White House Gives Congress the Right Blueprint for AI Policy, Says Center for Data Innovation

WASHINGTON—In response to the White House’s release of its National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence, a set of legislative recommendations, the Center for Data Innovation issued the following statement from Director Daniel Castro:

The White House has laid out exactly the kind of AI agenda Congress should have been pursuing all along: one that addresses legitimate public concerns without smothering innovation. This framework recognizes that the United States will not lead in AI by regulating from a place of fear, but by removing barriers to deployment, supporting adoption across the economy, and targeting policy to real harms.

Instead of blunt tools like sweeping age verification requirements, the administration rightly emphasizes empowering parents with meaningful controls. It recognizes the real harms—such as AI-enabled fraud—and calls for giving law enforcement the tools they need to respond.

The recommendations avoid some of the worst instincts in today’s AI debate. Rather than defaulting to alarmism about mass technological unemployment, they focus on helping workers adapt through education, training, and workforce support. They also take a measured approach to copyright by recognizing the importance of allowing courts to resolve fair use questions, rather than rushing into rules that would undermine lawful AI training and weaken U.S. competitiveness.

Most importantly, the framework makes a clear case for federal preemption of burdensome state AI laws. The United States cannot remain competitive if developers, businesses, and users face fifty different legal regimes governing a general-purpose technology. A fragmented approach would slow deployment, raise compliance costs, and make it harder for American firms to scale. Congress should take this recommendation seriously and establish a light-touch national framework that preserves room for states to enforce generally applicable laws while preventing a patchwork of conflicting AI rules.

This is a serious, pragmatic, and pro-innovation blueprint for AI governance that addresses genuine concerns, while keeping the focus where it belongs: enabling the broad deployment of AI across the American economy. That is an agenda worthy of bipartisan support.

Contact: Nicole Hinojosa, [email protected]