National Security Experts Urge Congress to Include AI Export Control Provisions in FY2027 NDAA

FDD Action-led letter to congressional leadership calls for the inclusion of five key policies in annual defense bill.

Washington, D.C. — A coalition of more than 20 national security experts, former government officials, and advocacy organization leaders sent a letter to congressional leaders urging the inclusion of five AI export control provisions in the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The letter, addressed to Speaker Mike Johnson, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Majority Leader John Thune, and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, warns that America’s lead in artificial intelligence, while real, is fragile and at risk from the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

The coalition letter argues that U.S. leadership in AI is an urgent national security priority. Unlike Washington, Beijing does not view AI as a technology to expand human potential but deploys it to entrench authoritarian control through mass surveillance, censorship, and information manipulation. Left unchecked, these ambitions pose a direct threat to American security and the democratic values the U.S. seeks to defend.

“The United States and its allies, not the CCP, should shape the future of AI. America’s lead is real but fragile. It is the product of deliberate policy that requires sustained congressional leadership to maintain.” – Coalition letter to congressional leadership

“America can’t win the AI race if we equip our adversary with our most valuable technology,” said Michael Sobolik, senior fellow at Hudson Institute. “AI compute is the United States’ biggest technological advantage over the Chinese Communist Party. Policymakers should ensure that democracies, not authoritarian regimes, shape this generational technology. The policies in this letter would help ensure this outcome.”

“The United States holds a real lead in artificial intelligence, but the CCP is actively working to close the gap through smuggling, remote cloud access, distillation attacks, and indigenous chip production,” said Alexandria Paolozzi Moore, Senior Director of Government Relations at FDD Action. “These NDAA provisions tackle vulnerabilities that, left unaddressed, will hand Beijing the very capabilities it needs to challenge U.S. national security. Congress should move quickly to include them in this year’s NDAA.”

The full text of the coalition letter and list of signatories is available here.

THE COALITION LETTER CALLS ON CONGRESS TO:

• Strengthen export controls on advanced AI chips capable of training or running frontier models and treat such exports as foreign military sales subject to congressional review (H.R. 6875/S. 4456, the AI OVERWATCH Act).
• Restrict PRC-affiliated entities from remotely accessing American AI compute through cloud platforms and require U.S. providers to implement know-your-customer controls (H.R. 2683/S. 3519, the Remote Access Security Act).
• Mandate location verification for advanced AI chips and enforce reporting requirements to prevent smuggling and diversion to restrict entities (H.R. 3447/S. 1705, the Chip Security Act).
• Align allied export controls on deep ultraviolet immersion lithography (DUV) tools to block China’s ability to develop indigenous advanced chips (H.R. 8170/S. 4281, the MATCH Act).
• Impose sanctions and penalties to deter distillation attacks, large-scale queries used to extract and replicate U.S. AI model capabilities (H.R. 8283, the Deterring American AI Model Theft Act).

About FDD Action

FDD Action is a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization that works directly with policymakers to advocate for a robust U.S. foreign policy — one that strengthens U.S. national security, does damage to America’s adversaries, and supports allies and partners. FDD Action serves as a trusted resource for congressional offices and executive branch policymakers navigating complex national security challenges, leveraging a team with decades of experience on Capitol Hill and in the policy arena.