A controversial artificial intelligence regulation ban that was included in the House-passed “big, beautiful” budget reconciliation package was left out of the Senate Commerce Committee’s title of the reconciliation bill.
The panel released its text on Thursday, which omitted a moratorium on the enforcement of state and local AI regulations and legislation for 10 years. The text instead conditions jurisdictions’ ability to receive funding from a $500 million allocation for artificial intelligence infrastructure on pausing any AI regulations.
The text would also reauthorize the Federal Communications Commission’s spectrum auction authority through 2034, a move that has been the topic of debate due to defense-minded senators’ concerns. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the auctions would generate $85 billion in deficit reduction over 10 years, according to a committee breakdown of the bill.
AI debate
Since the House’s passage of the bill, the AI provision had drawn the ire of some conservatives and was the subject of skepticism regarding its so-called Byrd rule eligibility in the Senate.
Prominent Senate Republicans were aware of the concern regarding the Senate’s reconciliation Byrd rule, which bans “nonbudgetary” provisions in the reconciliation process.
Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz of Texas did not address the provision in a statement accompanying the release of the committee text on Thursday. But he has acknowledged the potential for a Byrd rule challenge, and has said he intends to introduce regulatory legislation that would impose a moratorium.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., asked Thursday about whether the provision would stand up under Byrd rule scrutiny, said “we’ll see.”
Democrats, for their part, have also voiced their opposition to the provision. Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., on Tuesday said on the Senate floor that he intended to challenge the provision under the Byrd rule.
Also impacting the future of the provisions was opposition from within Republicans’ own ranks. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., voiced concerns in May, and Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., emphasized to reporters on Thursday that he wants to prioritize personal and property rights, rather than business opportunities for AI companies, as Congress weighs regulation.
“The problem isn’t a lack of AI development,” Hawley said before the committee released its text. “The problem is protecting the rights of normal people.”
House GOP firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia also railed against the provision’s inclusion in the bill, emphasizing that it would be an expansion of federal power and reduction of states’ rights.
Greene voted for the budget reconciliation when the House passed it in May. She said she didn’t know the provision was included in the huge reconciliation package, which clocks in at over 1,000 pages, though the AI provision wasn’t a late inclusion.
“I am adamantly OPPOSED to this and it is a violation of state rights and I would have voted NO if I had known this was in there,” Greene said of the provision on social media on Tuesday. “We have no idea what AI will be capable of in the next 10 years and giving it free rein and tying states hands is potentially dangerous. This needs to be stripped out in the Senate.”
Spectrum sales
The House spectrum proposal would set up a pipeline for the auction of 600 megahertz of spectrum, whereas the Senate provision would set up a pipeline of 800 MHz of spectrum – 500 MHz of federal spectrum and 300 MHz of nonfederal spectrum.
National security hawks have raised concerns that the auction would impact key military and intelligence frequencies. But the Senate provision would exclude spectrum in the 3.1-3.45 gigahertz bands from being auctioned off, mirroring the House’s provision, as well as spectrum in the 7.4-8.4 GHz bands.
The House’s provision would have also excluded frequencies between 5.925 GHz and 7.125 GHz from auction, but would not exclude the 7.4-8.4 GHz bands.
Under the Senate text, the FCC would be required to auction at least 300 MHz of spectrum within two years, including a minimum of 100 MHz in the 3.98-4.2 GHz band. That’s an increase from the House-passed bill, which would require at least 200 MHz be auctioned off within three years. In both versions, the remainder of the spectrum would be required to be auctioned off within six years.
The provision would also allocate $50 million for an analysis of spectrum bands between 2.7 GHz and 2.9 GHz, between 4.4 GHz and 4.9 GHz and between 7.25 GHz and 7.4 GHz, as well as a biennial report on the value of all spectrum used by federal entities.
Valerie Yurk and David Lerman contributed to this report.
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