Bill to curb chip sales to China advances out of committee
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The House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday voted to advance the AI Overwatch Act, which would give Congress the power to block the Trump administration from exporting AI chips to adversaries.
Why it matters: The legislation has riled up the MAGA base, which views it as undermining President Trump's authority.
Driving the news: The committee on Wednesday voted 42-2, with one voting present, to advance Chair Brian Mast's (R-Fla.) bill.
- Reps. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) and Andy Barr (R-Ky.) voted no, with Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) voting present.
- The bill now includes a two-year ban on Nvidia Blackwell chip sales to China as part of a bipartisan agreement.
- The legislation would also allow the White House to add more countries, a change that Mast said was done with the technical assistance of the administration.
Behind the scenes: Ahead of the vote, tech advocacy group Americans for Responsible Innovation circulated a fact sheet to Republicans on the committee countering arguments against the bill.
- The fact sheet notes China's admission that it can't beat the U.S. in AI without better chips. It also states that the legislation would bolster Trump's AI action plan by expediting U.S. exports to allies.
The other side: Some argue that the chips the U.S. will permit China to buy aren't the most advanced and that allowing exports keeps Beijing dependent on American tech.
Context: Mast introduced the bipartisan AI Overwatch Act in December and is pitching it as a way for the White House to ensure that chip sales take national security conditions into consideration.
- White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks has pushed back on the bill, along with MAGA figures like Laura Loomer.
What they're saying: Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) said at the markup that "influencers at the behest of foreign governments and corporate lobbyists have spread immense amounts of lies and half-truths" about the legislation in recent days to try to scuttle it.
- "Some have tried to call it somehow 'pro China,' when the opposite is clear. Somehow people have called it 'anti Trump' when the reality is it implements the offensive plan President Trump has laid out for American companies to lead the way," he said.
- "I believe that we all agree that we are in an AI arms race, so why wouldn't we want to know what the AI arms dealers want to sell to our adversaries?" Mast said.
What we're watching: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has not taken a position on the bill, and he's key to whether the AI Overwatch Act gets a vote in the full chamber.
