The OSTP director defended plans for federal AI requirements in a House Science Committee listening to, urging cooperation from Congress.
Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, appeared earlier than the House Science Committee on Wednesday to defend President Donald Trump’s AI technique and encourage Congress to work towards a federal AI commonplace, relatively than a patchwork of state-level requirements or worldwide requirements not set by the U.S.
The listening to centered on the Trump administration’s AI Action Plan, which goals to promote U.S. management in AI know-how and requirements improvement. That plan, revealed in July 2025, was co-authored by Kratsios and White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks.
At Wednesday’s listening to, Kratsios defended the administration’s efforts to block states from creating their very own AI legal guidelines. At the urging of the White House, Congress thought-about comparable prohibitions within the reconciliation megabill handed over the summer season and, extra just lately, within the National Defense Authorization Act handed in December, however in each circumstances stripped out the language within the face of bipartisan opposition.
Following the prohibition’s elimination from the NDAA final month, President Trump signed an executive order geared toward deterring state-level AI laws via federal lawsuits and broadband funding cuts.
In her opening assertion, Science Committee Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) mentioned she believes Trump’s order is unconstitutional.
“I’m not here to defend every state AI law that’s been proposed or passed,” Lofgren mentioned. “Some of what California has adopted to protect its people is appropriate, and other legislation the governor, with the support of the delegation, vetoed because they were not appropriate.”
Trump’s December order additionally directed Kratsios, together with Sacks, to “jointly prepare a legislative recommendation establishing a uniform federal policy framework,” although Kratsios emphasised on the listening to that the laws sought by the order “should not preempt otherwise lawful state actions relating to child safety precautions, AI compute and data infrastructure, and also state government procurement and use of AI.”
He additionally highlighted the Trump administration’s opposition to worldwide laws. “We continue to push back against global AI governance at the UN, G7, APEC, and other forums, and to defend great American companies from foreign nations’ stifling regulatory regimes, “ Kratsios said.
Lofgren expressed general support for the AI Action Plan, but indicated it did not sufficiently address the risks of AI. She also expressed deep concern over the Trump administration profiting from or partially owning private companies.
“The government now owns nearly 10 percent of Intel, making it the largest shareholder. It holds equity positions in rare earth mining companies and is negotiating similar deals with quantum computing companies,” Lofgren mentioned, accusing the Trump administration of “engaging in socialism” and “emulating the PRC.”
Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA), who chairs the House Science Committee’s Research and Technology Subcommittee, introduced a extra beneficiant view of the administration’s stance on state AI legal guidelines.
“I don’t think anyone believes that the states shouldn’t have a lane in regulating AI, but I think what everyone believes is that there should be a federal lane and that there should be a state lane,” Obernolte mentioned, including that the federal authorities ought to determine the place the guardrails are.
Obernolte praised the AI Action Plan’s overlap with the suggestions of the House Task Force on AI, which he chaired. That activity drive revealed its final report in December 2024. “This bipartisan effort resulted in 66 findings and 89 recommendations, many of which align with the AI Action Plan, including expanding access to computing power for researchers, investing in K-12 AI education, and advancing AI evaluations,” Obernolte mentioned.
Both the AI Action Plan and the House activity drive report additionally emphasize the position of federal analysis businesses, such because the National Institute of Standards and Technology, in setting AI requirements. Obernolte mentioned a forthcoming “Great American AI Act” would formalize NIST’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation, or CAISI, formerly known because the U.S. AI Safety Institute. Obernolte additionally beforehand launched legislation to codify the National Science Foundation’s National AI Research Resource, or NAIRR.
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), rating member of the Research and Technology Subcommittee, expressed concern over cuts to NIST and the administration’s determination to pull assist from initiatives such because the Manufacturing Extension Program and Manufacturing USA. “We’re losing talent and institutional knowledge. We’re shrinking. And frankly, we’re destroying our research capacity and undermining global competitiveness all while we’re supposed to be touting how we can lead on AI,” Stevens mentioned.
The Trump administration’s price range proposal for 2026 beneficial reducing NIST’s budget by 28%, however Congress is on observe to move a package of spending bills that would supply roughly stage funding.
Kratsios mentioned that makes an attempt by the president to “right-size” the federal price range have at all times prioritized AI as a vital analysis precedence. He individually famous that efforts such because the Genesis Mission, the administration’s flagship effort to advance scientific analysis utilizing AI, will guarantee “American technological and scientific dominance for our future generations” and fend off competitors from nations similar to China.
The menace of competitors from China was a recurring theme on the listening to and the topic of a separate hearing, additionally held on Wednesday, by the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Near the top of the listening to, Kratsios mentioned his workplace needs to “emphasize the use of federal R&D dollars towards American scientists and technologists that are staffed by Americans in their labs.” He added that his workplace will “make sure that as we put out [notices of funding opportunities] and other requests for funding, that we’re funding American students.”
It is unclear if these feedback had been supposed to indicate that OSTP is contemplating new citizenship necessities for federal analysis funding alternatives. OSTP didn’t reply to a request for remark earlier than publication.
Kratsios’s feedback got here in response to a query from Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) about how to tackle main U.S. universities recruiting giant numbers of Chinese college students who return to China after their research are accomplished. “What do we do about that competition that we’re basically educating here and sending back there?” McCormick requested.