[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5388 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5388
To provide a national framework to sustain American leadership in
artificial intelligence, to require an actionable Federal plan aligned
to that policy, and to establish a temporary moratorium preempting
certain State laws that restrict artificial intelligence models and
systems engaged in interstate commerce.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 16, 2025
Mr. Baumgartner introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide a national framework to sustain American leadership in
artificial intelligence, to require an actionable Federal plan aligned
to that policy, and to establish a temporary moratorium preempting
certain State laws that restrict artificial intelligence models and
systems engaged in interstate commerce.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``American Artificial Intelligence
Leadership and Uniformity Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Artificial intelligence or ``ai''.--The term
``artificial intelligence'' has the meaning given such term in
section 5002 of the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative
Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 9401 note).
(2) Artificial intelligence model.--The term ``artificial
intelligence model'' means a software component of an
information system that implements artificial intelligence
technology and uses computational, statistical, or machine-
learning techniques to produce outputs from a defined set of
inputs.
(3) Artificial intelligence system.--The term ``artificial
intelligence system'' means any data system, hardware, tool, or
utility that operates, in whole or in part, using artificial
intelligence.
(4) Automated decision system.--The term ``automated
decision system'' means any computational process derived from
machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, or
artificial intelligence that issues a simplified output,
including a score, classification, or recommendation, to
materially influence or replace human decision-making.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The United States stands at a new frontier of
scientific discovery driven by transformative technologies such
as artificial intelligence.
(2) Breakthroughs in these fields have the potential to
reshape the global balance of power, spark entirely new
industries, and revolutionize the way Americans live and work.
(3) Global competitors are racing to develop and deploy
these technologies to gain strategic advantage.
(4) Securing that future requires harnessing the full power
of American innovation across the private sector, academia, and
government.
(5) The United States leads the world in AI due to a
thriving innovation, investment, and development environment;
and a flexible, sector-specific regulatory framework.
(6) A patchwork of divergent State AI rules creates
conflicting requirements, forces firms to navigate multiple
agencies, and can deter investment.
(7) Small businesses face disproportionate compliance
burdens from unclear or fragmented AI rules; clarity and
sector-specific guidance are needed.
(8) There is no universal legal definition of ``artificial
intelligence''; any Federal action that preempts State AI laws
should precisely define its scope.
(9) AI governance standards are still maturing (including
the National Institute of Standards and Technology's AI Risk
Management Framework); a uniform national approach during this
build-out supports responsible adoption.
SEC. 4. POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States that--
(1) Sustaining and enhancing America's global AI dominance
is necessary to promote human flourishing and economic
competitiveness.
(2) It is a national security imperative for the United
States to achieve and maintain unquestioned and unchallenged
global technological dominance.
(3) Federal AI governance should affirm a sectoral,
technology-neutral, incremental approach that leverages primary
regulators' expertise.
(4) A permissive national framework should enable the
development of AI models and systems in interstate commerce for
a defined period to prevent state-by-state regulatory
uncertainty while national guardrails are developed.
(5) Federal policy should anchor AI risk management in
nationally recognized principles and guidance to promote
consistent, predictable compliance.
(6) Regulations should minimize disproportionate burdens on
small businesses and support their ability to adopt AI tools
and compete.
(7) Federal preemption of State AI laws should use precise
definitions, be time limited and be clear in scope to avoid
ambiguity and unnecessary litigation.
SEC. 5. NATIONAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ACTION PLAN.
(a) Action Plan Required.--Not later than 30 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the President, acting through the Assistant to
the President for Science and Technology (or the Director of the Office
of Science and Technology Policy), the Special Advisor for Artificial
Intelligence and Crypto (or such official as the President may
designate with substantially similar responsibilities), and the
Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, in
coordination with the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy,
the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB Director), and the heads of such
executive departments and agencies as appropriate, shall develop and
submit to Congress a National Artificial Intelligence Action Plan (in
this section, the ``Action Plan'') to carry out the policy in section
4.
(b) Annual Updates.--Not later than 1 year after the submission
required by subsection (a), and annually thereafter, the President
shall submit to Congress an update on implementation of, and any
revisions to, the Action Plan.
(c) Contents of the Action Plan.--The Action Plan shall, at a
minimum--
(1) identify actions to remove barriers to American AI
innovation across the Federal Government, and at the State and
local level, including procurement, licensing, permitting,
routing, zoning, and reporting processes;
(2) set measurable goals, timelines, and agency roles for
advancing AI research and development; testing, evaluation,
verification, and validation; and adoption of safe, secure, and
trustworthy AI in Federal missions;
(3) align Federal risk management and governance with
nationally recognized standards and guidance, including
frameworks and profiles developed by the National Institute of
Standards and Technology, and identify any additional standards
work needed;
(4) outline steps to strengthen critical-infrastructure
security, national-security applications, supply-chain
resilience, and incident reporting relevant to AI;
(5) include measures to reduce disproportionate compliance
burdens on small businesses and expand access to foundation
models, computing resources, datasets, and technical
assistance; and
(6) set metrics to evaluate progress and a cadence for
interagency coordination and public reporting.
(d) Review of Executive Actions; Conformity.--As part of the Action
Plan, the officials identified in subsection (a), in coordination with
the heads of relevant agencies--
(1) shall review all policies, directives, regulations,
orders, guidance, and other actions taken pursuant to Executive
Order 14110 of October 30, 2023 (Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy
Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence), and provide a
status update on actions taken pursuant to Executive Order
14179 of January 23, 2025 (Removing Barriers to American
Leadership in Artificial Intelligence); and identify any such
actions under either Executive Order that are or may be
inconsistent with the policy in section 4; and,
(2) for any action identified under paragraph (1), the head
of the relevant agency shall, as appropriate and consistent
with applicable law, suspend, revise, or rescind such action,
or propose doing so. If immediate final action is not possible,
the agency shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide
available exemptions until such action can be finalized.
(e) Review of Conflicting State Law; Recommendation on Preemption
Scope and Duration.--The Action Plan shall--
(1) identify State and local laws, regulations, or policies
that conflict with, or unduly burden, the achievement of the
policy in section 4 or implementation of the Action Plan; and,
(2) provide recommendations to Congress on whether to
adjust the scope or length of the State-law preemption in
section 6, including options such as extension of the five-year
moratorium, clarifications to covered systems or activities,
safe harbors, or other refinements, with a statement of
rationale.
(f) Submission; Committees.--Each submission required under this
section shall be transmitted to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives and the President of the Senate and, at a minimum, to
the Committees on Energy and Commerce; Judiciary; Education and the
Workforce; Science, Space, and Technology; and Oversight and Government
Reform of the House of Representatives; and to the Committees on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Judiciary; Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions; and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of
the Senate.
SEC. 6. STATE LAW PREEMPTION; TEMPORARY MORATORIUM.
(a) Moratorium.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), no
State or political subdivision thereof may enforce, during the
5-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this
Act, any law or regulation of that State or a political
subdivision thereof limiting, restricting, or otherwise
regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial
intelligence systems, or automated decision systems entered
into interstate commerce.
(2) Rule of construction.--Paragraph (1) may not be
construed to prohibit the enforcement of--
(A) any law or regulation that--
(i) the primary purpose and effect of which
is to--
(I) remove legal impediments to, or
facilitate the deployment or operation
of, an artificial intelligence model,
artificial intelligence system, or
automated decision system; or
(II) streamline licensing,
permitting, routing, zoning,
procurement, or reporting procedures in
a manner that facilitates the adoption
of artificial intelligence models,
artificial intelligence systems, or
automated decision systems;
(ii) does not impose any substantive
design, performance, data-handling,
documentation, civil liability, taxation, fee,
or other requirement on artificial intelligence
models, artificial intelligence systems, or
automated decision systems unless such
requirement--
(I) is imposed under Federal law;
or
(II) in the case of a requirement
imposed under a generally applicable
law, is imposed in the same manner on
models and systems, other than
artificial intelligence models,
artificial intelligence systems, and
automated decision systems, that
provide comparable functions to
artificial intelligence models,
artificial intelligence systems, or
automated decision systems; and
(iii) does not impose a fee or bond
unless--
(I) such fee or bond is reasonable
and cost-based; and
(II) under such fee or bond,
artificial intelligence models,
artificial intelligence systems, and
automated decision systems are treated
in the same manner as other models and
systems that perform comparable
functions; or
(B) any provision of a law or regulation to the
extent that the violation of such provision carries a
criminal penalty.
(b) No Preemption of Generally Applicable Criminal Law.--Nothing in
this section shall be construed to preempt generally applicable
criminal laws of a State or political subdivision thereof.
(c) No Effect on Contracting by the State.--Nothing in this section
shall be construed to limit a State or political subdivision from
setting performance, security, or other requirements for its own
procurement or use of artificial intelligence systems, provided such
requirements do not operate as de facto regulations of private parties
beyond the government's role as a market participant.
SEC. 7. GENERAL RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Except as expressly provided in section 6 (State-law preemption),
nothing in this Act shall be construed--
(1) to authorize any Federal agency to impose substantive
design, performance, data-handling, documentation, or civil-
liability requirements on artificial intelligence models or
systems beyond authority otherwise provided by law; or
(2) to limit the enforcement of generally applicable,
technology-neutral criminal laws or other authorities otherwise
provided by law.
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