GOP lawmakers seek industry input on crafting US-first AI regulatory regime 

As President Donald Trump works to develop a new national artificial intelligence action plan, Republican lawmakers are signaling the importance of differentiating between public-facing AI tools and those designed to advance the U.S. economy. 

During a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade hearing on Wednesday, multiple GOP members said that the Trump administration needs to embrace a regulatory framework that encourages the use of AI and other innovative technologies across the domestic manufacturing industry so that the U.S. can maintain its competitive edge over China and other rival nations. 

While AI tools from companies like OpenAI and Chinese startup DeepSeek have drawn significant attention for their advanced capabilities, these publicly available technologies operate differently than many of those utilized by the private sector manufacturers. Industry representatives at the hearing said that manufacturing-focused AI tools fulfill specific needs and use controlled, often proprietary data to bolster workforce-related tasks and remove productivity barriers. 

Republican lawmakers said those differences in AI use need to be considered as future policies are enacted. 

“Generative AI is only a specific use case of this technology, and AI’s applications are much broader than what has claimed the spotlight recently,” Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla. — who chairs the panel — noted at the beginning of the hearing, adding that U.S. leadership “will be contingent on our ability to promote emerging technologies and establishing a pathway to unleash them throughout American manufacturing.”

Former President Joe Biden released an executive order in October 2023 focused on the safe, secure and responsible use of AI, although Trump rescinded that directive on his first day back in office. In its place, the president signed a new order that called for the creation of an AI action plan within 180 days of its release that would “sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance.”

The White House subsequently released a request for public input earlier this month to help guide the creation of the new plan. 

Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., who co-chaired the House AI Task Force last year, asked the hearing’s witnesses about the steps that Congress and the administration can take to help enhance the use of AI in the manufacturing sector. 

Jason Oxman, president and CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council, told him that encouraging public and private partnerships” is “where we really need to be focused.”

In response to a separate question from Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., Oxman also said his organization is pleased that Trump is seeking input from industry partners to ensure continued U.S. leadership when it comes to the use and development of AI capabilities. 

“Our hope is the president advances a public-private partnership that focuses on industry, voluntary standards and not taking an overly regulatory approach — as some other jurisdictions, like Europe, have done — that has hindered their leadership on AI,” he added.

Beyond discussions about creating a regulatory framework that allows industry to leverage AI capabilities, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle also said that ensuring the current manufacturing workforce has the training necessary to use emerging capabilities is a major consideration.

Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., who chairs the full House panel, said that “AI gives us the opportunity to be more productive,” but also noted that “we have to improve the fundamental skills of the people that work in manufacturing so they can take advantage of AI to become more productive.”

Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., the subcommittee’s ranking member, also raised questions about broader industry adoption of AI tools, particularly when it comes to how the rollout of these technologies would impact workers.

“What I am concerned about is that ordinary workers are also going to be considered when we talk about AI, and that they are not going to be because there's going to be a lot more manufacturing that is done with AI,” she said.