H.R. 5388

[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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