March 26, 2026
China recently released a new five-year national plan to dominate artificial intelligence.
That announcement should send a chill down the spine of every American policymaker.
Beijing understands something Washington has only begun to grapple with. Artificial Intelligence will shape economic growth, national security, and global influence for decades to come. China is organizing its government, infrastructure, and workforce around that reality.
The United States cannot afford to respond with hesitation or fragmentation. If China has a national strategy for AI leadership, America must have one.
Congress should pass a national framework that ensures the United States wins the global AI race while protecting the public and expanding opportunity for American workers and businesses.
Right now, we are still in the first inning of the AI era. The technology is advancing quickly, but the policy framework that will guide its development is still being written. That means the decisions policymakers make in the next few years will shape how AI affects the economy, national security, and everyday life for decades.
If we get this right, AI will be one of the most powerful engines of economic growth in modern history. It can create millions of well-paying jobs, accelerate medical breakthroughs, help small businesses compete, and increase productivity across the entire economy.
But capturing those benefits requires clear national leadership. A national framework can replace that confusion with clarity.
At its core, that framework should focus on five priorities.
First, America needs a national commitment to AI literacy. The goal should be simple and ambitious. Within the next decade, the vast majority of Americans should have a basic understanding of how AI works and how it will affect their lives. Just as digital literacy became essential in the internet age, AI literacy will be essential in the decades ahead. Federal policy should support partnerships with schools, community colleges, and workforce programs to ensure students and workers across every community gain these skills.
Second, policymakers must prioritize safety protections for children. As AI tools become integrated into education, communication platforms, and online services, families deserve clear safeguards that protect minors from exploitation, manipulation, and harmful content. Thoughtful federal standards can empower parents and ensure that companies design systems with children’s safety in mind. Advancements in AI technologies will ultimately enable greater protections for children than has ever been possible in the era of modern computing.
Third, we should establish a national AI training and certification program. Workers in health care, manufacturing, education, and countless other industries will increasingly interact with AI tools. Voluntary certification programs can provide practical training so workers can safely and effectively use these technologies. Just as previous generations made giant leaps forward when they first learned how to use a mouse, dial onto the Internet and use a smartphone; across America, we must now learn how to leverage AI platforms, particularly in those historically disadvantaged communities that are too often left behind. That will help workers adapt to technological change and ensure the benefits of AI reach communities across the country.
Fourth, America must build the infrastructure needed to power the AI economy. Artificial Intelligence runs on enormous computing resources and energy. One solution is the creation of a large-scale national AI computing hub built on federal land where companies pay the full cost of energy and infrastructure rather than shifting those costs onto ratepayers. Think of it as a modern equivalent of the Hoover Dam or the Tennessee Valley Authority, but designed for the AI era. A project like this could anchor American leadership in advanced computing while protecting households and small businesses from higher energy costs.
Fifth, the federal government should develop baseline, consensus national safety standards in partnership with the leaders in the industry for the most powerful frontier AI models. These systems require serious oversight given their potential capabilities. At the same time, those rules must be carefully designed so they apply only to the largest and most advanced systems without crushing startups and small companies that are driving much of the innovation in this field.
Alongside these policies, Congress should adopt rational federal preemption that prevents the emerging patchwork of conflicting state laws with a consistent national framework. Preemption should not replace effective state consumer protection laws. It should focus on ensuring AI, like other major industries, has the ability to create a national market.
This is not about removing guardrails. It is about putting the right guardrails in place while allowing innovation to bring the benefits this technology promises to the American people.
Too often the public debate around AI swings between hype and fear. Some voices insist the technology will solve every problem overnight. Others claim it will destroy jobs and destabilize society. Neither extreme reflects reality.
Artificial intelligence presents an enormous opportunity, but only if policymakers create a clear structure that allows innovation to move forward responsibly.
The stakes extend beyond economic growth. They also involve global leadership.
China’s vision for artificial intelligence is rooted in surveillance, centralized control, and authoritarian governance. The United States must offer a different model built on innovation, openness, and democratic values.
Every technology reflects the values of the society that created it. The stakes have never been higher; AI has the potential to shape global dynamics for the next century. America must lead, ensuring that this technology reflects our democratic values and those of our allies around the world. If we fail to act, others will write those rules who do not share our values and will exploit the areas Americans are most concerned about.
Artificial intelligence will soon become part of everyday life for nearly every American. The question is whether the United States will guide that transformation with purpose.
China has a five year plan. America needs a foundation to lead the next century.
America has the world’s best innovators and the most entrepreneurial startups and they deserve a clear and consistent national framework that empowers American innovators to do what they do best.
Zac Moffatt and Josh Vlasto are political strategists behind the Leading the Future super PAC.
The views expressed in this article are the writers' own.
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