The legislation, which could receive a floor vote this week, became a battleground for major fights over tech policy in recent weeks, as lawmakers grappled with the future of AI in the face of growing concerns about Beijing.
Here's what to know about the tech-related provisions that made it in and were cut out of the annual defense bill:
AI preemption
A push to include a provision preempting state AI laws in the NDAA ultimately fell short despite support from President Trump, teeing up future executive action.
House GOP leaders renewed efforts to pass a preemption provision in late November, after a previous attempt to include a 10-year moratorium on state AI laws in Trump's tax and spending bill was blocked by the Senate in July.
The latest preemption push encountered the same problems as before, with key Republicans at both the state and federal level voicing opposition and complicating any path forward.
Trump, who voiced support for including a provision in the defense bill or passing stand-alone legislation, appeared to be preparing to move on his own following the emergence of a draft executive order.
But GOP leaders reportedly urged him to delay the order amid the last-minute NDAA push.
By last week, however, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said they were "looking at other places" for the AI preemption provision, suggesting the defense bill "wasn't the best place for this to fit."
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), an outspoken skeptic of Big Tech who has opposed the preemption effort, cheered the decision, writing on the social platform X, "This is a terrible provision and should remain OUT."
After congressional leaders released the negotiated NDAA text late Sunday without the AI provision, Trump said he was planning to move forward with an executive order this week.
"There must be only One Rulebook if we are going to continue to lead in AI," he wrote on Truth Social. "We are beating ALL COUNTRIES at this point in the race, but that won't last long if we are going to have 50 States, many of them bad actors, involved in RULES and the APPROVAL PROCESS."
Chip exports
Another AI provision that would have restricted chip sales to China and other foreign adversaries was stripped out of the NDAA.
The Guaranteeing Access and Innovation for National Artificial Intelligence (GAIN AI) Act would have required chipmakers to give U.S. companies first priority for chip purchases before permitting exports to China and other "countries of concern."
It was included in the version of the defense bill that initially passed the Senate in early October but reportedly faced resistance from the White House, which has increasingly split from the GOP's China hawks on chip export rules.
Check out the full report at TheHill.com tomorrow.
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