US House Committee Propels Legislation for Congressional Oversight on AI Chip Exports
The US House Foreign Affairs Committee cast a decisive vote on January 21, 2026, propelling the “AI Overwatch Act” forward. This pivotal legislation seeks to grant Congress substantial authority over the export of advanced artificial intelligence chips to China and other nations considered adversarial.
The committee endorsed the bill with a 42-2 vote, with one member voting present. This occurred despite resistance from White House AI czar David Sacks and industry group opposition. The bill, introduced by Representative Brian Mast (R-FL) in December, is a response to President Trump’s approval of Nvidia’s potent H200 AI chip shipments to China.
Under the proposed legislation, the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Banking Committee would have a 30-day window to review and potentially veto licenses for exporting advanced AI chips to countries of concern. These include China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela. The bill also sets performance thresholds, above which exports would be entirely banned.
Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX) defended the bill, arguing that “special interest groups” funded by chip companies were launching a social media campaign against the legislation. Ranking member Gregory Meeks (D-NY) lauded the bipartisan effort, highlighting that the bill could delay sales of Nvidia’s most advanced Blackwell chips for a minimum of two years.
Despite its progress, the bill still has a significant journey before becoming law. It requires approval in the full House and Senate, followed by a presidential signature. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has vocally opposed AI chip exports to China, likening it to “selling nuclear weapons to North Korea” during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Source: Al Jazeera