Contact: comms@encodeai.org
Encode applauds the release of a letter from 260 lawmakers across every US state opposing the AI moratorium included in the House-passed budget reconciliation bill. The letter, led by Representative Guffey (R) of South Carolina and Senator Larson (D) of South Dakota, urges Congress to reject any provision that would preempt state and local AI regulation in this year’s reconciliation package.
The lawmakers point to risks posed by AI to kids safety online, vulnerable seniors targeted by scams, patients in our healthcare system, and more. These are all issues that Congress has failed to act on, but state legislators have stepped up — passing vital protections that shield vulnerable communities from real-world harm.
If those laws are overridden by Congress, the consequences would be dire. Americans in every state would lose protections they rely on, with no federal safeguards to take their place.
“By wiping out state AI legislation, Congress would leave millions of Americans vulnerable to harms that are already happening—from deepfake pornography to AI-driven fraud,” said Adam Billen, Vice President of Public Policy at Encode. “Just a few years ago we could not have imagined deepfake porn flooding our communities or AI-driven scams exploiting vulnerable seniors, but without state action victims everywhere would still be vulnerable. We must protect the ability of our state legislators to respond to the rapidly emerging risks from AI.”
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