Politics

U.S. Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan AI Bill alongside Focus on Data Center Costs

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Apr 28, 2026

THE BARE STORY

U.S. House representatives introduced bipartisan artificial intelligence legislation on Monday, coinciding with an announcement by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries regarding future policy priorities for the technology's physical infrastructure.

The bipartisan bill, sponsored by California Representatives Ted Lieu and Jay Obernolte, aims to establish stricter penalties for distributing deepfakes and non-consensual images, while providing legal safeguards for whistleblowers reporting AI safety risks. The measure also mandates U.S. participation in international organizations that develop AI technical standards and seeks to increase federal research through an R&D prize competition. Lieu stated that the legislation is intended as a non-controversial step that builds upon previous bipartisan House task force recommendations.

The current legislation avoids more complex regulatory issues, omitting testing requirements for AI systems used in critical infrastructure and education, and leaving open the question of whether federal standards should preempt state AI laws. Obernolte is concurrently developing a separate AI legislative package, also based on task force recommendations, which is expected to be released later this year.

Separately on Monday, Jeffries held a press conference outside the House chamber to announce a legislative agenda targeting the rising electricity costs associated with AI data centers, outlining it as a priority if Democrats secure a House majority. Jeffries stated that lawmakers must protect consumers and local ratepayers from the negative financial impacts of rapid data center expansion across the country. He emphasized a dual approach, arguing that policies must establish necessary guardrails for the public while simultaneously supporting the global leadership of domestic AI companies.

Same Facts. Different Perspectives.

Two AI models. Two viewpoints. One factual foundation.

Perspective by Grok

• Incentivize Domestic Market Dominance Maintaining global economic leadership requires fostering an environment where domestic capital can rapidly innovate. The explicit goal of supporting the global leadership of U.S. AI companies, coupled with federal R&D prize competitions and participation in international standards organizations, prioritizes strategic technological superiority. This framework ensures that America remains the primary engine for AI development rather than ceding critical market share to international competitors.

• Preserve Agile Regulatory Environments Systemic stability and market efficiency rely on avoiding preemptive, heavy-handed federal mandates. By intentionally omitting complex testing requirements for critical infrastructure and leaving the preemption of state laws open, the current legislation prevents regulatory bottlenecks. This targeted, non-controversial approach allows the industry to iterate and grow without being paralyzed by premature compliance costs or disjointed local restrictions.

• Risk Hamstringing Vital Infrastructure Broad prosperity is driven by unfettered production and capital expansion, which fundamentally requires robust physical infrastructure. Politicizing AI data centers under the guise of ratepayer protection threatens to artificially constrain the energy supply necessary for advanced computing power. Penalizing the physical expansion of AI operations risks stalling the entire sector's growth and directly weakening the nation's competitive advantage in a vital future industry.

How it may affect me

As a U.S. reader:

• In the short term, you would gain stronger legal protections and avenues for recourse if you are targeted by the distribution of non-consensual AI deepfakes.

• Your future local utility bills could be directly affected by how lawmakers handle the massive energy consumption of AI data centers, either through new policies that shield ratepayers from cost increases or through continued physical expansion that could impact local power supplies.

• Because the legislation intentionally omits mandatory testing requirements, AI systems integrated into your local schools or critical civic infrastructure will continue to operate without federal safety vetting, potentially exposing the public to unproven algorithms.

• Over the long term, federal R&D prize competitions and the avoidance of heavy compliance costs are designed to accelerate domestic AI innovation, meaning the tech products and platforms you use will likely remain developed primarily by U.S. companies.

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