Exclusive: Inside Sen. Mark Warner's AI plan
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Warner on July 15. Photo: Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) on Tuesday will introduce a comprehensive AI legislative framework, seen first by Axios, as the technology takes center stage in his reelection campaign.
Why it matters: Warner's home state of Virginia is at the heart of AI debates over data centers and jobs, and he has made AI a defining issue of his midterm race.
- As vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he has become a leading voice in AI national security and consumer protection issues.
Driving the news: Warner is introducing legislation that would require mandatory government testing of the nation's most advanced AI models.
- The Secure AI Development Act would establish a testing framework for frontier AI models before deployment and create a voluntary AI safety incident reporting system.
- "One lesson I've learned over years of overseeing the Intelligence Community is that our greatest national security failures often come when we recognize a threat but fail to act until after a crisis," Warner will say in a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday, according to his prepared remarks.
The broader legislative package also includes bills that would:
- Require large data centers to disclose energy and water use, while tying certain federal tax benefits to sustainability standards.
- Create rules for consumer-facing AI agents and ban federal agencies from buying AI systems that can generate child sexual abuse material.
- Require financial regulators to address risks from AI-generated content that could disrupt markets.
- Establish a workforce transition fund financed by limiting certain AI data center tax breaks.
The big picture: As Democrats grapple with AI policy, Warner has distanced himself from progressive positions and rejected ideas on data center moratoriums.
- Virginia is the country's most established ecosystem of data centers with a long-running tax exemption, though lawmakers are considering repealing tax breaks as political pressure for a moratorium is mounting.
What they're saying: "I share the concern of many Americans that the impacts of this technology on our country and our culture could be catastrophic," Warner will say in his floor speech.
- "But let's be honest with ourselves … we're not putting this genie back in the bottle. And the amount of disruption this technology will bring over the next five years is, frankly, beyond jaw-dropping."
