Floor SpeechUrgent2026-06-01

AMERICAN AI SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND ACT

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Context

On 2026-06-01, Senator Bernard Sanders (I-VT) delivered a floor speech titled "AMERICAN AI SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND ACT" in the Senate.

Full Text

AMERICAN AI SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND ACT

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 92 (Monday, June 1, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 92 (Monday, June 1, 2026)] [Senate] [Page S2467] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] AMERICAN AI SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND ACT Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, artificial intelligence will almost certainly be the most transformational technology in the history of the world. It will profoundly impact the lives of every man, woman, and child in our country and, in fact, throughout the world. It will bring and it is already bringing unimaginable changes to our economy, to our democracy and political system, to our emotional well-being, to the health of our children, to our environment, and to how we educate and raise our kids. Further, there is a very real fear that as AI becomes smarter than humans, it could eventually function independent of human control with potentially catastrophic consequences. That is not me; that is what Nobel Prize scientists and experts are saying. The question, then, is not whether AI will change the world. It will. The question is: Who will own and control the future? Who will benefit from AI, and who will be hurt by it? Will AI be used to make life better for working families? Will it enrich our quality of life? Will it help us eliminate poverty, extend life expectancies, and help us solve the climate crisis? Or will the future of humanity be determined by a handful of some of the wealthiest people on the planet who have promoted and developed AI, with no democratic input, in order for them to become even richer and more powerful than they are today? That is the choice before us. Let us be clear. AI was not created out of thin air. It was not a brilliant idea that just popped into Mark Zuckerberg's head or Elon Musk's imagination. The foundation of AI is our collective human intelligence. Let me repeat that. The foundation of AI is based on our collective human intelligence: our books, songs, artwork, journalism, computer code, scientific research, videos, conversations, images, and ideas spanning generations. It is our tweets, our Facebook posts, our TikTok videos, our Reddit comments. It is everything that human beings produce and that is absorbed into the digital world. That is not just my opinion. According to Sam Altman, the head of OpenAI, AI models were trained on our ``collective experience, knowledge'' and ``learnings of humanity.'' That is Mr. Altman, the head of OpenAI. The reality is that Big Tech oligarchs have fed this knowledge into their AI models without permission, without acknowledgement, and without compensation. In other words, the creative work of many millions of people--writers, artists, musicians, journalists, teachers, scientists, and ordinary people--has been stolen--has been stolen--by the wealthiest people in the world. The time has come for us to reclaim what was stolen from us. Since AI is built on the collective knowledge of humanity, the wealth it generates must benefit humanity--not just Elon Musk, not just Jeff Bezos, not just Mark Zuckerberg or Larry Ellison and the other multibillionaires who have invested hundreds of billions into the development and implementation of AI, not the venture capitalists in Silicon Valley or the vulture funds on Wall Street who see AI as the next great wealth-extracting machine. That is why in the coming weeks, I will be introducing the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act. This legislation would give the public a direct ownership stake in the largest AI companies in our country. How would it do that? Through a one-time, 50-percent tax not on the profits of the largest AI companies in the United States but something that is far more valuable than that: the stock. If passed, this legislation would do two critical things: First, it would give the American people a direct role in determining the future of this technology. No longer would the future of AI and the transformation of human life that it will bring be dictated by a handful of Big Tech oligarchs. These people do not have the right to determine the future of humanity. Under this bill, the Federal Government would have the power, through its voting shares and an equal representation on each company's board, to block decisions that hurt the public and to push for policies that help them. Secondly, this legislation would guarantee that the trillions of dollars potentially created by AI are used to improve the lives of all of us, not simply to make the richest people in the world even richer. Further, if these AI companies continue to grow as dramatically as many analysts expect, then the value of the sovereign wealth fund created under this bill would grow as well, and the benefits to the American people would grow along with it. Let us be clear. This is not an original idea. In fact, it is an idea that has been endorsed by some of the leading AI companies in America. For example, OpenAI recently proposed creating a ``Public Wealth Fund that provides every citizen--including those not invested in financial markets--with a stake in AI-driven economic growth.'' Anthropic also proposed the creation of ``national sovereign wealth funds with stakes in A.I.'' Elon Musk, the owner of xAI, went further and said that ``Universal HIGH INCOME via checks issued by the Federal government is the best way to deal with unemployment caused by AI.'' Let us not forget, over 100 sovereign wealth funds exist all over the world. Again, this is not a new idea. Norway's sovereign wealth fund-- the largest in the world--was funded from the country's abundance in oil and is now worth more than $2 trillion. Instead of a few oil executives pocketing all the benefits of that natural resource, Norway made the decision that the wealth created from it should be used to improve life for all of their people. This concept also exists right here in the United States. Fifty years ago, Alaska created a sovereign wealth fund from the State's oil revenues, and for decades, it has paid dividends directly to Alaskans. In 2022, that check was over $3,000 per person. In 2023, it was $1,300 per person. In 2024, it was $1,700. Last year, it was $1,000. This is a direct check coming from a sovereign fund in Alaska to the people of that State. Even President Trump, in an Executive order, has proposed establishing a U.S. sovereign wealth fund. The billions, if not trillions, of dollars generated by this legislation would provide direct payments to the American people. Further, as the fund generates more and more wealth, the proceeds would be used to ensure that every man, woman, and child in our country has a decent and dignified standard of living, including healthcare, education, and housing. The principle behind this legislation is simple: When a public resource generates wealth, the public should share in that wealth. In this case, artificial intelligence is being built on a public resource far more valuable than oil: the accumulated knowledge, creativity, and labor of humanity throughout history. That is what AI is all about. Bottom line: The future of AI and the fate of humanity must not be decided behind closed doors in Silicon Valley by the wealthiest people in the world. It must not be dictated by billionaires seeking to maximize their power and their profit. It must be decided by workers, parents, teachers, artists, scientists, communities, and the American people. It is our future. We must decide it. Let's get it done. ____________________

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AMERICAN AI SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND ACT Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 92 (Monday, June 1, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 92 (Monday, June 1, 2026)] [Senate] [Page S2467] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] AMERICAN AI SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND ACT Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, artificial intelligence will almost certainly be the most transformational technology in the history of the world. It will profoundly impact the lives of every man, woman, and child in our country and, in fact, throughout the world. It will bring and it is already bringing unimaginable changes to our economy, to our democracy and political system, to our emotional well-being, to the health of our children, to our environment, and to how we educate and raise our kids. Further, there is a very real fear that as AI becomes smarter than humans, it could eventually function independent of human control with potentially catastrophic consequences. That is not me; that is what Nobel Prize scientists and experts are saying. The question, then, is not whether AI will change the world. It will. The question is: Who will own and control the future? Who will benefit from AI, and who will be hurt by it? Will AI be used to make life better for working families? Will it enrich our quality of life? Will it help us eliminate poverty, extend life expectancies, and help us solve the climate crisis? Or will the future of humanity be determined by a handful of some of the wealthiest people on the planet who have promoted and developed AI, with no democratic input, in order for them to become even richer and more powerful than they are today? That is the choice before us. Let us be clear. AI was not created out of thin air. It was not a brilliant idea that just popped into Mark Zuckerberg's head or Elon Musk's imagination. The foundation of AI is our collective human intelligence. Let me repeat that. The foundation of AI is based on our collective human intelligence: our books, songs, artwork, journalism, computer code, scientific research, videos, conversations, images, and ideas spanning generations. It is our tweets, our Facebook posts, our TikTok videos, our Reddit comments. It is everything that human beings produce and that is absorbed into the digital world. That is not just my opinion. According to Sam Altman, the head of OpenAI, AI models were trained on our ``collective experience, knowledge'' and ``learnings of humanity.'' That is Mr. Altman, the head of OpenAI. The reality is that Big Tech oligarchs have fed this knowledge into their AI models without permission, without acknowledgement, and without compensation. In other words, the creative work of many millions of people--writers, artists, musicians, journalists, teachers, scientists, and ordinary people--has been stolen--has been stolen--by the wealthiest people in the world. The time has come for us to reclaim what was stolen from us. Since AI is built on the collective knowledge of humanity, the wealth it generates must benefit humanity--not just Elon Musk, not just Jeff Bezos, not just Mark Zuckerberg or Larry Ellison and the other multibillionaires who have invested hundreds of billions into the development and implementation of AI, not the venture capitalists in Silicon Valley or the vulture funds on Wall Street who see AI as the next great wealth-extracting machine. That is why in the coming weeks, I will be introducing the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act. This legislation would give the public a direct ownership stake in the largest AI companies in our country. How would it do that? Through a one-time, 50-percent tax not on the profits of the largest AI companies in the United States but something that is far more valuable than that: the stock. If passed, this legislation would do two critical things: First, it would give the American people a direct role in determining the future of this technology. No longer would the future of AI and the transformation of human life that it will bring be dictated by a handful of Big Tech oligarchs. These people do not have the right to determine the future of humanity. Under this bill, the Federal Government would have the power, through its voting shares and an equal representation on each company's board, to block decisions that hurt the public and to push for policies that help them. Secondly, this legislation would guarantee that the trillions of dollars potentially created by AI are used to improve the lives of all of us, not simply to make the richest people in the world even richer. Further, if these AI companies continue to grow as dramatically as many analysts expect, then the value of the sovereign wealth fund created under this bill would grow as well, and the benefits to the American people would grow along with it. Let us be clear. This is not an original idea. In fact, it is an idea that has been endorsed by some of the leading AI companies in America. For example, OpenAI recently proposed creating a ``Public Wealth Fund that provides every citizen--including those not invested in financial markets--with a stake in AI-driven economic growth.'' Anthropic also proposed the creation of ``national sovereign wealth funds with stakes in A.I.'' Elon Musk, the owner of xAI, went further and said that ``Universal HIGH INCOME via checks issued by the Federal government is the best way to deal with unemployment caused by AI.'' Let us not forget, over 100 sovereign wealth funds exist all over the world. Again, this is not a new idea. Norway's sovereign wealth fund-- the largest in the world--was funded from the country's abundance in oil and is now worth more than $2 trillion. Instead of a few oil executives pocketing all the benefits of that natural resource, Norway made the decision that the wealth created from it should be used to improve life for all of their people. This concept also exists right here in the United States. Fifty years ago, Alaska created a sovereign wealth fund from the State's oil revenues, and for decades, it has paid dividends directly to Alaskans. In 2022, that check was over $3,000 per person. In 2023, it was $1,300 per person. In 2024, it was $1,700. Last year, it was $1,000. This is a direct check coming from a sovereign fund in Alaska to the people of that State. Even President Trump, in an Executive order, has proposed establishing a U.S. sovereign wealth fund. The billions, if not trillions, of dollars generated by this legislation would provide direct payments to the American people. Further, as the fund generates more and more wealth, the proceeds would be used to ensure that every man, woman, and child in our country has a decent and dignified standard of living, including healthcare, education, and housing. The principle behind this legislation is simple: When a public resource generates wealth, the public should share in that wealth. In this case, artificial intelligence is being built on a public resource far more valuable than oil: the accumulated knowledge, creativity, and labor of humanity throughout history. That is what AI is all about. Bottom line: The future of AI and the fate of humanity must not be decided behind closed doors in Silicon Valley by the wealthiest people in the world. It must not be dictated by billionaires seeking to maximize their power and their profit. It must be decided by workers, parents, teachers, artists, scientists, communities, and the American people. It is our future. We must decide it. Let's get it done. ____________________