H.R. 5388 — American Artificial Intelligence Leadership and Uniformity Act

This section establishes definitions for purposes of the Act, including (1) artificial intelligence or AI, as defined in section 5002 of the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 9401 note); (2) artificial intelligence model, as a software component of an information system that implements AI technology using computational, statistical, or machine-learning techniques to produce outputs from defined inputs; (3) artificial intelligence system, as any data system, hardware, tool, or utility that operates in whole or in part using AI; and (4) automated decision system, as any computational process derived from machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, or AI that issues simplified outputs (e.g., scores, classifications, or recommendations) to influence or replace human decision-making.

This section sets forth nine congressional findings concerning artificial intelligence (AI), including its transformative potential for U.S. innovation and competitiveness; the risks posed by global competitors and a patchwork of divergent state AI regulations; disproportionate compliance burdens on small businesses; the absence of a universal legal definition of AI; and the need for a uniform national approach with precise federal definitions during the maturation of AI governance standards.

This section declares it to be the policy of the United States that (1) sustaining and enhancing America’s global AI dominance is necessary to promote human flourishing and economic competitiveness; (2) achieving and maintaining unquestioned and unchallenged global technological dominance is a national security imperative; (3) federal AI governance should affirm a sectoral, technology-neutral, incremental approach that leverages primary regulators’ expertise; (4) a permissive national framework should enable the development of AI models and systems in interstate commerce for a defined period to prevent state-by-state regulatory uncertainty while national guardrails are developed; (5) federal policy should anchor AI risk management in nationally recognized principles and guidance to promote consistent, predictable compliance; (6) regulations should minimize disproportionate burdens on small businesses and support their ability to adopt AI tools and compete; and (7) federal preemption of state AI laws should use precise definitions, be time-limited, and be clear in scope to avoid ambiguity and unnecessary litigation.

This section requires the President, acting through the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology (or OSTP Director), Special Advisor for AI and Crypto (or equivalent), and Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs—in coordination with other specified White House officials, OMB Director, and relevant agency heads—to develop and submit to Congress a National Artificial Intelligence Action Plan (Action Plan) within 30 days of enactment to implement the policy in section 4, with annual updates thereafter. The Action Plan must, at a minimum, (1) identify actions to remove federal, state, and local barriers to U.S. AI innovation (e.g., in procurement, licensing, permitting); (2) set measurable goals, timelines, and agency roles for AI research and development, testing/evaluation/validation, and adoption of safe, secure, trustworthy AI in federal missions; (3) align federal risk management with NIST standards and identify additional standards needs; (4) outline steps to strengthen AI-related critical infrastructure security, national security applications, supply-chain resilience, and incident reporting; (5) reduce compliance burdens on small businesses and expand their access to foundation models, computing, datasets, and technical assistance; and (6) establish metrics for progress and interagency/public reporting cadence. As part of the Action Plan, specified officials must review policies and actions under Executive Order 14110 (Oct. 30, 2023) and Executive Order 14179 (Jan. 23, 2025), identify inconsistencies with section 4, and direct relevant agencies to suspend, revise, or rescind them as appropriate (with exemptions if final action is delayed). The Action Plan must also identify conflicting state/local laws burdening section 4 or Action Plan implementation and recommend adjustments to the section 6 state-law preemption (e.g., extending the five-year moratorium or clarifying covered systems). Submissions must go to the Speaker of the House, President of the Senate, and specified committees in both chambers.

This section establishes a 5-year moratorium, beginning on the date of enactment, prohibiting states and political subdivisions from enforcing any law or regulation limiting, restricting, or regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems in interstate commerce. The moratorium does not prohibit enforcement of (1) laws whose primary purpose is to facilitate AI deployment or streamline related procedures, provided they impose no substantive requirements unless federally required or equally applicable to comparable non-AI systems, and any fees or bonds are reasonable, cost-based, and equally applied; or (2) provisions carrying criminal penalties. The section further clarifies that it does not preempt generally applicable state criminal laws and does not limit state procurement or use requirements for AI systems, provided they do not regulate private parties beyond the government's market participant role.

This section establishes a general rule of construction stating that, except as expressly provided in section 6, nothing in this Act—(1) authorizes any federal agency to impose substantive design, performance, data-handling, documentation, or civil-liability requirements on artificial intelligence models or systems beyond authority otherwise provided by law; or (2) limits enforcement of generally applicable, technology-neutral criminal laws or other authorities otherwise provided by law.