WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Reps. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Mike Lawler of New York are highlighting bipartisan legislation that would establish federal standards for identifying, monitoring and controlling artificial intelligence agents operating within computer networks.
The lawmakers discussed the Stop Rogue AI Act during a press conference Thursday. Gottheimer and Lawler introduced the legislation earlier this month.
The bill would direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop national standards, guidelines and best practices for discovering, verifying, monitoring and controlling AI agents. The proposal would also require federal agencies and contractors to incorporate safeguards into how they purchase and deploy AI agents.
“You can’t drive a car in this country without a license plate, without insurance, without some way for a cop — or the person you just rear-ended — to know who’s behind the wheel and who’s responsible,” Gottheimer said. “AI agents right now don’t have any of that. Our bill puts a driver’s license on every AI agent operating in this country — so organizations can find every agent on their network, verify who built it, watch it in real time, and cut off its access the second something looks wrong. That means putting humans back in the driver’s seat. It’s time for Congress to get back to work and get this done.”
Under the legislation, standards would address maintaining inventories of AI agents operating on systems, verifying who created and operates them, monitoring their activity and allowing organizations to revoke an agent’s access or actions.
“This isn’t about stopping AI or stifling innovation. It is about making sure we can safely deploy AI. A pause is not a safeguard. Some states have put a moratorium on the infrastructure that powers this technology. That does not invent a kill switch. It does not inventory the agents already on a hospital network or a utility system,” Lawler said. “If the United States taps the brakes while others floor it, we do not get safer AI. We get someone else’s AI. We are not going to regulate ourselves into second place.”
The lawmakers also highlighted other bipartisan AI-related legislation they have worked on, including the AI Workforce Training Act, which would provide a tax credit for certain AI workforce training; the Advancing American Quantum Leadership Act of 2026; and the No Rigged Grocery Prices Act, which would address the use of AI-driven personal data to charge customers different prices for the same grocery item.
Gottheimer and Lawler have also called for federal agencies and technology companies to address issues involving AI accountability, discrimination and election-related threats.
