A US House committee on Wednesday advanced a bill that would give Congress greater control over exports of advanced artificial intelligence chips.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee voted by a wide margin to move forward with the legislation, known as the AI Overwatch Act. Republican Representative Brian Mast of Florida, who chairs the committee, introduced the bill in December.
The move comes after President Donald Trump approved shipments of Nvidia’s H200 AI chips to China.
What the bill would change
If passed, the bill would give the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Banking Committee 30 days to review and block export licenses for advanced AI chips.
The bill lists several “countries of concern.” These include China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela.
It would also require the US Commerce Department to submit detailed documents. These documents must show that the chips will not be used for military, intelligence or surveillance purposes.
The bill still needs approval from the full House and Senate.
Supporters cite national security risks
Mast said the measure is needed to protect US security.
“These advanced chips need the same oversight as any military system,” he said. “This is about the future of warfare.”
The group Americans for Responsible Innovation said the bill would slow China’s progress in advanced AI technology.
“America must win the AI race,” Mast said when he first introduced the bill.
White House and tech sector push back
The White House’s AI adviser David Sacks has criticised the bill. A spokesperson for Sacks and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Last week, Sacks shared a post on X claiming the bill was being pushed by political opponents of President Trump.
The post also named Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. An Anthropic spokesperson declined to comment. However, Amodei has warned against sending advanced chips to China.
“It would be a big mistake,” Amodei said this week in Davos. “It’s like selling nuclear weapons to North Korea.”
Some conservative figures, including Laura Loomer, criticised the bill online.
Supporters rejected those claims. Republican Representative Michael McCaul of Texas said powerful business groups were trying to stop the bill.
“There are special interests with millions of dollars at stake,” McCaul said. “They are running a campaign against this bill.”
Nvidia did not respond to requests for comment. The US Commerce Department also declined to comment.
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