As Congress prepares to consider legislation on artificial intelligence, a tech industry nonprofit flew a dozen key congressional staffers to Austin last month for three days of tours, dinners, and briefings with executives from Google, Nvidia, Dell, and other companies that are lobbying for industry-friendly rules.
The trip, sponsored by the ITI Institute, brought together staffers from the committees and offices that will determine the fate of AI legislation, including senior counsels on the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee that oversees AI, a staffer from the office of House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, and the legislative directors for Reps. Ted Lieu and Valerie Foushee, both co-chairs of the House Democrats’ AI task force.
On June 4, four days after the staffers returned from Austin, Reps. Jay Obernolte and Lori Trahan unveiled the “Great American Artificial Intelligence Act of 2026,” a 269-page discussion draft that would establish the first federal regulatory framework for AI. The bill would require large AI developers to undergo semi-annual third-party safety audits while simultaneously barring states from enacting new AI regulations for three years.
The bill is the latest front in a years-long industry campaign to establish a federal AI standard before states can lock in their own rules. In 2025 alone, more than 100 AI bills became law across 38 states, covering everything from algorithmic discrimination and data privacy to deepfakes and automated hiring decisions. ITI and its member companies have made eliminating these laws a focused legislative priority—lobbying for a federal framework that would preempt state laws, limit liability for AI developers, and establish voluntary rather than mandatory safety standards.
The Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC)—the parent organization of the trip's sponsor—praised the draft bill shortly after its release, with CEO Jason Oxman saying the organization looks forward to working with Congress “to advance preemptive federal AI legislation." In contrast, J.B. Branch, an AI policy counsel with the watchdog group Public Citizen, slammed the draft legislation, saying it “strips states of their authority to respond to real harms consumers are experiencing.”
