On January 21, 2026, the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee approved the 'AI Oversight Act' by a vote of 39 in favor, 2 against, and 1 abstention. The proposed legislation designates chips like GPUs as military-grade items subject to export controls, adopting a congressional oversight framework similar to that used for arms sales. This framework would potentially enable Congress to veto chip export licenses issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce when deemed necessary.

The bill specifies that government exports of controlled chips to countries such as China must receive individual approval. Applicants are required to submit detailed information to Congress in advance, demonstrating that the exports will not contribute to the recipient's military-industrial and intelligence capabilities, disrupt the U.S. chip supply chain, or undermine U.S. advantages in AI computing power. Congress has a 30-day window (extended to 60 days during the summer session) to review and potentially veto export licenses.

Furthermore, the bill mandates that the government develop a comprehensive national security strategy for chip exports. Until this strategy is put into effect, all exports of controlled chips to China must be suspended.

The passage of this bill is viewed as a direct challenge to the Trump administration's initiative to ease chip export restrictions to China, particularly its plan to permit NVIDIA to sell H200 processors to the country.