1. United States
2. Iowa
3. Letter

The proposed decade-long ban on state and local AI regulation is deeply concerning and risks leaving citizens unprotected from potential harms posed by artificial intelligence systems. AI technologies are powerful and can perpetuate biases, enable surveillance overreach, and even physical risks if not properly governed. States should maintain the ability to enact reasonable safeguards and oversight tailored to their local needs. Preempting all state AI laws for 10 years would override existing measures protecting citizens, such as California's disclosure requirements for AI use in healthcare and New York's rules around algorithmic bias in hiring tools. It would also block upcoming laws like California's mandate for public documentation of training data, a key transparency measure. Unchecked, unregulated AI proliferation raises serious risks around privacy, fairness, safety and accountability that states must have the ability to address. While federal AI governance is valuable, a one-size-fits-all national approach neglects the diversity of state priorities and contexts. State and local governments should maintain authority to enact AI policies that reflect local values and needs. Overly broad preemption undermines that flexibility and democratic process. I urge you to remove this anti-regulation rider from the budget reconciliation package and instead pursue a balanced federal AI framework that preserves state autonomy in this crucial emerging domain.