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Senate AI working group abandons comprehensive bill, will pursue four narrow measures

After fourteen months of negotiation, lawmakers conceded that no single piece of legislation could pass the upper chamber.

Saturday, May 16, 2026 · 3 min

The Senate's bipartisan AI working group has abandoned the comprehensive AI bill it had been drafting and will instead pursue four narrow measures, three Senate aides briefed on the decision said Friday.

The four measures cover federal procurement standards, model-evaluation safe harbours, civil-liability clarification for downstream deployers, and an explicit statutory mandate for the AI Safety Institute.

Each is intended to be passable on its own and to clear the chamber before the August recess. The new approach mirrors the European staged compromise that produced the Act in 2024.

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