Senate Hearing on “America’s AI Action Plan”: More Freedom Means More Innovation

By Rohan Naval

On September 10th, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s subcommittee on Science, Manufacturing, and Competitiveness held a hearing titled “AI’ve Got A Plan”, with the aim of investigating how to maintain America’s competitive edge in artificial intelligence. The hearing, led by Subcommittee Chairman Ted Budd and Chairman Ted Cruz, featureed the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios  testifying on the White House’s approach to putting America first in tech policy.

Chairman Budd opened the hearing by praising the administration’s AI Action Plan and urging Congress to act on the issue to solidify our advantage for years to come. He also lauded President Trump’s recission of Biden’s AI Executive Order, which placed stringent reporting requirements on companies, inhibiting innovation in the sector.

Chairman Cruz concurred and offered a congressional solution to the need for deregulation. He outlined 5 pillars to solidify AI dominance to ensure that America wins the AI race:

  1. Streamlining permitting processes for new projects
  2. Protecting free speech
  3. Preventing a patchwork of state regulations
  4. Protecting senior citizens against fraud
  5. Protecting human value and dignity

He also expanded on his piece of legislation, titled the SANDBOX Act, that would allow devlopers to request to waive regulations that inhibit the development of artificial intelligence. This move would allow innovators to lead the way as opposed to politicians, putting the most qualified people in the driver’s seat to win the AI race. It also creates a sort of reverse CRA process whereby the OSTP director can identify an existing regulation as a barrier to innovation and send a kind of regulatory rescission to Congress for a repeal vote.

Michael Kratsios, Director of the White House Office on Science and Technology Policy, testified on the measures the White House is taking on artificial intelligence. He began by talking about the “tech stack” that supports artificial intelligence—chips, algorithms, and applications. He spoke on how the administration is working with the private sector to support introductions in new markets, and how they are identifying regulations that could inhibit this process. He also mentioned the AI export package executive order signed in July which develops a trade strategy to help AI innovators in the private sector.

On the issue of the SANDBOX Act, Director Kratsios firmly supported any measures that Congress could take to eliminate burdensome regulations. He also came out in support of the AI moratorium which would halt state AI regulations for a period of 10 years, a priority Digital Liberty has supported for two years. This measure was not inlcuded in the One Big Beautiful Bill but now enjoys renewed support from President Trump and his administration. Director Kratsios expanded on the harm that different state regulations, such as those in California and Colorado, could have on AI innovation across the nation, and called on Congress to act before it spirals out of control.

As hearings continue in Senate Commerce, it is important that lawmakers stand strong on the idea that innovators are the ones that lead the AI revolution, and not politicians who wish to stop it. Artificial intelligence has the potential to create immense productivity gains as well as make the lives of millions of Americans easier—but only if politicians get out of the way and allow these technologies to develop.