Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., is calling on Senate leaders to establish a bipartisan Senate Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence (AI), saying that Congress needs greater institutional and technical capacity to keep pace with the rapidly advancing technology.
In a Sept. 24 letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Luján said the proposed committee would complement existing Senate committees by coordinating work across jurisdictions, holding hearings, bringing in technical expertise, and developing AI policy recommendations. The letter was made public on Sept. 28.
“AI is accelerating faster than our existing legislative processes, committee structures, and technical capacity can consistently evaluate and respond,” Luján wrote. “The recent news of increasing incidents makes it clear that this is no longer a theoretical concern.”
Luján cited cybersecurity incidents and testing involving advanced AI systems, including incidents made public in July in which AI agents gained unauthorized access to external systems. He also pointed to testing by the United Kingdom’s AI Security Institute that he said showed frontier models taking unsanctioned actions against people and organizations.
The senator also cited warnings from AI researchers and developers about potential risks from increasingly capable systems, while noting that Congress should not assume those predictions are correct.
Luján explained that AI cuts across multiple congressional jurisdictions, including national security, cybersecurity, biotechnology, energy, communications, financial markets, and workforce policy.
“Establishing this bipartisan Committee gives Congress the institutional capacity to pull in expertise to understand this technology, drive its benefits, anticipate its consequences, and act with the urgency and responsibility that is demanded of us in our elected roles,” Luján concluded.
The letter asks Senate leadership for “prompt consideration of this request.” It does not detail its proposed membership or jurisdiction.