House AI draft puts a 3-year freeze on state model rules at the center

The next U.S. AI policy fight is no longer just inside the White House. Axios reported at 17:29:48 UTC on June 4, 2026, that Reps. Jay Obernolte and Lori Trahan released a discussion draft of the Great American Artificial Intelligence Act. The two numbers that matter are 269 pages and three years: the draft sketches a broad federal AI framework while preempting state laws targeting AI model development for a three-year period.

The framework is built around four policy blocks: frontier AI model governance, data collection on workforce impacts, stronger cybersecurity posture, and expanded AI research and development. FedScoop reported that the draft would authorize $100 million per fiscal year for the Center for AI Standards and Innovation. It also touches government AI accountability, whistleblower protections, higher penalties for AI-enabled fraud, AI literacy, education, and research funding.

The provision drawing the most heat is federal preemption. Reuters reported that the draft would prohibit states from passing laws targeting AI model development, while not necessarily blocking state rules about how AI technology is used. That distinction matters because states have become the active venue for AI governance while Congress has moved slowly. Colorado’s AI Act and other state efforts are the backdrop: a national bill could turn a fragmented rulebook into one federal lane, but it could also pause state experiments before federal rules are tested.

Industry and civil-society reactions show the fault line. The Information Technology Industry Council welcomed pieces such as codifying the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource, supporting international standards work, extending the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015, and funding data-center efficiency research. Public Knowledge opposed the draft’s broad preemption scope, arguing that it would weaken state lawmakers’ ability to respond to AI harms.

The timing gives the draft extra weight. It arrived two days after a White House executive order directed agencies to build a voluntary pathway for federal access to covered frontier models for up to 30 days before release to trusted partners. The House draft tries to move from agency process to statute, but it is still a discussion draft rather than an introduced bill. Watch whether sponsors narrow preemption, preserve CAISI funding, and keep bipartisan support once state attorneys general, labor groups, AI labs, and consumer advocates start marking up the details.