Scalise Hints At House Republican Opposition To AI Regulation

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), the man tasked with guiding House Republican policy, told Punchbowl News, “he doesn’t believe that Congress should pass any AI-related regulations, establishing a new party position on the most important issue in tech policy.”

• Scalise’s comments came after a Thursday meeting with Republicans on the Artificial Intelligence working group where, according to Punchbowl, Republicans said they, “wouldn’t support legislation that sets up new agencies, establishes new licensing requirements, spends money on research and development or favors one technology over another.”
• Scalise said: “Ultimately, we just want to make sure we don’t have government getting in the way of the innovation that’s happening... And if there are gaps in the laws, those are things we’d want to look at. But no new heavy regulations and billions of dollars of government money to do what’s already being done in the private sector. Those aren’t areas we are interested in.”
• Scalise's position could be a blow to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-NY) chances of legislating his 31-page USD$32 billion roadmap to regulate AI and encourage the development of the sector.
• The Washington Post noted in May that Schumer, “expects that some AI bills could pass the Senate and potentially the House by the end of the year, but he noted that much of this work will extend into the next Congress.”