Blackburn says AI deal with Cruz is off

The Hill

01-07-2025

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said Monday that a deal to update language of a provision in President Trump's tax package seeking to bar states from regulating artificial intelligence (AI) is off.
Just one day earlier, Blackburn announced she had reached an agreement with Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on new text that would bar states from regulating AI for five years and featured exemptions for laws on child online safety and publicity rights.
However, she pulled support for the updated provision Monday evening.
'While I appreciate Chairman Cruz's efforts to find acceptable language that allows states to protect their citizens from the abuses of AI, the current language is not acceptable to those who need these protections the most,' Blackburn said in a statement.
'This provision could allow Big Tech to continue to exploit kids, creators, and conservatives,' she continued. 'Until Congress passes federally preemptive legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act and an online privacy framework, we can't block states from making laws that protect their citizens.'
Blackburn has been a key proponent of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which she reintroduced last month alongside Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Senate leadership.
'For as long as I've been in Congress, I've worked alongside federal and state legislators, parents seeking to protect their kids online, and the creative community in Tennessee to fight back against Big Tech's exploitation by passing legislation to govern the virtual space,' she added.
The Tennessee Republican now plans to co-sponsor Sen. Maria Cantwell's (D-Wash.) amendment to strip the AI provision from the reconciliation bill, in addition to filing her own amendment, according to Cantwell's office.
Cantwell, in turn, also plans to co-sponsor Blackburn's amendment, alongside Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.).
Earlier in the day, she had slammed the deal between Blackburn and Cruz, arguing it did 'nothing to protect kids or consumers.'
'It's just another giveaway to tech companies,' Cantwell, who serves as the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, said in a statement. 'This provision gives AI and social media a brand-new shield against litigation and state regulation. This is Section 230 on steroids.'
'And when [Commerce Secretary] Howard Lutnick has the authority to force states to take this deal or lose all of their BEAD funding, consumers will find out just how catastrophic this deal is,' she added.
The provision is tied to $500 million in AI infrastructure and deployment funding under the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. Under the updated language, if states want access to the funds, they cannot regulate AI for five years. The measure previously sought to bar state regulation for a 10-year period.
Blackburn's last-minute shift on the provision comes at a key moment, as the Senate has been voting for hours on amendments to Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' which Republicans are hoping to get across the finish line before the July 4 holiday.