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February 10, 2025

This week decoded

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is seeking public input into what priorities should be included in the Trump Administration’s AI Action Plan. Meanwhile, the EPA announced it will do its part to make the U.S. the AI capital of the world.

As usual, artificial intelligence and emerging technology policy were raised across multiple jurisdictions this week, from energy pipelines to cyber workforce pipelines. It is fitting that the theme for this year’s Congressional Art Competition is “Visions of Tomorrow – AI and Humanity in Harmony.”

Read more below

Congress

Hearings

Last week
- On February 5, the House Science, Space and Technology Committee held a hearing on the State of U.S. Science and Technology: Ensuring U.S. Global Leadership.
- On February 5, the House Homeland Security Committee held a hearing on Preparing the Pipeline: Examining the State of America’s Cyber Workforce.
- On February 5, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy held a hearing on Ensuring American Energy Dominance.
This week
- On February 12, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade will hold a hearing on AI in Manufacturing: Securing American Leadership in Manufacturing and the Next Generation of Technologies.
Upcoming
- On February 26, the House Small Business Committee will hold a hearing on Fostering American Innovation: Insights into SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) and STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) Programs.

Legislation

Reps. Darin LaHood (R-IL) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) introduced the No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act to ban the use and download of DeepSeek from government devices. (Press release)

Reps. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) and Eric Sorensen (D-IL) introduced the Quashing Unwanted and Interruptive Electronic Telecommunications (QUIET) Act to require robocallers to disclose the use of AI and increase penalties for anyone who uses AI to impersonate individuals or entities with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or obtain anything of value. (Text)

Reps. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) and Lou Correa (D-CA) introduced the Emerging Innovative Border Technologies Act to require the Department of Homeland Security to present a comprehensive plan to Congress aimed at identifying, integrating, and deploying cutting-edge technologies to enhance border security operations. (Press release)

Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) introduced the China Technology Transfer Control Act to impose additional export controls on sensitive U.S. technology and intellectual property. (Text)(Press release)

Correspondence

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) led 14 Democratic Senators on a letter to Acting Secretary of the Department of Education Denise Carter requesting information about reports that “DOGE staffers have gained access to federal student loan data, which includes personal information for millions of borrowers” and that DOGE “fed sensitive data from across the Education Department into artificial intelligence software to probe the agency’s programs and spending.” (Letter)

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Nominee-Designate Howard Lutnick urging Commerce strengthen export controls by strengthening the AI Diffusion Rule, restricting H20 and equivalent chips, implementing Know Your Customer rules for U.S. companies selling chips, and adding Changxin Memory Technology (CXMT) to the Entity List. (Letter)

The Rhode Island delegation, Democratic Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Reps. Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo, sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem urging her to not reduce the size and scope of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency the agency. (Press release)

Caucuses

Reps. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN) and Marc Veasey (D-TX) launched the American Energy Dominance Caucus to “raise awareness of all forms of American-made energy and bring together Members of Congress, the private sector and public sector, and energy producers to promote the growth of domestic energy production and increase American energy independence and security.” (Press release)

Trump – Vance Administration

White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and National Science Foundation (NSF)

OSTP and the NSF released a Request for Information on the Development of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan, seeking public input on priority actions that should be included in the plan. Comments are due March 15. (Federal Register)

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the EPA’s Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative that outlines the agency’s priorities with five pillars intended to guide the EPA’s work over the first 100 days, including “Pillar 4: Make the United States the Artificial Intelligence Capital of the World.” (Initiative)

Noteworthy Quotes and Events

ADMINISTRATION

White House

On the release of the RFI on the AI Action Plan, Lynne Parker, principal deputy director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, said, “The Trump Administration is committed to ensuring the United States is the undeniable leader in AI technology. This AI Action Plan is the first step in securing and advancing American AI dominance, and we look forward to incorporating the public’s comments and innovative ideas.” (FedScoop)

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Regarding Pillar 4 of the EPA initiative to Make the United States the Artificial Intelligence Capital of the World, Administrator Lee Zeldin said, “As we rapidly advance into this new age of AI, it is important that the United States lead the world in this field. Those looking to invest in and develop AI should be able to do so in the U.S., while we work to ensure data centers and related facilities can be powered and operated in a clean manner with American-made energy. Under President Trump’s leadership, I have no doubt that we will become the AI capital of the world.” (Press release)

Federal Reserve

In remarks on Entrepreneurship and Aggregate Productivity at the 2025 Miami Economic Forum, Fed Governor Adriana Kugler said, “The tightness of the labor market since 2021 has also likely led firms to invest to a greater extent in labor-saving as well as labor-enhancing technologies, which, of course, is traditionally one of the major sources of productivity gains…To the extent that these factors are boosting productivity growth, they are by their nature one-off developments that eventually will fade. A notable exception may turn out to be productivity improvements from investments in artificial intelligence (AI). AI investment by businesses has stepped up in the past two years, and it appears to be accelerating. The advent of the internet and related innovations boosted productivity growth for about 10 years starting in the mid-1990s, and the benefits of AI could potentially be that revolutionary and persistent.” (Remarks)

Department of Energy

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will host a technical conference on July 8 – 10 to discuss increasing real-time and day-ahead market and planning efficiency through improved software, including “software for implementing advanced computing methods such as artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning into existing or novel applications for improving real-time and day-ahead market and planning efficiency.” (Federal Register)

CONGRESS

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) delivered a floor speech in which she said, “So why aren’t we focusing on that economic opportunity? A lot of people say, well, that’s not the America of today, but I’m pretty sure Ben Franklin, about the time he was focusing on electricity, also went to France and helped to build a coalition essential for the founding and continuation of our country. So don’t tell me it’s not in our DNA to do this. There is so much more we could and should do working with our allies. Obviously, I mentioned a few — research and development in artificial intelligence, commercializing quantum, scaling, safe, affordable fusion technology. And there are many members of Congress who were working on these bipartisan ideas. But we have to remain competitive, and we cannot allow this debate about tariffs to take us off our historical course as a nation.” (Transcript)

On the creation of the American Energy Dominance Caucus, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN) said, “I am excited to announce the creation of the new American Energy Dominance Caucus that I will Co-Chair alongside Rep. Marc Veasey. Increasing the production of all forms of American-made energy, especially new nuclear energy, should never be a partisan issue. With the growth in AI, cryptocurrency, and new industries, America is rapidly facing a shortage of energy necessary to power our economy and the everyday lives of Americans. Recent nonpartisan studies have estimated that electricity demand is projected to increase by 13-15 percent annually through 2030, leaving the United States with a shortage of power needed to keep our country moving forward.” (Press release)

In the Senate Banking Committee hearing on Investigating the Real Impacts of Debanking in America, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said, “Rather than investing the time and resources to identify true criminal risks and shutting down those accounts, big banks are relying on blackbox algorithms and middlemen companies and shutting down accounts.”

Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) tweeted, “In recent weeks there has been an astonishing acceleration in the capability of leading AI models. As a society, we are not remotely prepared for the implications.”

Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) tweeted, “This is one of the major problems with relying on AI from China—you get a CCP-approved version of the ‘truth.’”

Green also tweeted, “As threats to our critical infrastructure and civilian networks from Beijing, Tehran, and Moscow grow and AI lowers the barrier to entry for attacks, our worsening cyber workforce gap has created a dangerous homeland security threat.”

Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) tweeted, “NEW BILL ALERT I am co-leading HR 1027, the QUIET Act, to crack down on the use of AI during scam robocalls and increase penalties for anyone who tries to defraud Arizonans out of their hard-earned money. I will always fight to support the seniors of AZ06.”

Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) tweeted, “Alabama is leading in AI innovation. FICO_Corp’s partnership with aamuedu is equipping our students with cutting-edge skills to combat financial fraud through data science. This collaboration showcases Alabama’s commitment to preparing tomorrow’s tech workforce.”

About Zero One Strategies

Zero One Strategies is a boutique government relations practice dedicated to navigating the complex landscape of U.S. federal policy in emerging technologies. As advancements in technology continue to outpace regulatory frameworks, Zero One Strategies aims to provide strategic guidance and bipartisan advocacy for innovators and businesses operating at the forefront of technological development.

The practice focuses on key areas such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, decentralized technologies, cybersecurity, data, and digital infrastructure, as well as the multiple policy issues impacting these sectors, including tax and financial services.

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