Congress urged to act as AI policy crossroads nears

With artificial intelligence rapidly evolving, Congress faces a narrowing window to shape policy that fosters innovation while guarding against risk. Bipartisan interest, mounting industry pressure and an AI Action Plan released last month by the Trump administration have created what policy veterans describe as a rare moment of alignment – one not expected to last.

“Stars are aligning with who is in control of the government,” said Sarah Beth Jansen, a longtime Washington advisor and senior fellow at the McCrary Institute, on Cyber Focus. She noted that both parties now see a role for Congress in charting the future of AI, particularly with executive leadership stepping forward. “This is going to be an impetus for Congress to move forward,” she said.

But meaningful action still faces headwinds. According to Austin Carson, founder of SeedAI and a former Hill staffer, policymakers have lingered in a “waiting pattern” even as global developments – such as the release of powerful Chinese open-source models – highlight the urgency of building U.S. leadership. “The U.S. has got to be prepared,” he said.

Frank Cilluffo, director of the McCrary Institute, underscored the national security stakes. “This literally touches every American and everyone, period. And it’s a race we honestly cannot afford to lose,” he said.

States step into the vacuum

In the absence of federal regulation, states have begun experimenting with their own AI governance models. Utah’s regulatory sandbox, cited by both Carson and Jansen, offers one such example. The state convened community stakeholders to create guardrails around mental health applications – a model that has since been codified in state law.

“What it’s doing is giving them space to create both enablement and safety,” said Carson. He warned, however, that a patchwork of 50 inconsistent laws would be untenable, especially as AI systems become more embedded in national infrastructure.

Some lawmakers in Washington have floated a federal moratorium on state AI regulation to head off that risk. Jansen cautioned that such a step could stifle innovation if Congress fails to act in parallel. She argued Congress should support states by providing flexible guidance while avoiding blanket preemption: “giving states the freedom and the comfort to be able to explore different things … without fear of the federal government coming and saying that you can’t do that.” Despite a provision recently failing in the Senate, Jansen said the moratorium debate is unlikely to fade, noting “there was too much invested in it this summer.”

Unlocking progress through procurement

While Congress debates whether to rein in the states, one area of federal authority is already clear: how Washington itself buys and uses AI. Both experts pointed to procurement reform as a powerful but underutilized tool.

Jansen said smaller firms building practical tools – such as AI systems to streamline HR functions – often hit a wall when trying to sell to federal agencies. “Their biggest problem is getting into the procurement system,” she said. Carson added that procurement is more than just an efficiency issue; it’s also a way to set standards across government and industry. “It is the most straightforward way to try to see if a standard can even emerge,” he said. Updating how agencies purchase and deploy AI, they argued, would both empower smaller innovators and create a more consistent foundation for responsible adoption nationwide.

But Carson warned that procurement reforms alone won’t be enough if decisions about how AI is built and regulated remain concentrated in too few hands.

Avoiding elite capture

“My biggest fear is that AI will be developed and regulated and considered by a group of an extraordinarily small number of people in the Bay and in D.C. and in New York,” Carson said. “The fewer people we have involved, the more dangerous it is.”

Carson argued that widening participation – bringing in states, local communities, and a broader set of innovators – would not only strengthen the technology but also ensure the policies guiding it reflect American values. “This stuff is made up of all of our dreams,” he said. “It should be something that’s bigger and more beautiful and frankly more American.”

Watch the full episode here or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify