{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-introduces-legislation-to-create-7-trillion-ai-sovereign-wealth-fund/", "NEWS: Sanders Introduces Legislation to Create $7 Trillion AI Sovereign Wealth Fund", "2026-06-18", "2026", "2026-06", "Independent", "Senate", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", "sanders", "https://www.sanders.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, June 18 \u2014 Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today introduced the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act to give the public a 50% ownership in the largest artificial intelligence (AI) companies in our country.\n\n\u201cLeft unchecked, Artificial Intelligence and robotics threatens the jobs, privacy rights and mental health of every man, woman and child in America,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cAs a society, we can no longer sit back and allow a handful of Big Tech oligarchs to determine the future of this revolutionary technology with no democratic input. AI was not created out of thin air. It was not a brilliant idea that just popped into Mark Zuckerberg\u2019s head or Elon Musk\u2019s imagination. The foundation of AI is based on the collective knowledge of humanity and the creative work of tens of millions of people. The American people must have the ability to slow it down and make sure that AI benefits humanity, not just the richest people on the planet. That\u2019s precisely what this legislation does.\u201d\n\nThe legislation that Sanders is introducing would give the public a direct ownership stake in the largest AI companies in America through a one-time 50% tax on the stock of the biggest AI companies. This stock would be deposited into the sovereign wealth fund.\n\nIf passed, Sanders\u2019 bill would do three crucial things.\n\nFirst, it would create an Independent Commission for Democratic AI to manage the sovereign wealth fund in the public interest. The Independent Commission would use voting shares in these companies to block decisions that hurt the American people and to push for policies that help them. The Independent Commission would consist of seven members nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, with nominees selected from a list of bipartisan names provided by Congress. No longer would the future of AI and the transformation of human life that it will bring be dictated by fewer than a dozen Big Tech oligarchs.\n\nSecond, it would require large companies that operate both AI and non-AI businesses to break up those businesses, ensuring the public receives an ownership stake in the AI business.\n\nThird, it would guarantee that the economic benefits generated by AI are used to improve the lives of all of us \u2014 not simply to make the richest people in the world even richer.\n\nAt current valuations, the sovereign wealth fund that would be created under this legislation would be worth an estimated $7 trillion. To start, a 5% annual dividend from this fund could provide a direct payment of more than $1,000 to everyone in America. Eventually, if these AI companies continue to grow as rapidly as many analysts expect, the wealth that it generates could be used to ensure that every man, woman and child in the United States has a decent and dignified standard of living, including the right to health care, education, housing, and a healthy and habitable environment. If the value of these companies goes down, as others have suggested, the companies would bear the losses, not the federal government.\n\nThis is not a new concept. Over 100 sovereign wealth funds exist all over the world \u2014 from Norway to Alaska \u2014 to ensure that ordinary people benefit from national wealth.\n\n\u201cThe principle is simple: When a public resource generates wealth, the public should share in that wealth,\u201d Sanders concluded. \u201cThe future of AI and the fate of humanity must not be decided behind closed doors in Silicon Valley by billionaires seeking to maximize their power and profit. It must be decided by workers, parents, teachers, artists, scientists, communities and the American people.\u201d\n\nRead the bill text here.", 1, "2026-06-19T06:50:32Z", "2026-06-19T06:53:40Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-introduces-legislation-to-create-7-trillion-ai-sovereign-wealth-fund/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.742871943861246, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}