WASHINGTON — Following a survey of its members, the Congressional Progressive Caucus announced its official position to oppose the attachment of legislative language being considered by Republicans that would preempt or impose a moratorium on state-level regulations on artificial intelligence (AI) in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Currently, state laws are the only recourse American consumers have for protecting themselves and their data from Big Tech and the multitude of potential harms caused by AI. With reports of inaccurate facial recognition technology, the increasing prevalence of deepfakes online, dangerous chatbots with limited protections for minors, and teen suicides where AI validated impulses of self-harm, the CPC membership voted as a super-majority to oppose any language being attached to this year’s NDAA that would preempt or impose a moratorium on state laws regulating AI.
In 2025 alone, all 50 states introduced legislation on AI, and 38 states adopted or enacted around 100 measures on the topic. Earlier this year, a similar attempt to override state AI laws in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act collapsed when the Senate voted 99-1 to strip that provision. The attachment of preemption language would risk stripping away vital civil rights, consumer protection, and safety authority from states and create an unnecessary regulatory vacuum that would allow Big Tech to run rampant.