Fragmented AI Laws Will Slow Federal IT Modernization in the US
As Congress weighs a 10-year moratorium on state and local AI laws, concerns are mounting that fragmented regulations could stall federal IT modernization and hinder U.S. leadership in AI. Without a unified national framework, conflicting state rules risk driving up compliance costs, limiting innovation, and undermining agencies’ ability to adopt the best commercial AI tools available.
As Daniel Castro writes in Tech Policy Press, the federal government depends on commercial off-the-shelf technologies to modernize systems across agencies—from the Department of Veterans Affairs to the Department of Homeland Security. But inconsistent state AI laws distort the market, reduce scale, and threaten the quality and availability of AI tools. Including a moratorium in the budget reconciliation package would give Congress time to set clear national guardrails while advancing $500 million in federal IT investments. Without it, the U.S. risks falling behind in innovation, service delivery, and national security.
