U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation Subcommittee on Commerce, Science, Manufacturing, and Competitiveness Hearing – AI’ve Got a Plan: America’s AI Action Plan

Wednesday, September 10, 2025 

Watch the Hearing  

Introduction   

U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Science, Manufacturing, and Competitiveness, convened a subcommittee hearing titled “AI’ve Got a Plan: America’s AI Action Plan” on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, at 10:00 am EST. This hearing examined President Trump’s artificial intelligence strategy, Winning the Race: America’s AI Action Plan, which emphasizes the need for accelerated development and deployment of American AI products to preserve the United States’ competitive advantage over China, achieve global AI dominance, and usher in a new golden age of human flourishing that will increase the standard of living for all Americans. The hearing explored legislative actions to foster AI innovation by preventing overregulation, streamlining the development of American AI infrastructure, and strengthening U.S. leadership on the global stage.  More information.  

Key Highlights 

• AI export RFP: The Department of Commerce is on a 90‑day timeline to release a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the President’s “American AI technology stack” (chips → models → applications) to promote U.S. tech exports and trusted partner adoption. 

• Federal procurement guidance calls for “truth‑seeking and accurate” Live Language Model (LLM) development: The President’s executive order directs OMB to issue procurement guidance requiring government‑procured models to be truth‑seeking and accurate; this is the administration’s primary lever to shape model behavior and mitigate ideological or hateful outputs. 

• Regulatory sandboxes: Senator Ted Cruz released new legislation today called the Sandbox Act to codify them at OSTP and the administration supports sandbox use for targeted, use‑case testing to inform agency rulemaking. In the hearing, Senator Cruz explained that the five-point plan calls for streamlined permitting, ensuring free speech, stopping “nefarious” AI scams, particularly against the elderly, and heeding bioethical considerations in AI.  More information. 

• State preemption and federal funding leverage: The AI action plan warns against a patchwork of state AI rules and contemplates limiting federal funds to “unduly restrictive” states. Implementation and decision authority will be handled by regulatory agencies. 

• Model evaluation, standards, and NIST role: The administration emphasizes standards driven by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), metrology, and voluntary model evaluation guidance; Congress urges statutory support (e.g., Future of AI Innovation Act) to fund standards work. 

• Cloud labs and AI‑enabled biotech: Strong bipartisan support for automated, cloud‑enabled labs (Cloud LAB Act – Sen. Young, Sen. Kim) to accelerate biotech R&D when combined with AI-driven experiment iteration. More information.  

• Data center, energy, and infrastructure concerns: Questions about water use, electricity demand and rate impacts from AI data centers, and the need to coordinate grid, behind‑the‑meter power, fiber, and siting with infrastructure policy. 

• Open models and market competition: The action plan encourages open models and broad marketplace participation to avoid monopolies and reduce risk of centralized ideological control. 

• Intellectual property and fair use concerns: Creators and rights‑holders worry about copyrighted content used to train LLMs; Congress and OSTP flagged IP/fair‑use policy as a pending area for further work. 

• Workforce, apprenticeships, and manufacturing build‑out: Winning the Race: America’s AI Action Plan, is built on three pillars: Innovation, Infrastructure, and International Partnerships. Part of that plan focuses on reskilling, apprenticeships, and supporting Manufacturing USA and national lab collaborations to create jobs for AI/data‑center build‑out. More information. 

 Witnesses  

• Mr. Michael Kratsios, Director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy 

Opening Statements   

Subcommittee Chairman Ted Budd (R-N.C)

Subcommittee Chairman Budd emphasized the need to accelerate AI innovation and infrastructure development without subjecting this emerging technology to “needless overregulation” and advocated for leaning into the free market and a private-sector approach to exporting American technology. Chairman Budd highlighted concerns about China’s determination to direct capital and resources to industry partners in a whole-of-government approach to embed AI across industries. He further highlighted the critical need and economic opportunity for the United States to lead the world in AI deployment and regulation.  

Subcommittee Ranking Member Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) 

Subcommittee Ranking Member Baldwin endorsed AI innovation for its promise in modernizing and upgrading the U.S. electrical grid, improving improved severe weather alerts, and for reducing agricultural costs while driving improvements and for achieving scientific breakthroughs, all of which will enhance U.S. competitiveness. The Ranking Member advocated for the need for clear guardrails on regulation. She criticized the current administration for cutting $800 million in National Science Foundation grants, $8.9 billion in National Institutes of Health grants, and education grants. Those actions, she said, undercut and disregard science. 

 Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) 

Chairman Ted Cruz highlighted the need for practical, technology‑forward regulatory approaches and announced his introduction of the SANDBOX Act. Senator Cruz framed the bill as a mechanism to let innovators and regulators test promising AI applications in controlled, real‑world settings so agencies can gather data and craft targeted, evidence‑based rules. Senator Cruz praised elements of the administration’s AI Action Plan signaling willingness to work with the White House. He characterized regulatory sandboxes as a proven path that can accelerate safe deployment while avoiding stifling innovation. 

 Witness Testimony 

Mr. Michael Kratsios, Director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
In his testimony before the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Science, Manufacturing, and Competitiveness, Director Kratsios emphasized the critical need for the United States to sustain its leadership in artificial intelligence amidst increasing global competition. He outlined the President’s AI Action Plan, which builds upon initiatives from 2018 and is structured around three key pillars: innovation, infrastructure, and international partnerships. Director Kratsios highlighted the importance of removing ideological barriers to enhance AI model accuracy and emphasized the necessity of streamlining federal permitting processes to support the development of essential infrastructure. He also called for enhanced collaboration between the Executive and Legislative branches to establish clear regulations that foster innovation. Furthermore, the Director stressed the significance of workforce development and education in AI to ensure that technological advancements benefit all Americans. Read the Full Statement 

 Question & Answer 

• In response to a question from Chairman Budd, Mr. Kratsios states that the Dept. of Commerce is on a “90‑day shot clock” to issue an RFP for the President’s American AI tech stack, which he described simply as “chips, the algorithms, and then the applications.” 

• In response to Chairman Budd asking who will drive adoption abroad, Mr. Kratsios said the government will work “hand in glove” with private companies to support business development while the U.S. government facilitates introductions and access. 

• In response to Senator Baldwin asking how he would reassure Wisconsinites worried about data‑center water use, Mr. Kratsios pointed to the administration’s “deep commitment to clean air and clean water,” said EPA will apply high standards, and noted regulatory changes will go through notice‑and‑comment to protect groundwater. 

• In response to Senator Baldwin asking about AI improving weather forecasting, Mr. Kratsios deferred to agency experts but said incoming NOAA leadership has deep expertise and AI can be an “accelerant” to U.S. forecasting capabilities. 

• In response to Senator Baldwin’s question about AI and the electric grid, Mr. Kratsios pointed to use cases like load balancing, acknowledged the grid’s federated complexity, and stated the National Energy Dominance Council and agencies will work to improve resilience. 

• In response to Senator Cruz asking why regulatory sandboxes help, Mr. Kratsios said sandboxes let innovators test in real‑world settings (citing the drone pilot program) and produce data that informs durable rulemaking. Following up, Senator Cruz asked if the Director supports the Sandbox Act. Director Kratsios stated he did support the Sandbox Act and the action plan “very definitively promotes the idea of using sandboxes” and he’s eager to work with Congress. 

• In response to Senator Schmitt raising Large Language Model (LLM) bias and citing yes/no ChatGPT prompts, Mr. Kratsios said the President “directed OMB” to issue procurement guidance so government‑procured models must be “truth‑seeking and accurate,” and warned the executive order imposes “pretty harsh” repercussions for noncompliant models. 

• In response to Senator Schmitt’s point about marketplace competition and open models, Mr. Kratsios stated the action plan emphasizes open models to encourage competition and avoid locking into a small set of builders. 

• In response to Senator Peters asking who decides which state AI laws are “prudent” for federal funding, Mr. Kratsios said implementation will be decided by the agencies and cabinet secretaries that run the relevant funding programs. 

• In response to Senator Rosen’s question on fiber and connectivity, Mr. Kratsios said fiber is a “very important component” of AI infrastructure and that NTIA, Commerce, and the FCC are actively assessing connectivity, siting, resilience, and equitable access. 

• In response to Senator Young’s question on cloud labs and biotech, Mr. Kratsios stated automated labs plus AI can “dramatically improve” discovery velocity and noted NSF is already advancing cloud‑lab proposals. 

An archive of previous hearing coverage is available here.