'I'm not a doomer': US Senator Mark Warner makes the case for ...

U.S. Senator Mark Warner told Reuters that Congress should pass legislation by the end of the year setting AI safety standards, describing the move as an immediate first step toward broad guardrails. Reuters published the interview on September 17, 2026, under the headline "'I'm not a doomer': US Senator Mark Warner makes the case for acting fast on AI guardrails."

He also said that eventual legislation could include the creation of a new federal agency overseeing AI. The article describes the year-end standard-setting as an immediate first step toward broad guardrails rather than as a complete framework, and places the proposed federal agency within what eventual legislation could include, not within a specific bill.

The interview was published in Reuters' legal/litigation section. According to the article, Warner's stated timeline is the end of the year, and his stated position is that Congress should act quickly on safety standards. The excerpt does not include a bill number, draft text, or named co-sponsors, and does not state which committee would take up the legislation or how a new federal agency overseeing AI would be structured or funded. The article quotes Warner directly on the year-end goal and on working with other countries; no other lawmakers or agencies are quoted in the excerpt.