Cruz Introduces Sandbox Act As Part Of New Senate Framework On

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 4, 2025, 9:31 PM

cruz introduces sandbox act as part of new senate framework on

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a regulatory “sandbox” to give AI developers space to test and launch new AI technologies “without being held back by outdated or inflexible federal rules.”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... 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. Giving you full access to the latest in AI across regulatory developments, legal & policy issues and industry news.

Subscribe to Akin Intelligence, our monthly newsletter recapping the latest in AI and its impact on various sectors. Senator Ted Cruz, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, has introduced a legislative framework aimed at supporting American leadership in artificial intelligence (AI). The framework includes five pillars for Congressional AI policy and recommends a regulatory approach that aims to facilitate safe AI deployment while addressing emerging risks. The first legislative proposal under this framework is the Strengthening Artificial intelligence Normalization and Diffusion By Oversight and eXperimentation (SANDBOX) Act. This bill proposes the creation of a regulatory “sandbox,” allowing AI developers to test and launch new technologies without being restricted by existing federal regulations that may be outdated or inflexible. The bill also incorporates safeguards to address health, public safety, and fraud concerns.

Under the SANDBOX Act, AI developers would be able to apply for modifications or waivers of certain regulations that could hinder their work. The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) would oversee coordination among federal agencies when evaluating these requests. Congress would receive regular reports on how often rules are waived or modified, with the goal of informing future policies related to AI regulation. “Winning the AI race is about more than just technological advancement. If the United States fails to lead, the values that infuse AI development and deployment will not be American ones, but the values of regimes that use AI to control rather than to liberate. If China wins the AI race, the world risks an order built on surveillance and coercion.

“President Trump recognizes this threat, which is why he took decisive action to bolster American leadership in AI, but executive orders alone aren’t sufficient. Following this new AI framework can turbocharge economic activity, cut through bureaucratic red tape, and empower American AI developers while protecting human flourishing. The SANDBOX Act is the first step. It embraces our nation’s entrepreneurial spirit and gives AI developers the room to create while still mitigating any health or consumer risks. The AI framework and SANDBOX Act ensure AI is defined by American values of defending human dignity, protecting free speech, and encouraging innovation.” A new bill from Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz, R-Texas, would take a step toward regulating artificial intelligence when it comes to the ability for companies to develop new services.

The proposal would require the federal government to create a contained and secure testing area for AI software, known as a regulatory sandbox. Companies would be able to apply to join through the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Cruz's effort underscores a concern among many lawmakers that the U.S. will fall behind in AI, particularly to China, if regulations aren't loosened to allow for more and faster innovation. With the sandboxing proposal, companies could identify regulations that are obstructing their efforts, and ask for a waiver. For example, a company developing cancer-screening software could show why it needs modifications to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, regulations in order to test its product.

The company could work with the government to determine if a waiver could be granted without violating standards such as patient privacy, safety and consumer protection. The government would be able to grant waivers for two-year periods for up to 10 years. After 12 years the program would sunset. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) delivers opening remarks during a hearing of the Subcommittee on Science, Manufacturing, and Competitiveness in the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on... Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Ensuring American artificial intelligence tools become the global operating standard is the central mission of Texas Republican Sen.

Ted Cruz's new AI Legislative Framework, released on Wednesday alongside his long-awaited SANDBOX ACT. The AI sandbox bill, which would create a federal AI testing setup within the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, serves as part of the first pillar of Cruz’s new strategy that... The strategy is centered around five pillars: unleashing American innovation and long-term growth; protecting free speech in the AI age; preventing a patchwork of burdensome AI regulation; stopping nefarious use of AI against Americans;... “While this list is not exhaustive, it provides a starting point for discussion with both my colleagues and the administration on legislation that ensures the United States wins the AI race and benefits from... Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, has introduced an important new artificial intelligence (AI) policy framework to guide congressional policymaking.

He has also floated a new bill that proposes “regulatory sandboxes” as a method of encouraging creative policy change in areas where new AI innovations might be constrained by existing regulations or bureaucratic processes. His proposed “Legislative Framework for American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence” includes five pillars for congressional action: Sen. Cruz said “the United States should adopt a light-touch regulatory approach” based on these principles to speed-up development of American AI systems and ensure that China does not achieve its goal of becoming the... This framework is not a formal bill, but is meant to encourage forthcoming AI policy action by Congress. The first part of the Cruz AI plan to be rolled out formally is the “Strengthening Artificial intelligence Normalization and Diffusion By Oversight and eXperimentation,” or “SANDBOX Act.” If passed, this would give the...

Under the bill, OSTP would coordinate with federal agencies to evaluate requests for 2-year waivers under the sandbox programs with the possibility of extensions being granted upon request. The bill also requires the OSTP to report back to Congress and identify what waivers were granted and provide an evaluation of their effectiveness. Sen. Cruz hopes the process will help “better inform future policy decisions and the regulatory structure applicable to AI” and “encourage American ingenuity, improve transparency in lawmaking, and ultimately lead to safe, long-term AI usage... The draft of the bill proposes a waiver program to let developers test and launch AI tools without being subject to federal regulation. CIOs are keen on figuring out how new rules or approaches to regulation will impact their AI initiatives.

Federally, the U.S. has stayed the course on its deregulatory approach laid out by the Trump administration in its first days in office. Earlier this summer, Trump signed a trio of AI-focused executive orders shortly after the administration’s AI Action Plan was released. The latest legislative framework is based on the presidential decrees and the 90-plus federal policy actions outlined in the plan. The light-touch legislative framework addresses five key areas: American innovation and long-term growth, free speech, reduction of patchwork rules, prevention of nefarious uses of AI and bioethical considerations. “The AI framework and Sandbox Act ensure AI is defined by American values of defending human dignity, protecting free speech, and encouraging innovation,” Cruz said in a statement.

On September 10, Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX) released what he called a “light-touch” regulatory framework for federal AI legislation, outlining five pillars for advancing American AI leadership. In parallel, Senator Cruz introduced the Strengthening AI Normalization and Diffusion by Oversight and eXperimentation (“SANDBOX”) Act (S. 2750), which would establish a federal AI regulatory sandbox program that would waive or modify federal agency regulations and guidance for AI developers and deployers. Collectively, the AI framework and the SANDBOX Act mark the first congressional effort to implement the recommendations of the AI Action Plan the Trump Administration released on July 23. Senator Cruz’s AI framework, titled “A Legislative Framework for American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence,” calls for the United States to “embrace its history of entrepreneurial freedom and technological innovation” by adopting AI legislation that... Echoing President Trump’s January 23 Executive Order on “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence” and recommendations in the AI Action Plan, the AI framework sets out five pillars as a “starting point...

Consistent with recommendations in the AI Action Plan and AI Framework, the SANDBOX Act would direct the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy (“OSTP”) to establish and operate an “AI regulatory sandbox... According to Senator Cruz’s press release, the SANDBOX Act marks a “first step” in implementing the AI Action Plan, which called for “regulatory sandboxes or AI Centers of Excellence around the country where researchers,... Program Applications. The AI regulatory sandbox program would allow U.S. companies and individuals, or the OSTP Director, to apply for a “waiver or modification” of one or more federal agency regulations in order to “test, experiment, or temporarily provide” AI products, AI services, or... Applications must include various categories of information, including:

Agency Reviews and Approvals. The bill would require OSTP to submit applications to federal agencies with jurisdiction over the AI product, service, or development method within 14 days. In reviewing AI sandbox program applications, federal agencies would be required to solicit input from the private sector and technical experts on whether the applicant’s plan would benefit consumers, businesses, the economic, or AI... Agencies would be required to approve or deny applications within 90 days, with a record documenting reasonably foreseeable risks, the mitigations and consumer protections that justify agency approval, or the reasons for agency denial. Denied applicants would be authorized to appeal to OSTP for reconsideration. Approved waivers or modifications would be granted for a term of two years, with up to four additional two-year terms if requested by the applicant and approved by OSTP.

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| About MLex | Editorial Team | Contact Us | Terms | Privacy Policy | Trust Center | Cookie Settings | Processing Notice | Resource Library Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, introduced today the first bill of several yet to come that he says will provide a “light-touch” regulatory approach to safe AI development and deployment by reducing the regulatory burden placed... The senator’s Strengthening Artificial intelligence Normalization and Diffusion By Oversight and eXperimentation, or SANDBOX Act, is the first of a series of bills that he plans to introduce as part of his five-pillar AI... “How policymakers approach the issue of regulating artificial intelligence is one of the most important questions of our time,” said Sen. Cruz in prepared remarks during the hearing.

“Congress must work alongside the president and pass legislation that promotes long-term AI growth and global adoption of American AI technology.” The legislative framework’s five areas include unleashing American innovation and long-term growth; protecting free speech in the age of AI; preventing AI regulatory patchworks across states; stopping the use of AI for nefarious acts... As part of that framework, Sen. Cruz’s SANDBOX Act seeks to require the federal government to establish a contained and secure testing area for AI software that “will give entrepreneurs room to breathe, build, and compete within a defined space...

Cruz Introduces Sandbox Act As Part Of New Senate Framework On

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