Wrap Up: America Can—And Will—Become a Global Leader in the Field of Artificial Intelligence

WASHINGTON—Today, the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs held a hearing on “America’s AI Moonshot: The Economics of AI, Data Centers, and Power Consumption.” During the hearing, expert witnesses discussed ways to effectively and responsibly harness artificial intelligence (AI) to bolster the United States’ economic competitiveness, national security, and technological leadership for generations to come. Members stressed that the Trump Administration recognizes that AI is one of the most transformative technologies of our time and Congress has a responsibility to identify legislative opportunities and encourage strategic partnerships with the private sector to ensure the United States remains the leader in AI development and innovation.

Key Takeaways:

Working with the U.S. private sector to strengthen and secure America’s lead in AI is key to maintaining national security and fostering economic prosperity for all Americans.

• President Trump signed Executive Order 14179 that embraces AI innovation in the United States and aims to reduce barriers in the AI field to ensure America’s dominance on the international stage.

• Neil Chilson, Head of AI Policy, Abundance Institute: “The U.S. private sector leads the world in innovation, investment, and deployment of AI technologies. But realizing this technology’s immense opportunity requires the government to tackle some important challenges… AI is transforming jobs and powering the creation of new products, services, and entire industries. The result is a more dynamic, competitive economy–one where American companies lead in cutting-edge fields and generate high-quality jobs for the future.”

•  Josh Levi, President, Data Center Coalition: “To meet AI demand, the U.S. will require a diverse set of energy resources and technologies to maintain its edge amidst intensifying global AI competition with far reaching implications for national security and sustained economic prosperity. And the data center industry is playing its part by accelerating commercialization of new technologies like advanced nuclear, enhanced geothermal, and carbon capture and investing in the expansion of existing generation resources.”

Prioritizing American energy production is critical to unleashing the full potential of AI.

• Mark Mills, Executive Director of the National Center for Energy Analytics: “Will there be enough power to fuel the velocity of the cloud’s expansion to stay at the forefront of this revolution? Reality, and arithmetic, show that the needed power won’t come from squeezing more out of existing assets, or stopping coal plant retirements, or utility-scale wind and solar, nor from building new nuclear plants. All that will help, but it won’t be enough, soon enough. Most of the new power will come from natural gas combustion turbines and engines. Those can be and are being built rapidly. That implies the need for a lot more natural gas too. Ensuring we achieve lift-off for an AI productivity boom will come from private capital being rapidly deployed to build the needed fuel systems for digital infrastructures.”

Congress can assist the Trump Administration’s bold ambition to unlock next-generation AI capabilities and ensure the nation’s leadership in the field on the global stage.

•  Subcommittee Chairman Eric Burlison (R-Mo.): “President Trump has made his intentions clear: America can—and will—become a global leader in the field of artificial intelligence. The nation that unlocks the future generations of AI first will experience transformational economic value and unleash a new wave of human potential. Our country has the skills, expertise, and capital necessary to bring this vision to life, but what we needed most was a president who sees the importance of this innovation for future economic prosperity.”

Member Highlights: 

Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) discussed how the development of AI—with the support of U.S. data centers and the energy sector—is crucial to maintaining economic competitiveness, fostering innovation, and ensuring a safer, smarter world.

Chairman Burlison: “Do we know what is holding us back from reaching our full potential? We know there are many challenges for this AI moonshot.

Mr. Chilson: “There is this belief that private industry is going to drive this ahead, but it’s Congress’s job to also build the right launchpad. So, clearing the launchpad is the first thing, and I think especially in the energy space of permitting processes that slow down the ability to deploy and build new energy sources to power AI.”

Chairman Burlison: “There’s also been a lot of fear. A concern and worry about AI and how our economy is going to pivot and grow with the tremendous opportunities that that we will receive from AI. Why do you think Americans should be more excited about the prospects and the job opportunities that AI might bring than be fearful?”

Mr. Chilson: “Well, why is artificial intelligence important? It’s because intelligence is important and the ability to deploy new powerful opportunities. We will see so many improvements in healthcare, for instance.” 

Representative Gary Palmer (R-Ala.) stressed that unleashing energy production in the United States, including nuclear power, is critical to harnessing the full potential of AI.

Rep. Palmer: “We’re talking about AI here. We have to meet these demands for increased power. And one of the things that I’m suggesting this morning is there’s over 100 coal-fired power plants and natural gas plants that have been shut in the United States. If we started today trying to build new power generation facilities, we don’t have the manufacturing capacity to produce the turbines that we need to generate and meet that new demand. Many of these facilities and transmission lines are already in place. Would it be something to see China powering up their coal plants, but we are harnessing nuclear which is more efficient and have no emissions that power our AI. We have the infrastructure already in place. I honestly believe this is something that needs to be a top priority for the Trump Administration and for this Congress.”

Mr. Mills: “The economy and our national security need to come first. Count me in as an enthusiastic supporter of this.”

Representative Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) emphasized that the Biden Administration’s anti-American energy policies hindered the development and rise of AI in the United States.

Rep. Boebert: “It is reported that data centers will need an entire state’s worth of power production to run AI. This is so crucial with AI’s rise, I think it’s imperative that we have that reliable source of energy and stop demonizing fossil fuels. Do you believe that the energy policies that we’ve seen in recent years have actually kind of slowed down the progress in AI’s development? 

Mr. Mills: “To a significant extent, yes.”

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Burlison: Artificial Intelligence Technology Has the Potential to Transform America