Peter Welch is a United States Senator (Democrat, Vermont). With Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) he has sponsored proposals for a dedicated federal regulator of digital platforms and frontier AI developers.
Legislative activity
Bennet and Welch first introduced the Digital Platform Commission Act in the Senate and House in 2022 and reintroduced it in 2023 (Source: bennet.senate.gov). On September 23, 2026 they announced the AI Regulator Act, which would add frontier-AI authorities to the proposed Federal Digital Commission, including mandatory testing and approval of frontier models before public distribution, a pause of up to six months on a disapproved model, 15-day critical safety incident reporting, and civil penalties capped at 15 percent of prior-year global revenue (AI Regulator Act of 2026 — Section-by-Section Summary (Bennet and Welch)).
By December 2025 Welch had become a cosponsor of Sen. Josh Hawley's GUARD Act (S. 3062), which Hawley's office describes as banning AI companions for minors and requiring chatbots to disclose their non-human status (Source: hawley.senate.gov) (Source: congress.gov).
Positions and statements
Announcing the AI Regulator Act, Welch said: "Americans in Vermont and across the country are freaked out by the warnings of AI researchers, and I'm right there with them. It's clear we can't leave it to AI companies to self-regulate—just like we don't let drug companies, or Wall Street, or Big Oil self-regulate" (Source: bennet.senate.gov). The Rutland Herald editorial board contrasted his approach with House Speaker Mike Johnson's view that AI companies should police themselves (Source: rutlandherald.com).
Relationships
- related: AI Regulator Act (Bennet–Welch proposal, 2026) — sponsor
- related: AI Regulator Act of 2026 — Section-by-Section Summary (Bennet and Welch)
- related: Michael Bennet — co-sponsor
- related: Sen. Josh Hawley — GUARD Act cosponsorship
- related: Coordinated slowdown proposals compared