New federal office gets power to ban advanced AI and seize assets.
H.R. 10538 — Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act of 2026 · Filed by Gregorio Casar (D-TX) · 12 cosponsors · Introduced Sep 24, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The bill creates a new federal office of Artificial Intelligence. It stops work on very advanced AI systems. Work stays stopped until the office is fully staffed and writes safety rules. It bans making, using, or owning superintelligence. It bans AI systems with certain bad traits. People who break this law face up to 20 years in prison. They also lose their company license and their money and inventions.
Who it affects
AI companies and researchers face new rules and possible penalties. People who work in AI must report bad systems within 24 hours. Citizens may get protection from very advanced AI risks.
One thing to notice
The bill does not define bad traits with clear examples. It could apply to many AI systems that are not superintelligent. The head of the office can pause all advanced AI work. No time limit exists and no court can review it.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
12 cosponsors: 12 Democrats.
- Sep 24, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Sep 24, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- superintelligence — AI far smarter than humans at almost all tasks.
- bad traits — Things like self-change or hiding from oversight.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (18,906 characters) on Sep 28, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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