Lawmakers ask Speaker Johnson to cancel fall House recess until AI safeguards pass, citing Anthropic researcher warnings.
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| Source: Techmeme | Original article
Some lawmakers are urging Speaker Mike Johnson to cancel the fall House recess until Congress passes AI safeguards, after warnings from an Anthropic researcher.
Lawmakers are pressing House Speaker Mike Johnson to scrap the scheduled fall recess and reconvene the chamber until Congress adopts AI‑safety legislation, a move spurred by recent warnings from an Anthropic researcher. A circulating letter, cited by Axios, urges Johnson to “bring back the House immediately” so that the AI Kill Switch Act – introduced by Rep. Judy Chu, Rep. Mike Gallagher and Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R‑Texas) – can be debated and passed. The bill would require every advanced AI system to retain a human‑controlled mechanism for slowing or shutting it down.
The push follows the doomsday warning we reported on 12 September, when an Anthropic researcher warned of “catastrophic risk” from unchecked AI development. Lawmakers say the warning underscores the urgency of establishing a “kill switch” before the technology outpaces regulatory capacity. Democratic members have framed the issue as a national‑security threat, while some Republicans have highlighted the need for a clear, enforceable framework to avoid stifling innovation.
Cancelling the recess would upend the current schedule, which saw Johnson send members home three weeks ago after a funding bill cleared the House. If the chamber reconvenes, legislators could schedule hearings with industry players such as OpenAI, Arm and Cloudflare, who are slated for more than 100 sessions, workshops and speaker events on AI, security and performance later this year.
What to watch next: the timing of a vote on the AI Kill Switch Act, any formal amendments to the bill, and whether the House leadership will formally suspend the recess. Further pressure from both parties could force a rapid legislative response, setting a precedent for how Congress tackles emerging AI risks.
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