• Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO): “In terms of recognizing the immense power of these very large companies and what we’ve seen with the social platforms, and in many cases, the lack of any ability of government to curtail some of the things we recognize or I mean, some of the deep fake pornography. That’s one example that comes up. How do you think we should be looking at AI? And that same within that same context of being able to get the market to have some balance?”
  • Mark Meador: “Yes, that’s an incredibly important topic that I think is only going to increase in prominence in the coming years. I think the first step is to view it through the lens of our existing enforcement authorities. So the FTC has the ability to police unfair and deceptive practices. And we know that AI is already being used to turbocharge many of those acts. And so it will be incumbent upon the FTC to keep a close eye on that activity, to make sure we’re not letting anything slip through the cracks. And should we become aware of something that we’re not able to address with existing authorities to consult with you and other members of the Committee to make sure that that’s resolved.”

• Sen. Todd Young (R-IN): “You played a key role in AI policy in the first Trump administration, I would expect and in this different capacity will continue to play an important role. You played a very important role in the February 2019 Executive Order on maintaining American leadership in AI. If confirmed, do you plan to build on this work? And if so, in what way?”
  • Michael Kratsios: “Absolutely. I think that was the first executive order ever signed by a president on artificial intelligence, now signed by President Trump in February of 2019. I think the the core crux of that executive order is the necessity for a whole of government approach to achieving sustained American leadership in AI, we have to lead the world in artificial intelligence R&D, we have to lead the world in creating a regulatory environment that allows our artificial intelligence companies to grow and succeed in the US with a create an environment where our workforce can actually thrive and take advantage of this new technology. And the last pillar is around your national engagement of how we can work with like-minded partners to ensure that USA AI becomes the default AI of the world versus some of our adversaries.”
• Sen. Todd Young (R-IN): “Thank you for that comprehensive answer. I you know, there’s an A welcome and I think important emphasis by certain incoming members of administration on making sure that we don’t unduly throttle innovation as it relates to AI and that we encourage deployment. Can we better leverage public private partnerships in emerging technologies more broadly, to ensure that the US remains a leader in innovation?”
  • Michael Kratsios: “Yes, I think both in the world of AI and in quantum, we’ve seen examples where AI centers, both from NSF and DOE have shown the opportunity where the private sector can come in and work with academia and government together to do the important basic R&D And then ultimately be able to translate that into use cases for the commercial sector. So I think we need to continue to look at those opportunities and do more of them.”

• Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN): “Mr. Kratsios I know that Senator Luján asked you about the quantum initiative. And getting that back in gear, I want you for the record just to talk about what you can do in this position as if confirmed to really advance quantum in Tennessee. This is something that’s important. Chattanooga and the electric powered board they are. They’re working to commercialize the first open available commercially available quantum network. So I’d love to hear that from you.”
  • Michael Kratsios: “Yeah, so OCP plays a special role in in quantum and that is the home for the National Quantum Coordination Office, and is essentially the focal point for the larger interagency on how sort of quantum policies run for the federal government. I think, for me, we have an incredible opportunity before us and in this Congress to reauthorize the national quantum initiative. I think there’s important work to be done on the way that sort of a lot of the very great and vital basic research that’s done on quantum is ultimately translated into things that can actually benefit the American people through three use cases. The other thing that I think we also need to… testbeds are a great opportunity and a place where that translation can happen. I think the closer that we can get sort of commercial operators to folks who are doing the basic R&D and actually accelerating that lab to market I think is very important. And I think a lot of the centers have been set up both at NSF and a DOE conserve that opportunity.”
• Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN): “Let me ask you about standard settings. This is something Senator Warner and I have talked a good bit about we’re concerned about China’s aggression, as whether it’s the WRC or whether it is in a number of other applications. And we’re trying to encourage us leadership in that regard. And is that on your radar? Are you watching that?”
  • Michael Kratsios: “It is yes, I think whenever I think of a comprehensive strategy for emerging technology, how the US is able to posture a globe I believe to be the ones who are the the the standard setters in the center setting processes important. In the 2019 executive order, the President called on this to drive these types of standards, setting initiatives on AI globally. And I think the same important work can and should be done in quantum and hypersonics.”

• Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO): “And I think what Europe has really messed up on AI is it’s been over regulated. And it’s they’re sort of sort of pushing a political bias, which is, I think, demolished Europe’s chances are being a leader in this, which I guess that’s good for us. But, but how do we avoid that? How do we avoid woke AI? How do we avoid black George Washington? Like what do we do to make sure that this doesn’t become the next frontier for this level of censorship with quantum chips?”
  • Mark Meador: “Yes, I hear I think the best thing the FTC can do within its remit is to fully enforce the competition laws to ensure that markets are not unduly concentrated or dominated by a single actor and that consumers have choice. Ultimately, I think we can trust that the market will work if we give it a chance. But that means we have to maintain competition so that consumers can take their business elsewhere. If they’re unhappy with the services they’ve received.”
• Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO): “Thank you. Mr. Kratsios, thank you, for your willingness to serve as well. Highly qualified. I’ve respected you for years, we’ve gotten to know each other. The President’s announced a national initiative to drive innovation, like the American AI initiative, David Sachs a great pick to be to be helping with a lot of this stuff and the National quantum initiative. How do you view your role in in making sure those programs are successful?”
  • Michael Kratsios: “Yeah, the Office of Science Technology Policy, has the has the role in the White House to coordinate these efforts across the federal government. So whether you’re driving a national strategy on artificial intelligence, or on quantum information, science, all live a wide variety of agencies that all have a very important role to play from basic research funding at National Science Foundation, to more applications work at some of our DOD, DOD labs, to some some standards related work at NIST, and where OCB plays a more critical role as being the convener and the coordinator fees efforts across the government. And that’s what we did in in the 40. In 45, with a variety of emerging tax coming up to do again, in 47.”
• Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO): “What do you think the biggest challenge is right now for the United States to be to be the leader in AI gets thrown around, you know, sort of broadly, but to be the leader in kind of innovation? And, you know, obviously, deep seek is a wake up call. I mean, there’s no way that did it for $6 million. But the fact is, I think our assumptions about how far ahead we were, had been shattered to some degree. Right. So this is a very serious race we have with China, what do you think our biggest obstacle is to continue to be the leader?”
  • Michael Kratsios: “I think our biggest obstacle is effectively pursuing a promote and protect strategy. So you can have an institute a set of export controls, for example, around high end chips, but if you’re not successfully enforcing those export controls, and not actually limiting the access of bad actors in in the PRC, from accessing those chips, that you’re not actually protecting well. And the same goes on the promote side, you can encourage the, you know, research and development and translational research and these emerging tech fields. But if you’re not effectively allocating those dollars to the biggest and hardest problems in those fields, you’re not actually moving the ball forward. So I think the strategy is there, I think you just have to effectively execute on the two sides of that coin of promote and protect.”

• Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI): “You previously worked on President Trump’s AI executive order in 2020, which, among other things, required agencies to publish AI use cases and ensure that agencies protected privacy, civil rights, as well as civil liberties? So my question for you is, do you still agree with that Trump, executive order that agencies should publish use case inventories that use their AI uses to protect privacy, civil rights as well as civil liberties?”
  • Michael Kratsios: “I do believe that the AI inventories that were started under the first Trump administration are very important, and the Biden administration continued those for both the White House and more broadly for other agencies in American people to see what these use cases are and how the government is using AI I think is very valuable. I think one tweak or something to think about with those is that AI is becoming more and more pervasive across everything that we do as Americans and everything that individual people and civil servants do across government. So I think maybe one way to a more valuable sort of list going forward, maybe some categorization of high impact use cases because it’s So you’re not inundated with, you know, the next co-pilot is being used in a browser, for example.”

• Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV): “In your role as Director of OSTP, you’ll be required to develop and lead the nation’s AI strategy. We’ve seen huge and alarming AI advancements in China with more efficient models like deep seek and investments in advanced data centers. With this innovation comes serious threats. I’m concerned about the possibility of new AI platforms like deep seek being used to exact extract sensitive data from users. Additionally, deep seek is open source, the loopholes in its code could easily be copied into other platforms. I’m the only former computer programmer in the United States Senate. This can happen pretty darn easily. And recent reports also indicated deep seek unintentionally exposed sensitive data, including chat history and publicly accessible databases. So Mr. Kratsios, how do you plan to collaborate with the private sector to ensure that our AI models have minimum security requirements that they don’t create a backdoor? Or allow public access to user data to private data? And how should Congress be thinking about this challenge with respect to the models coming out of our adversary nations?”
  • Michael Kratsios: “I think those are all excellent points. And I think it’s critical, at least for the government to be thinking very carefully on how to work with these individual model developers to think through some of these issues. I think a lot of them are very technical and scientific in nature. And the most important, or one of the most important things that the federal government can do is support the measurement science necessary in order to be able to test and evaluate these models. And an agency like NIST is a great place to refine the measurement science around model evaluation. I think the CEO of anthropic was here in the Senate just two years ago. And when he was discussing some of the challenges he’s facing was that the technological methodologies necessary to actually evaluate these models still did not exist. And this is a great opportunity for standards making agencies like NIST to do the appropriate work on how you measure these models. And then they can be tested for all the variety of things that that you discussed.”

• Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL): “As you may know, Illinois has one of the strongest biometric privacy laws in the country, the Illinois biometric Information Privacy Act, many Americans are concerned about the use of their biometric data like face and eye scans, fingerprints or voice patterns for unauthorized purposes. For example, in 2023, the FTC and DOJ charged Amazon with violating children’s privacy laws by keeping children’s voice data from electronic recordings in order to make their AI smarter. In 2023, the FTC issued a commission policy statement about the use of biometric information. Mr. Meador, do you agree with the principles of the Commission policy statement about the use of biometric information?”
  • Mark Meador: “Senator, I have not had an occasion to review that policy statement, but if confirmed, I would look forward to getting up to speed on those matters.”
• Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL): “Just on background for your information. The FTC has a 2023 Commission policy statement about the use of biometric information raised significant concerns around the misuse of biometric data, such as discrimination against protected classes, AI applications, like deep fakes, and unauthorized disclosure leaks of biometric data. So I hope you will keep that in mind.”

Miscellaneous

• Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) delivered floor remarks saying, “Thanks in substantial part to a movement to shut down fossil-fuel-fired power plants before reliable sources of clean energy are available to replace them, America is running out of power even as we face huge new power demands. The boom in data center construction – in particular to power the rise of artificial intelligence – is placing, and will place, vast new demands upon the grid. A recent CNBC headline noted, and again I quote, ‘Data centers powering artificial intelligence could use more electricity than entire cities’. And, Mr. President, if we continue on our current course, there is a very real risk that we are not going to be able to meet that demand.” (Press release)

• Regarding his meeting with IBM on quantum computing, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said, “Illinois is poised to be a global hub for quantum computing, and it’s critical that we continue to invest in R&D to keep the momentum going. I sat down today with Dr. Jay Gambetta from IBM Quantum to hear about the company’s plans to join the IQMP campus.  We also discussed ways to garner more support for my bipartisan DOE Quantum Leadership Act.  We are on the path to lead the quantum revolution, and I will continue to be a champion for the quantum technology that will advance the medical, financial, and materials industries, among countless others.” (Press release)

• Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) tweeted, “DeepSeek exposes Americans’ data to our adversary’s govt, lies to its users, and exploits American workers’ AI advances. We can’t afford to help the Chinese Communist Party weaken our national security by hosting this hostile bot on U.S. govt devices.”

• Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN) tweeted, “Today, I was honored to welcome Energy Secretary Wright to TN03 and Oak Ridge along with Senator Hagerty to showcase the groundbreaking work ORNL is doing to advance breakthroughs in AI and develop the next generation of nuclear energy that will power our great nation. Secretary Wright and I will work closely to deliver President Trump’s agenda to unleash American energy and innovation, create America’s New Golden Age, win the AI Arms Race, and make our country energy dominant again!”

• Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) tweeted, “Slashing staff at the Social Security Admin & field offices by 50% will hurt retirees. Trump Admin’s irresponsible proposal means seniors who earned their benefits can’t rely on someone picking up the phone to help. AI chat bots can’t replace in-person visits & 1-on-1 help.”

• Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) tweeted, “Demand on the Texas power grid is expected to expand so immensely that it would take the equivalent of adding 30 nuclear plants’ worth of electricity by 2030 to meet the needs. That’s according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the grid. The forecast is based on the addition of new data centers needed to power artificial intelligence. And it’s raising concerns about whether infrastructure in the state will be able to expand fast enough — and at what cost.”

• Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) tweeted, “Elon Musk wants China to win. NIST & the CHIPS & Science Act I helped write & pass provides structures & incentives for AMERICAN innovators to develop next gen semiconductors & safe AI. Gutting it will cost MI manufacturing jobs, raise costs & give China the upper hand.”

• Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) tweeted, “Elon Musk Fact-Checked by his own AI platform Grok! What an embarrassment this ‘genius’ is.”

• Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) tweeted, “Musk now has access to our federal government’s sensitive data. Here’s what no one is talking about. Musk may be using that data to train his AI model. He wants AI to replace workers, starting with government workers, and he wants to own the AI.”

• Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ) tweeted, “Even Republicans’ own AI is calling them out for cutting Medicaid. When your talking points can’t even fool the algorithm, you know it’s bad. Slashing healthcare for millions isn’t fiscally responsible—it’s reckless. EnergyCommerce are here fighting back.”

• Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA) tweeted, “Weeks ago, I raised the alarm about DOGE running classified information and American’s personal data through Microsoft AI. The news that Microsoft was infiltrated an additional time by Chinese hackers makes it clear that Elon’s carelessness is putting your information at risk.”

• Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX) tweeted, “A Strong Grid = A Strong America With AI on the rise, we must harden our grid. That means dispatchable, dependable, reliable energy.”

• Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) tweeted, “Tech Boom in Starkville! AI and machine learning leader Camgian is making big moves in Mississippi with a $2.5M expansion! This investment means more jobs, cutting-edge AI research, and enhanced high-performance computing. Happy to see the Magnolia State is making its mark in the future of technology.”

• Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS) tweeted, “Camgian Corporation, located in Starkville, is a Mississippi founded and based company that is doing incredible work in the field of AI and machine learning.”

• Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) tweeted, “Biden used tech to HERD illegal immigrants in. We’re using tech to DEPORT them OUT. Next week, we’re holding a hearing on how AI & cutting-edge tools can help ICE round up & remove criminal aliens. Time to clean house.”

• Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) tweeted, “UMass Amherst runs essential programs funded by the NIH—including the Massachusetts AI and Technology Center for Connected Care in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease. This research is essential. Republicans want to cut it. We can’t let them.”

• Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NH) tweeted, “I wrote the Strengthening Exports Against China Act with Senator Rounds to invest in American innovation. Whether it’s in AI, critical minerals, or 5G communications, I’m pushing to support American businesses and outcompete the Communist Party of China.”

• Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL) tweeted, “Apple has announced it will be moving manufacturing from Mexico to Texas in a big win for the American economy. Their $500 billion investment in the United States will bring in 20,000 jobs and bolster American superiority in AI. I applaud Apple’s investment in our country’s future, and thank President Trump for working tirelessly to ensure conditions are right for bringing jobs back to America.”

• Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) tweeted, “Pleased to see Apple announce a $500 BILLION investment in America to advance U.S. manufacturing and AI leadership. As Chair of the WaysandMeansGOP American Manufacturing Tax Team, I know that revitalizing U.S. manufacturing will write the next chapter of American innovation.”

• Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA) tweeted, “Apple’s $500 billion investment and 20,000 new jobs in research and development, AI, and manufacturing is a win for American workers and our country’s future. This is exactly what President realDonaldTrump has been fighting for—bringing jobs and innovation back home.”

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