On Tuesday, US Vice President J.D. Vance helped push Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act through the Senate with a tie-breaking vote. Vance’s vote came after Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina joined Democrats to vote against the bill, leading to a tie of 50 to 50.
The bill now moves to the U.S. House of Representatives, where Republicans aim to deliver the final version of the bill to Trump’s desk by July 4th.
The 900-page bill has its share of critics on the left and a few on the right, such as Rand Paul and Thomas Massie. One of the measures that was nearly universally opposed was a 10-year ban on local or state regulation of AI. Under a section titled “Moratorium,” the bill stated,”No State or political subdivision thereof may enforce, during the 10-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, any law or regulation of that State or a political subdivision thereof limiting, restricting, or otherwise regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems entered into interstate commerce.”
This clause would have prevented any state or local political body from enforcing regulations on AI systems. Ultimately, the moratorium was defeated in an all-night voting session.
While a ban on AI regulation would have been potentially disastrous, I believe the focal point of the opposition should be the fact that the bill expands the immigration police state, and the use of Artificial Intelligence, facial recognition, and biometric data collection of Americans.
Read more: Trump’s Big Brother Bill Expands the U.S. Surveillance State
