The United States Congressman Darin LaHood (Darin LaHood, Republican from Illinois) introduced the “Advanced AI Security Readiness Act” on Thursday (June 12), which requires the National Security Agency (NSA) to develop an “AI Security Handbook” to counter technological penetrations and cyber threats from foreign hostile forces such as the Chinese Communist Party.
The bipartisan bill was co-sponsored by House China Task Force Chairman John Moolenaar (John Moolenaar, Republican from Michigan), Chief Democratic member Raja Krishnamoorthi (Raja Krishnamoorthi, Democrat from Illinois), and Congressman Josh Gottheimer (Josh Gottheimer, Democrat from New Jersey).
In an interview with Fox News Digital, LaHood stated, “Our starting point is that China (CCP) has a plan to replace the United States. I’m not saying this to scare the public or my constituents, but the fact is, they do have such a plan and they are advancing it every day. This includes data theft and infiltration of our systems. Artificial intelligence is their next focus area. We are leading globally in technology, and we are also leading globally in AI. The purpose of this bill is to ensure that we are doing things correctly, protect our assets, and advance our existing technology development domestically.”
He pointed out the committee found evidence that China’s DeepSeek uses illegal “distillation technology” to steal critical information from American AI models to accelerate their own technological development. He also mentioned that the CCP is suspected of smuggling AI chips through intermediaries in Singapore to circumvent US export controls on related technologies.
“When we think about ‘how do we win in this strategic competition?’ I believe most experts would say that currently we are ahead of China in the field of artificial intelligence, but the lead is not significant, it is a very faint lead,” he said.
He believes the bill will put the United States in the best position to “protect our assets and ensure that we do not export things in the field of AI, allowing them (CCP) to win in the AI competition.”
He continued, “Whoever wins this competition will have a crucial impact on future military capabilities and of course on cyber security. And the winner of the AI competition will also have powerful and lasting economic influence in the future. Therefore, we take a proactive approach in this bill, targeting areas that need strengthening protection, from a commercial to a governmental level, to comprehensively protect our AI technology and businesses in the United States, putting us in the most advantageous position.”
He added that the focus of the bill is to add a “protective shield” to American AI technology and “restrict foreign investment in China.”
“If everything is fair competition, if we all adhere to the same rules, standards, and ethical guidelines, I have no doubt that America will win this (AI) competition. But China (CCP) tends to, and has always acted according to a different set of rules and standards. They cheat, they steal, they take away our intellectual property. This is not just my opinion, these facts have been revealed on many different occasions. This is why we need such a bill.”
The proposal of this bill comes at a time when the Trump administration is vigorously promoting the strengthening of American AI infrastructure. Several major tech companies such as Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, OpenAI, Oracle, have heavily invested in building AI-dedicated data centers and strengthening cloud computing capabilities in the United States. Last week, Amazon announced a $20 billion investment in building an AI data center in Pennsylvania, and previously, the company invested $10 billion in North Carolina.