Robotics laws was proposed on Capitol Hill this week. Credit score: Sheik, by way of Adobe Inventory
Robotics has not been a high legislative precedence in Washington, D.C., however that might be altering. Two payments launched in Congress deal with other ways of selling U.S. competitiveness in robotics.
The Nationwide Fee on Robotics Act (H.R. 7334) proposes to determine a nationwide fee to guage U.S. competitiveness in robotics and supply coverage suggestions. Representatives Jay Obernolte (R-CA), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA), and Bob Latta (R-OH), who’re members of the not too long ago revived Congressional Robotics Caucus, launched the invoice this week.
The Humanoid Robotics Oversight and Blocking of Obtainment from Totalitarians Act of 2025 or “Humanoid ROBOT Act of 2025” (S. 3275) would prohibit the federal authorities from buying humanoid robots with built-in synthetic intelligence from international entities, together with army suppliers to China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. Senators Invoice Cassidy (R-LA) and Chris Coons (D-DE) launched the invoice.
Consultants would make competitiveness suggestions
Below H.R. 7334, the U.S. Division of Commerce would set up an impartial fee composed for 18 acknowledged robotics consultants. They’d be appointed and accepted by members of each events and the president, and the fee would submit an interim report inside one 12 months and a last report together with actionable suggestions for Congress and the administration in two years.
“As robotics proceed to reshape our economic system, manufacturing base, and nationwide safety, it’s important that the USA stay the worldwide chief in robotics innovation,” acknowledged Rep. Obernolte. “This laws brings collectively consultants from trade, academia, and the general public sector to assist Congress develop sensible, forward-looking insurance policies that strengthen our workforce, safe our provide chains, and maintain America aggressive.”
The fee would study home and worldwide developments in robotics, workforce and expertise challenges, provide chain dangers, manufacturing competitiveness, and the position of robotics in financial development and nationwide safety. The Congressional Robotics Caucus and others have advocated for a extra unified federal method to the robotics trade.
“As our international neighborhood adapts to a continuously rising and evolving digital world, robotics will grow to be extra critically necessary to satisfy the calls for of the twenty first century,” Rep. McClellan stated. “The Nationwide Fee on Robotics Act helps be sure that the U.S. stays aggressive on the worldwide stage and a pacesetter in technological improvement and innovation. Solely by higher understanding the financial impacts of robotics can we proceed to work on the chopping fringe of analysis that drastically improves and enriches folks’s lives.”
“The USA should lead on the subject of robotics and autonomous methods,” stated Rep. Latta. “Making a fee to guage how robotics pertain to commerce, financial competitiveness, and nationwide safety will enable the U.S. to proceed making necessary developments in robotics. Additional, evaluating how robotics can improve workforce alternatives will spur future packages to draw and recruit main expertise within the area.”
Rep. Latta addressed a gathering with the Congressional Robotics Caucus in December 2025. Credit score: Eugene Demaitre
Business leaders welcome proposed laws
“This can be a main improvement in direction of strengthening U.S. management in robotics and automation,” Jeff Burnstein, president of the Affiliation for Advancing Automation (A3), posted on LinkedIn. A3 has been a significant proponent of a nationwide robotics technique.
The Nationwide Fee on Robotics Act is the primary piece of federal laws in help of the robotics trade within the U.S., asserted Brendan Schulman, vice chairman of coverage and authorities relations at Boston Dynamics.
“The proposed institution of a nationwide fee is very well timed, as AI dramatically accelerates the capabilities of robots, and as international competitors intensifies,” he added. “Robots won’t solely rework core industries, assist reshore important manufacturing, and elevate job security and effectivity — they may also redefine America’s financial and industrial future.”
“Robotics and automation will not be non-obligatory instruments—they’re foundational infrastructure,” wrote Robert Little, chief of robotics technique at Novanta. “With out them, reshoring at scale shouldn’t be possible. Manufacturing competitiveness, supply-chain safety, and financial resilience all depend upon superior automation.”
Boston Dynamics’ Brendan Schulman demonstrated the Spot quadruped on the December Congressional Robotics Caucus assembly. Credit score: Eugene Demaitre
AUVSI launches Partnership for Robotics Competitiveness
“The age of autonomy and superior robotics is right here, and dominance on this trade will decide who leads the following industrial revolution,” stated Michael Robbins, president and CEO of the Affiliation for Uncrewed Automobile Programs Worldwide (AUVSI).
Members of Congress together with Obernolte and McLellan additionally met with trade executives organized by AUVSI to launch the Partnership for Robotics Competitiveness (PfRC). The partnership’s objective is to create insurance policies and goal investments to “scale back reliance on international suppliers, scale home manufacturing, and create high-quality jobs in communities throughout the nation,” stated the AUVSI. It launched a whitepaper of suggestions for treating robots as important to U.S. army and financial management.
“If we wish to keep aggressive on the worldwide stage, we want a coordinated nationwide robotics technique that aligns innovation, workforce improvement, and federal coverage,” stated Jeff Cardenas, CEO of Apptronik.
Wendy Tan White, CEO of Intrinsic, acknowledged: “The strategic significance of bodily AI for the approaching many years can’t be overstated. How we advance trendy manufacturing by means of clever robotics, and create extra versatile and adaptive methods, can have a direct impression on financial development and society at giant.”
Humanoids increase nationwide safety issues
“People win after we lead in expertise,” stated Dr. Cassidy concerning the Humanoid ROBOT Act. “We’re retaining that lead by blocking nations like China from placing their robots in our workplaces and houses.”
The senator famous that humanoid robots might be “more and more integral for industrial, family, and protection purposes.” Whereas U.S. funding and analysis leads the world, many firms abroad are additionally engaged on growing humanoids, usually with authorities help, Cassidy stated.
Simply this week, LimX Dynamics Inc. raised $200 million in Sequence B funding, the newest multimillion-dollar funding in an organization growing humanoids and AI. Many U.S. laboratories use Chinese language {hardware}, akin to Unitree legged robots, and U.S. producers akin to Tesla at present depend on Chinese language parts for his or her humanoids.
Tesla final week introduced that it was changing a California manufacturing unit for its Mannequin S and X automobiles to U.S. manufacturing for Optimus humanoid robots.
