Senators Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Jim Banks, Republican of Indiana, on Monday (9) urged the United States Congress to pass the AI Overwatch Act as part of the annual defense bill (NDAA) for fiscal year 2027. The bill would give Congress greater power over export licenses for advanced AI chips and is one of three bipartisan measures under negotiation to restrict China's access to that hardware.
According to the senators' joint statement, Nvidia has reportedly received approvals to export hundreds of thousands of advanced AI chips to China, including to companies tied to the Chinese military, even after lawmakers asked in March for a full review of the licenses. The backdrop is chief executive Jensen Huang's confirmation of a relationship with a person suspected of working for Chinese intelligence — a case Nvidia is examining in an independent investigation and which led Congress to summon Huang to answer questions. Geekiki already covered this development in articles published on November 8 and 9.
The three measures under discussion
The three measures under discussion in the Senate NDAA package are: the AI Overwatch Act, which codifies restrictions on exports of the most advanced chips and would keep China at least two generations behind American technology for 18 months; the Chip Security Act, which would require companies to track their chips to combat smuggling; and the Match Act, which would press US allies to restrict exports of chipmaking equipment. The House Foreign Affairs Committee already advanced all three bills this year, but none of them has become law yet, and negotiations on the final text continue.
The White House also asked Congress in late October for the AI Overwatch Act to include a rule barring remote access to certain advanced chips — a route Chinese AI companies use to reach restricted hardware through data centers in other countries, such as Singapore and Malaysia, according to US press reports. The senators also requested a private briefing with Huang for November 18.
Opposition and next steps
Nvidia and the Information Technology Industry Council oppose the measures, warning of risks to American competitiveness. On the other side, the senators say it is time for Congress to act to close the pathways through which China accesses advanced chips. About 600,000 of Nvidia's H200 chips are reportedly sitting in Hong Kong awaiting China's permission to enter the country, according to Asian press reports.
Sources: U.S. Senate — Sens. Banks, Warren Statement on National Security Concerns Surrounding NVIDIA (November 9, 2026); BusinessWorld / Reuters — Nvidia spy allegations likely to spur laws to tighten China's access to AI chips; AI Policy Daily — November 10, 2026
Image credit: the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. — photo by Gryffindor, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Transparency: this article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence, cross-checking public posts on X and sources from the internet. We recommend consulting the original sources for more details.
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