Paul Joins Growing Republican Senate Opposition to AI Moratorium Proposal

Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., are also opposed to the House Republican proposal, a reconciliation package provision that has drawn backlash from Democrats at the federal and state levels (see 2505130069).

The parliamentary process for deciding the proposal's fate could run through the end of June, as the Senate parliamentarian is considering various provisions that could potentially be considered “extraneous” under the Byrd rule, a Republican Senate staffer told us Thursday.

“I’m not much on the federal government telling the states what to do on any issue, so I’m not in favor of” the moratorium, Paul told us. However, he added that he’s not optimistic the moratorium will be removed during parliamentary review.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has introduced his own version of the AI moratorium. The Senate text would require governments receiving funding from the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program to pause enforcing state-level AI rules, an apparent alternative to HR-1’s 10-year federal preemption of such laws. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., is planning to raise a point of order on the proposal, which could lead to a floor vote on the moratorium itself.

“Maybe there’s enough opposition,” said Paul. “But the only way that would be possible is if enough people tell leadership they’re against the underlying bill. It’s a question of whether there would be enough people to do that. So I don’t know what happens.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., can only afford to lose three Republican votes to retain his simple majority and pass the budget package.

Cruz told us on Tuesday the Senate Commerce Committee’s version of the moratorium has a better chance of surviving the Byrd bath, the process in which the parliamentarian can remove provisions. “That’s why we introduced it that way.”

Cruz said he planned to meet with the parliamentarian sometime this week, but didn’t have an update as of Thursday afternoon.

Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Democrats requested a committee markup on Commerce’s reconciliation language. “Everybody, I think, has asked for it overall,” she said Thursday. “But if you have disputes, then why would they want to do it? Because some of their members” are opposed to the moratorium.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., said she’s undecided on the AI proposal, but her position is that the U.S. shouldn’t do anything “in any way, shape or form” that might inhibit the U.S. from winning the AI race against China. Britt added she’s still reviewing the moratorium language.

Hawley said he’s working on an amendment with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., to strip the provision. Should it survive the Byrd bath, they’ll file the amendment during vote-a-rama, a process in which senators can file unlimited amendments.

Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, doesn’t think the provision will survive the Byrd bath. “It’s going to get bounced. It’s stupid on policy, but nobody has any belief that this is primarily a budgetary thing. This is just House Republicans working with the assumption they can get whatever they want on behalf of special interests whenever they want.” Asked if he’s working with Hawley, Schatz said: “I’m never part of a group with Josh Hawley.”

California is one of several states that an AI moratorium could affect. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., told us Tuesday: “It’s an important conversation. I wouldn’t want to go backward in California in this space, and the budget is the wrong place to have this conversation.” Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said he has “a lot of concerns” about the original 10-year moratorium timeline.