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The AI Kill Switch Act, Representatives Lieu and Moran

Representatives Ted Lieu and Nathaniel Moran introduced the AI Kill Switch Act, H.R. 9917, on 23 July 2026. Per the sponsors' release it requires developers of covered AI systems to keep the technical ability to throttle, suspend or shut them down, sets a graduated response, mandates incident reporting and record preservation, and lets the Secretary of Homeland Security, with Commerce and the DNI, order a slowdown or shutdown of a system that can cause catastrophic harm. Introduced, not enacted.

The verdict

Verified

The document exists. The ledger fetched it at its publisher and quotes it.

Key facts

What the sources say

Record ID
DKT-2026-0009
Kind
Bill
Jurisdiction
United States
Last verified
Added
  • Lieu's release of 23 July 2026 describes three duties: maintain the technical ability to throttle, suspend or shut down covered systems; a graduated response matched to severity; incident reporting and forensic record preservation.
  • The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of National Intelligence, may order a company to act against a system in a loss of control scenario.
  • govinfo carries the introduced text: a bill to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require certain entities to maintain a technical capability with respect to shutting down certain technology, referred to the Committee on Homeland Security.
  • The release lists supporting organisations: The AI Policy Network, Americans for Responsible Innovation, ControlAI, the Future of Life Institute and the Alliance for Secure AI.
  • Al Jazeera reported on 26 July 2026 that Senator Mark Warner voiced support and that the bill followed OpenAI's disclosure of the Hugging Face incident by days.
  • OpenAI told Representatives Casar and Matsui in a letter reviewed by Reuters and reported on 2 September 2026 that it is building toward monitoring with tiered responses and a goal of fully autonomous shutdown for severe issues.

Dimension by dimension

7 dimensions, each one stated, silent or open

Binding, Stage, What it would require, What it does not do, Who is for it, Who is against it, Next step on the record. Stated means the document you can open below says it; silent means the ledger read the document and it does not.

BindingStated
Not yet: introduced in the House, not enacted.Representative Ted Lieu, Reps Lieu and Moran introduce bill to require kill switch for AI systems that can cause catastrophic harm, primary source, 23 July 2026.
StageStated
Introduced 23 July 2026 as H.R. 9917 and referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security; the introduced text is on govinfo; no further action was found on 16 September 2026.govinfo, H.R. 9917 (IH), AI Kill Switch Act, 119th Congress, introduced text, primary source, 23 July 2026.
What it would requireStated
Covered developers keep a working ability to slow, suspend or shut down their systems, report significant incidents and preserve records; DHS may order intervention.Representative Ted Lieu, Reps Lieu and Moran introduce bill to require kill switch for AI systems that can cause catastrophic harm, primary source, 23 July 2026.
What it does not doStated
It does not pause or ban development, set a capability threshold for training, or license models; it acts on systems already built.Representative Ted Lieu, Reps Lieu and Moran introduce bill to require kill switch for AI systems that can cause catastrophic harm, primary source, 23 July 2026.
Who is for itStated
Representatives Ted Lieu and Nathaniel Moran; Senator Mark Warner per Al Jazeera; the five organisations named in the release.Representative Ted Lieu, Reps Lieu and Moran introduce bill to require kill switch for AI systems that can cause catastrophic harm, primary source, 23 July 2026.
Who is against itOpen
No named opponent of the bill was found on 16 September 2026; Senator Kennedy's separate proposal says government must not be the one to switch a model off (DKT-2026-0010).TNW, OpenAI tells House Democrats it is building automated shutdown capability, secondary source, 2 September 2026.
Next step on the recordStated
Referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security on introduction; no markup or hearing on the bill was found by this ledger on 16 September 2026.govinfo, H.R. 9917 (IH), AI Kill Switch Act, 119th Congress, introduced text, primary source, 23 July 2026.

What it changes

For a policy or compliance lead

This is the narrowest binding proposal on the docket and the one most likely to reach a compliance desk: it asks for a capability, a procedure and a record, not for a stop. If you develop or deploy advanced systems, the three duties in the release map directly onto controls you can build now: a tested shutdown path, a severity ladder that says who decides, and logs kept in a form an investigator can read. OpenAI's letter to Congress shows one lab already describing that work.

Sources

What this record was verified against

  1. Representative Ted Lieu, Reps Lieu and Moran introduce bill to require kill switch for AI systems that can cause catastrophic harmPrimary · 23 July 2026
  2. Al Jazeera, What is the AI Kill Switch Act proposed in the US and how will it work?Secondary · 26 July 2026
  3. govinfo, H.R. 9917 (IH), AI Kill Switch Act, 119th Congress, introduced textPrimary · 23 July 2026
  4. TNW, OpenAI tells House Democrats it is building automated shutdown capabilitySecondary · 2 September 2026

Related

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Cite this record

Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0, with attribution. The record ID DKT-2026-0009 is permanent and is never reused.

In a sentence
According to the GAGE Slowdown Docket (as of 16 September 2026), the ai kill switch act, representatives lieu and moran.
APA
GAGE (Global Academy of Generative-AI Education). (2026). The AI Kill Switch Act, Representatives Lieu and Moran. Slowdown Docket. Retrieved 16 September 2026, from https://www.gage.academy/tools/slowdown-docket/records/DKT-2026-0009-ai-kill-switch-act-lieu-moran
MLA
"The AI Kill Switch Act, Representatives Lieu and Moran." Slowdown Docket, GAGE (Global Academy of Generative-AI Education), 16 September 2026, https://www.gage.academy/tools/slowdown-docket/records/DKT-2026-0009-ai-kill-switch-act-lieu-moran.
Chicago
GAGE (Global Academy of Generative-AI Education). "The AI Kill Switch Act, Representatives Lieu and Moran." Slowdown Docket. Last modified 16 September 2026. https://www.gage.academy/tools/slowdown-docket/records/DKT-2026-0009-ai-kill-switch-act-lieu-moran.
Permalink
https://www.gage.academy/tools/slowdown-docket/records/DKT-2026-0009-ai-kill-switch-act-lieu-moran

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