US Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral federal legislature composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives, responsible for enacting federal law, setting national spending priorities, and overseeing the executive branch. As the body that controls the federal purse and writes the rules governing commerce and technology, Congress is a central actor in shaping how artificial intelligence is developed, deployed, and regulated across the country.

In recent years, Congress has become an increasingly active forum for AI and technology policy. Legislators have used major vehicles such as the annual National Defense Authorization Act to embed AI-related provisions into law, signaling that AI is now a standing concern within defense and national security planning. Committees across both chambers hold hearings, draft bills, and call on agency officials and industry leaders to testify on topics ranging from semiconductor supply chains to algorithmic accountability.

A defining tension in the current landscape is the question of federal preemption: whether Congress should establish a uniform national AI framework that supersedes state-level rules, or leave room for states such as California to act independently. That debate, along with bipartisan efforts on platform regulation and online speech, illustrates how Congress sits at the intersection of technology, civil liberties, and geopolitical competition.