RELEASE: Gottheimer Announces New Bipartisan Legislation on AI Safety to Protect Jersey Families, National Security

Resources / Press Share on RELEASE: Gottheimer Announces New Bipartisan Legislation on AI Safety to Protect Jersey Families, National Security Gottheimer Introduces the American AI Security Act and China FIREWALL Act; Presses the White House on its AI Cybersecurity Plan Sep 18, 2026 Press Above: Gottheimer announces new AI safety legislation at FDU. TEANECK, NJ — Today, Friday, September 18, 2026, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), Co-Chair of the House AI Commission and a senior member of the House Intelligence Committee, announced a new bipartisan agenda to put real guardrails on AI development to ensure the U.S. can win the global AI race in the right way. Watch Gottheimer’s remarks here . “Right now, there are no mandatory requirements for pre-deployment testing of frontier AI models,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “That doesn’t work in banking, it doesn’t work in food safety, it doesn’t work in medicine, and it sure as hell shouldn’t work with the technology that experts say could help build a bioweapon or take down our power grid. This isn’t about stopping AI or stifling innovation, it is about making sure — with warning signs flashing red — that we can safely deploy AI, and win the race the right way. “Artificial intelligence is one of the most consequential technologies of our time, and we have a responsibility to make sure it strengthens our national security rather than becoming a tool for those who seek to harm Americans. The American AI Security Act takes a commonsense approach: before the most powerful AI models are deployed, we should know whether they could be used to launch devastating cyberattacks or facilitate the development of chemical, biological, or radiological weapons,” said Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17). Gottheimer’s AI safety agenda includes two new bipartisan pieces of federal legislation  and an inquiry into the Administration’s new cybersecurity plan, including: The American AI Security Act, co-led by Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17), establishes a mandatory, pre-deployment national security review for the most powerful AI models. Before releasing a covered model, developers would be required to give the National Security Agency full access to evaluate whether it could be used to launch a serious cyberattack or help build a chemical, biological, or radiological weapon. The review operates on a firm clock — 30 days, with a single 30-day extension if needed — so it functions as a serious national security check rather than either a rubber stamp or endless bureaucracy. Companies would be able to provide technical support for the reviews, and appeal decisions through an expedited process modeled on the courts already used for national security cases. The China FIREWALL Act , co-led by Congressman Nick LaLota (NY-1), keeps Chinese-developed AI off of U.S. government systems. The bill would ban all Chinese-developed open-weight AI models from government-issued devices and prohibit federal agencies from procuring software that relies on those models. The legislation builds on Gottheimer’s No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act , which became law as part of the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act and blocked the Chinese AI model DeepSeek from federal devices. The China FIREWALL Act closes the loophole that still allows other Chinese open-weight models to be used at federal agencies. And finally, Gottheimer announced he is sending a letter to Sean Cairncross, the President’s Cyber Director, about the Administration’s new AI cybersecurity clearinghouse and how it can help the government respond to growing fears of autonomous cyberattacks. The announcement was made at Fairleigh Dickinson University, which is launching a new state-of-the-art Health Humanics Innovation Hub, that’s designed to train the next generation of healthcare workers to use AI tools without losing the human being in front of them. Gottheimer was joined by New Jersey State Senator Gordon Johnson, Teaneck Mayor Mark Schwartz, FDU Senior VP of Government Affairs, Robert Pignatello, Engineer Lab Director, Reggie Joseph, and students from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Below: Gottheimer announces new AI safety legislation at FDU. Gottheimer’s remarks as prepared for delivery. Thank you all for having me here today, and thank you to Fairleigh Dickinson University for opening up your campus for a discussion on this critical topic. Now, I’ve been to a lot of events at a lot of great institutions across the Fifth District, but I want to take a second to recognize FDU, because this school has a story worth telling. It started in 1942, right down the road in Rutherford, as a little two-year junior college founded by Peter and Sally Sammartino. Today, it’s the largest private university in the entire state of New Jersey, with 12,000 students, more than 100 degree programs, and students coming here from all over the world.  It’s a great American story of true leadership. Speaking of leadership, President Aval