Chair Cruz Introduces “Sandbox” Bill/AI Framework
Summary
On September 10, 2025, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX) formally introduced his long-awaited SANDBOX Act (S. 2750) as the first step in a broader legislative framework to promote American leadership in AI. The Act aims to create a regulatory “sandbox” to give AI developers space to test and launch new AI technologies “without being held back by outdated or inflexible federal rules.” Under the bill, AI deployers and developers would apply to modify or waive regulations that could impede their work. The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) would coordinate across federal agencies to evaluate requests under their purview. Congress would collect regular reports on how often rules were waived or modified to better inform future policy decisions and the regulatory structure applicable to AI. The bill text is available here; a one-pager is available here; and a backgrounder on the proposed AI framework is available here. Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA) indicated he is working on a House companion to the bill. Coinciding with Chair Cruz’s framework release was a Senate Commerce Subcommittee hearing to examine President Trump’s AI Action Plan and explore legislative actions to foster AI innovation. The hearing featured testimony from OSTP Director Michael Kratsios. Click here to read the full summary of the hearing.
