House Foreign Affairs Committee Advances AI Overwatch Act to Restrict Chip Exports

The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee voted 42-2 to advance the AI Overwatch Act on January 21, 2026. This legislation would grant the United States USCongress the power to review and potentially block licenses for exporting advanced artificial intelligence chips to China CNand other adversaries. The bill would specifically give the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Banking Committee a 30-day window to evaluate these licenses before they are finalized.

Representative Brian Mast brian mastof Florida chairs the committee and introduced the legislation in December. He was joined in support by the ranking member, Representative Gregory Meeks gregory meeksof New York, and Representative Michael McCaul michael mccaul. While the committee has moved the bill forward with an overwhelming bipartisan margin, it still requires passage by the full House and Senate before becoming law.