Congress has not fully abdicated its national lawmaking authority on artificial intelligence regulation—at least not yet. In a recent op-ed in The Hill, Representative Vince Fong (R-CA) introduced his new bill into the public spotlight: the AMERICA DRIVES Act. The bill enhances both consumer welfare and technological progress by removing barriers to autonomous trucking. It’s also evidence that federal policymakers are moving in the right direction on AI regulation: an approach that promotes freedom over strict rules.
To be clear, autonomous trucking policy is AI policy. Trucks without the need for human operators would not be possible without advances in machine learning and complex decision-making—characteristics of AI tech that are often included in many legal AI definitions. Today, companies are testing self-driving trucks to automate supply lines on our nation’s highways. If successful, deployment could mean a huge boon to efficiency and highway safety since robots do not get drowsy and can drive as long as there is fuel in the tank.
Unfortunately, in the race to regulate, many states have introduced laws restricting autonomous trucking, effectively stopping future shipments at the border. California would ban them outright, while other states like Delaware, Nevada, and New York would only permit them if a human were in the vehicle. If misguided proposals like these became law, that would increase wait times and costs for consumers, as businesses would need to learn to navigate their shipping lines through a muddle of state-level laws, or just leave some states out entirely.
The AMERICA DRIVES Act only carries three main provisions. It begins by explicitly preempting the state-level laws that require a human occupant in any commercial autonomous vehicle—from robo-taxis to shipping trucks—fully capable of driving, steering, navigating, and crash avoidance without human input, as defined by international standards. From there, it directs the Secretary of Transportation to examine current motor vehicle regulations to enable safe integration for autonomous trucks that meet international self-driving safety standards. Finally, it modernizes safety protocols for all trucks, autonomous or otherwise, to allow cab-mounted warning beacons to pass as a lawful warning device for pulled-over trucks. With just a few paragraphs, it reduces barriers for safe and efficient transportation and eases regulations on today’s human drivers—driving massive gains to drivers and consumers of the products they deliver.
The bill preempts a state-level patchwork, is tailored to a specific issue, and simplifies safety standards for human workers. But while the bill could be a neat feather in the cap of a California Representative, it signals something much more noteworthy happening in Washington, D.C.
Congress is taking another proactive, calculated step toward a national AI framework. Instead of rushing to pass sweeping regulations like some states, its regulatory offerings have been far more measured. When AI introduced obvious harm for minors and victims of non-consensual sexual imagery, they passed the TAKE IT DOWN Act. Building on that momentum, lawmakers are proposing pragmatic solutions to other well-defined problems, including whistleblower protections for AI workers and now clearing regulatory hurdles for capable commercial autonomous vehicles.
These are examples of limited, issue-specific actions that balance consumer protection and technological advancement by focusing on targeted solutions to specific concerns. Congress is (slowly) avoiding the pitfalls of overregulation as states throw caution to the wind.
The explosion of more than 1,000 AI-related bills introduced in 2025 was largely prompted by perceived Congressional inaction, and critics of the AI moratorium opposed it on the grounds that Congress had no replacement. But these justifications begin to unravel as a federal strategy emerges. In their haste to regulate away all the hypothetical risks AI could introduce, states fail to recognize the prudence in Congress’s apparent delay.
If states continue to rush legislation before Congress, future federal bills will need to include preemption clauses. Until that preemption passes, consumers miss out on many of the benefits AI could otherwise bring. Such policymaking is inefficient as it wastes state-level time and effort, and delays innovation and future benefits to consumers. All the more reason to press pause on that kind of state-level policymaking with an AI moratorium as Congress continues to craft focused solutions for specific problems.
The AMERICA DRIVES Act shows that Congress has not given up on AI governance: they are simply favoring effective policymaking over burdensome regulatory regimes. So, states, pump the brakes. Congress, keep on trucking.
Nate Karren is a policy analyst with the American Consumer Institute, a nonprofit education and research organization. For more information about the Institute, follow us on X @ConsumerPal.