A growing number of Democratic lawmakers are introducing legislation aimed at regulating artificial intelligence, signaling that AI oversight could become a major congressional priority if Democrats regain control of Congress. The bills reflect the mounting pressure lawmakers are feeling from voters concerned about the technology’s impact on employment, their local communities and, increasingly, national security.
The latest proposal comes from Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) who this week unveiled legislation that would impose new restrictions on the Pentagon’s use of AI in military systems, The Wall Street Journal reported. The bill would require meaningful human control over AI-enabled weapons systems, prohibit certain uses of AI in connection with nuclear weapons, and establish new transparency and review requirements for Defense Department deployments of the technology.
Schiff’s proposal is part of a broader surge of AI-related legislation emerging from congressional Democrats. Recent proposals from Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand, (D-NY), and Elissa Slotkin, (D-MI) have similarly focused on oversight of advanced AI systems and safeguards surrounding their deployment. The growing legislative activity offers an early indication of the regulatory agenda major AI developers could face in a future Democratic-controlled Congress.
The recent flurry of proposals reflects increasing political pressure from constituents who are encountering AI’s effects firsthand. Concerns range from powerful AI models capable of conducting cyberattacks to fears that automation could displace workers, particularly recent college graduates entering the job market. At the same time, public opposition to the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure has intensified as communities push back against the construction of large data centers that consume significant amounts of electricity and water.
“We’re no longer anticipating these impacts. They’re here,” Schiff told the Journal, adding that “AI could very well be the dominant issue in the next presidential election.”
The growing political salience of AI is also evident on the campaign trail. Mallory McMorrow, a Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan who has proposed a tax on companies using AI, told the Journal that voters increasingly raise the issue at public events. “It feels like we are hitting a cultural tipping point,” she said.
Much of the recent legislative momentum can be traced to the continuing fallout from Anthropic’s highly publicized dispute with the Pentagon. The AI developer, which has frequently advocated for stronger AI safeguards, spent months seeking assurances that its Claude models would not be used for domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons systems. Defense Department officials rejected the request, arguing that existing Pentagon policies already prohibit such uses.
The disagreement nevertheless exposed broader concerns among lawmakers about whether existing military safeguards are sufficient as increasingly capable AI systems are integrated into defense operations. Schiff’s bill seeks to codify requirements that a human decision-maker retain full discretion over the use of AI-enabled weapons and would expand congressional and public visibility into Pentagon AI programs.
The defense-focused proposals are only one part of a broader Democratic AI agenda, however. Schiff has separately proposed legislation that would require AI companies to disclose copyrighted works used to train models and would force developers to bear more of the electricity costs associated with operating large-scale data centers. Other Democrats have floated new taxes on AI companies, while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has advocated far more aggressive intervention, including a government investment fund that would acquire significant ownership stakes in AI companies. Sanders has also proposed a federal moratorium on new data-center construction amid growing concerns about power consumption and utility costs.
Although many of the Democratic proposals face long odds under the current Republican-controlled government, the debate highlights a broader shift in Washington. Both the Trump and Biden administrations have wrestled with how aggressively to regulate AI, and the White House recently took steps to expand oversight through a new executive order. Meanwhile, major AI developers increasingly appear to be preparing for a future in which federal regulation becomes unavoidable.
