Witnesses warn Congress: China’s AI push and U.S. immigration, trade uncertainty could cost American leadership
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Summary
At a House hearing on AI and energy, witnesses warned China’s coordinated investments in computing, data and industrial policy threaten U.S. leadership. They urged Congress to protect research funding, enable high‑skilled immigration and maintain predictable trade and incentive policies.
Experts before the House Energy and Commerce Committee contrasted Chinese industrial strategy and investments with U.S. policy choices and urged urgent action on immigration, research funding and trade clarity to preserve American AI leadership.
Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO and chair of the Special Competitive Studies Project, described the competition with China as strategic and urgent, saying a Chinese lead in advanced AI could reshape global power dynamics. Schmidt emphasized that America’s advantage depends on a combined ecosystem of government, industry and universities and warned that restrictive immigration or cuts to research would erode that edge.
Key points from testimony and questioning - Talent and immigration: Witnesses stressed that top AI research and startups depend heavily on immigrant talent. Schmidt and others said high‑skill immigration is central to maintaining research momentum and warned that deportations or visa restrictions would drive talent elsewhere. - Research funding: Several witnesses criticized administrative proposals to cut research overheads and agency budgets, saying those moves would hollow out federal expertise and university research capacity at a critical time for AI and energy research. - Trade and tariffs: Members and witnesses argued that tariffs and abrupt policy shifts raise costs for energy and data‑center components and could deter private investment. Witnesses said tariff‑driven cost increases and uncertainty risk slowing the roll‑out of critical infrastructure.
Security implications Schmidt framed the stakes in national security terms, arguing the first country to deploy superhuman AI could gain unprecedented military and strategic advantages. He and other witnesses urged stronger classified collaboration with government experts and national labs to identify and mitigate security risks.
Lawmakers were urged to produce bipartisan, durable policies to preserve U.S. advantage: predictable incentives, research funding, predictable trade rules and a high‑skill immigration pathway.