RELEASE: Gottheimer, Lawler Push Bipartisan Plan on AI Safety

Above: Gottheimer and Lawler discuss their bipartisan AI legislation.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representatives Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) and Mike Lawler (NY-17) held a press conference to amplify the importance of their bipartisan Stop Rogue AI Act, legislation that would establish clear, practical guardrails for the powerful new AI “agents” now operating inside America’s networks. This commonsense legislation ensures that businesses and agencies have the ability to see and stop rogue agents before they cause real damage. The Representatives also highlighted several other bipartisan actions they’ve led this Congress on AI — including legislation to protect consumers, develop America’s workforce, and boost innovation. 

Watch Gottheimer and Lawler’s remarks here.

“You can’t drive a car in this country without a license plate, without insurance, without some way for a cop — or the person you just rear-ended — to know who’s behind the wheel and who’s responsible,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), Co-Chair of the House Commission on Artificial Intelligence and the Innovation Economy. “AI agents right now don’t have any of that. Our bill puts a driver’s license on every AI agent operating in this country — so organizations can find every agent on their network, verify who built it, watch it in real time, and cut off its access the second something looks wrong. That means putting humans back in the driver’s seat. It’s time for Congress to get back to work and get this done.”

“This isn’t about stopping AI or stifling innovation. It is about making sure we can safely deploy AI. A pause is not a safeguard. Some states have put a moratorium on the infrastructure that powers this technology. That does not invent a kill switch. It does not inventory the agents already on a hospital network or a utility system,” said Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17.) “If the United States taps the brakes while others floor it, we do not get safer AI. We get someone else’s AI. We are not going to regulate ourselves into second place.”

Right now, most organizations have no reliable way to know how many unauthorized AI agents are running in their systems, who built them, or what they have access to. AI agents can be activated by employees, embedded in third-party software, or deployed by vendors — often with little to no visibility for the organization whose networks they’re operating on to know that they are there. That blind spot is becoming more dangerous by the day. The recent Hugging Face incident and other autonomous cyberattacks have shown AI systems are being used to hack organizations at scale, without a person ever watching or stepping in.

Drafted and introduced by Gottheimer and Lawler, the Stop Rogue AI Act would direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop national standards, guidelines, and best practices for discovering, verifying, monitoring, and controlling AI agents. 

Other Bipartisan AI Initiatives from Gottheimer and Lawler include: 

• AI Workforce Training Act (H.R. 7576) — Helps workers upgrade their AI skills without leaving their jobs. More than 60% of small businesses now use AI — double the share from 2023 — and the challenge isn’t that AI is replacing workers, it’s that workers need help keeping up with the tools their employers are already using. The bill provides a 30% tax credit, capped at $2,500 per employee, for training in practical AI skills. The goal: help workers adapt to AI, not get replaced by it.
• Advancing American Quantum Leadership Act of 2026 (H.R. 9585) — Expands the definition of “quantum” under the Export-Import Bank’s China and Transformational Exports Program, broadening “quantum computing” to “quantum information science and technology.”
• No Rigged Grocery Prices Act (H.R. 8895) — Bans grocery stores and delivery apps from using AI-driven personal data to charge different customers different prices for the exact same item.

The two members have also pressed the administration and industry on AI accountability — urging the Federal Trade Commission to protect anti-discrimination measures for AI systems; calling on the CEOs of leading AI companies to ensure voters get accurate, unbiased information ahead of the 2026 midterms; and urging DHS, DOJ, CISA, and the FEC to coordinate against AI-related threats to the 2026 elections.

Below: Gottheimer and Lawler discuss their AI legislation.

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