enforcing many proposed and existing AI-related laws — including regulations around sexually explicit and political deepfakes — for the next decade. Earlier this month, Senate Commerce Committee Republicans had moved to tie compliance with the moratorium to crucial federal funds for deploying internet infrastructure. While some tech leaders have advocated for a single federal law rather than a patchwork of state regulations, the moratorium had raised alarms among other tech workers and leaders, academics, advocacy groups, state regulators and lawmakers. Opponents of the provision worried that it could hamstring efforts to hold tech companies accountable for potential harms to society, especially in light of the fact that there is currently no comprehensive federal legislation regulating AI. On Monday night, the Senate voted 99-1 in favor of an amendment to strike the provision from the bill. The amendment was co-sponsored by Sens. Ed Markey, Maria Cantwell and Marsha Blackburn. 'This 99-1 vote sent a clear message that Congress will not sell out our kids and local communities in order to pad the pockets of Big Tech billionaires,' Markey said in a statement, adding, 'I look forward to working with my colleagues to develop responsible guardrails for AI.' The vote came during the Senate's marathon 'vote-a-rama' on various amendments to the agenda bill. Republicans have been aiming to have the bill on President Donald Trump's desk by July 4, but the legislation must still go back to the House if it passes the Senate. At least one House lawmaker, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, had warned that she would vote 'no' on the agenda bill if the Senate did not remove the AI moratorium provision. Opponents of the AI regulation moratorium cheered the Senate vote on Tuesday. 'State legislatures all across the country have done critical bipartisan work to protect the American people from some of the most dangerous harms of AI technology,' Ilana Beller, democracy organizing manager at the progressive consumer advocacy group Public Citizen said in a statement. 'The defeat of this moratorium will mean vital protections remain in place for millions of Americans.'
The Hill
26-06-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Senate parliamentarian requests AI moratorium be rewritten in ‘big, beautiful bill'
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has asked Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to rewrite the controversial artificial intelligence (AI) provision in President Trump's tax package, a source familiar with the conversations told The Hill. Cruz and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, met with the Senate parliamentarian Wednesday night, the source said, during which the parliamentarian expressed concerns the provision may violate the Senate's reconciliation procedural rules. Under its current language, the provision bans states from regulating AI models and systems if they want access to $500 million in AI infrastructure and deployment in federal funding. The Senate Commerce Committee said the current language, which narrowed a previous version this week, 'makes clear the optional $500 million state AI program would not affect participating state's tech-neutral laws, such as those for consumer protection and intellectual property rights. But Democrats argue the bill would still impact $42 billion in broadband funding and not comply with the Senate's Byrd Rule, which prohibits provisions from making drastic policy changes. The parliamentarian's request comes just days after she first approved the provision last weekend. Republicans are using the budget reconciliation process to advance Trump's legislative agenda while averting the Senate filibuster. To do this, the Senate parliamentarian's approval of the provisions is needed for a simple majority vote. When reached for comment, Cruz's communications director Macarena Martinez said the office would not comment on 'private consolations with the parliamentarian.' 'The Democrats would be wise not to use this process to wishcast in public,' Martinez told The Hill. Despite the previous changes to the language, the provision is expected to receive pushback from a handful of Republicans. Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.) and Ron Johnson (Wis.) told The Hill they are against the provision, while Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said he is willing to introduce an amendment to eliminate the provision during the Senate's marathon vote-a-rama if it is not taken out earlier. Some Republicans in the House are also coming out against the measure as a way to advocate for states' rights. A group of hard-line conservatives argued in a letter earlier this month to Senate Republicans that Congress is still 'actively investigating' AI and 'does not fully understand the implications' of the technology. This was shortly after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) confirmed she would be a 'no' on the bill if it comes back to the House with the provision included. 'I am 100 percent opposed, and I will not vote for any bill that destroys federalism and takes away states' rights, ability to regulate and make laws when it regards humans and AI,' she told reporters earlier this month. It has also received criticism from some Republican state leaders, like Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who warned in a Washington Post op-ed that the measure 'would have unintended consequences and threatens to undo all the great work states' have done for AI protections.
Politico
26-06-2025
- Business
- Politico
Bessent asks lawmakers to megabill's 'revenge tax,' citing progress in global talks
The Senate parliamentarian is asking the Senate Commerce Committee to rework its 10-year moratorium on enforcing state artificial intelligence laws, according to ranking member Maria Cantwell. The parliamentarian had asked Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to rewrite the language in the GOP megabill to make clear it wouldn't impact $42 billion in broadband funding, Cantwell (D-Wash.) told POLITICO. 'That's what was a last night request from the parliamentarian,' Cantwell said. 'Yeah, that's what's going on.' Cruz's communications director Macarena Martinez said in a statement to POLITICO Thursday, 'Out of respect, we are not going to comment on private consultations with the Parliamentarian,' and added, 'The Democrats would be wise not to use this process to wishcast in public.' What's the problem? At issue is the scope of funding that will be conditioned on states complying with a 10-year pause on enforcing their AI laws. Cruz has said enforcing the moratorium would be required for states to tap into a new $500 million fund for building out AI infrastructure. The parliamentarian approved that language, a narrowed version of an earlier proposal to tie the moratorium to the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. Democrats have argued that the latest moratorium would still affect all $42 billion. Talking points circulated by Cruz on Wednesday saying his bill 'forbids states collecting new BEAD money from strangling AI deployment with EU-style regulation' only added to the confusion, suggesting the provision could apply to the entire broadband program. Cruz's office told POLITICO Wednesday that the Congressional Budget Office 'has confirmed this applies only to the unobligated $500M.' The Senate parliamentarian is under fire after striking major pieces of Medicaid policy from being included in the megabill on Thursday. Majority Leader John Thune has said the GOP would not seek to override decisions from the Senate's rules referee. Republican doubts: The AI moratorium has divided Republicans. A group of GOP senators, including Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Josh Hawley of Missouri and others, sent a letter to Thune on Wednesday urging the removal of the moratorium language, according to a person familiar with the matter. 'States should not be punished for trying to protect their citizens from the harms of AI,' Blackburn said in a post on X on Thursday. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said he is concerned about the scope of the provision and needs to 'get clarity' on if it would apply to the whole BEAD program. 'There's some communication challenge here about whether we're talking about a $500 million pot, or whether we're talking about the entire $40 billion — and the difference is significant. It matters,' Cramer told POLITICO. 'If I can't get assurances that it's not just the smaller pot, it'd be hard for me to get to yes.' The Article 3 Project, a prominent conservative advocacy group, said it would 'fully support these bold and fearless Republican Senators and their effort to protect America's children, creators, and foundational property rights.' Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who served as White House press secretary in the first Trump administration, came out against the moratorium language in The Washington Post on Thursday. She warned it would lead to 'unintended consequences and threatens to undo all the great work states have done to protect our citizens from the misuse of artificial intelligence.' Tech support: The tech industry has lent broad support to the moratorium. The National Venture Capital Association praised it in a letter to Thune on Thursday. 'The current fragmented AI regulatory environment in the United States creates unnecessary challenges for startups, stifles innovation, and threatens our dominance in the industry,' wrote Bobby Franklin, the organization's president. Other major tech groups, including the Business Software Alliance, the Consumer Technology Association and NetChoice, have also strongly supported the language.
