# 119-s-2937: AI LEAD Act

119-s-2937, AI LEAD Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] (D-IL); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2937
- As of: 2026-08-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-2937
- Congress: 119
- Title: AI LEAD Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-09-29
- Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] (D-IL)
- Cosponsors: 4
- Policy area: Commerce
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-11

## Summary

**A federal products liability framework for artificial intelligence aims to align legal responsibility with safety by defining who counts as a developer or deployer and by restricting unconscionable liability waivers.** The bill draws clear lines about design duties, warnings, and when AI systems are treated as defective to push accountability into AI development and use. - Developers face liability if a claimant proves the developer failed to exercise reasonable care in design, failed to provide adequate instructions or warnings, breached an express warranty, or sold a product that was defective and unreasonably dangerous. - The act defines key roles and changes. It defines a "deployer" and a "substantial modification" as a deliberate, unauthorized change that alters an AI product's purpose, use, function, design, or intended use while excluding changes that only reduce or mitigate risks. - "Harm" is defined broadly to include property damage, personal injury or death, financial or reputational injury, mental distress, and related losses. Courts may infer defect from recurring incidents and treat noncompliance with safety statutes or regulations as evidence of defect for addressed risks.

## Cosponsors (4)

- Sen. Hawley, Josh [R-MO] (R-MO), 2025-09-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT), 2026-03-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME] (I-ME), 2026-03-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN] (R-TN), 2026-03-19T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Defines AI systems and roles: mixed, high. This bill would define what counts as an artificial intelligence system. It would call those systems "covered products." It would name who is a developer and who is a deployer. It would define "design," "substantial modification," and what kinds of harm count in a lawsuit. These definitions would c…
- New liability rules for AI makers: mixed, medium. This bill would create four ways to sue AI developers. You could sue for careless design, inadequate warnings, a broken express promise, or a product that was dangerous when sold. A claimant would need to prove the claim by a preponderance of the evidence and show proximate cause. The bill treats s…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-s-1816: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025
- 119-s-1032: Major Richard Star Act
- 119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former United States Senator for the State of Kansas.
- 119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewellyn Kyl, former Senator for the State of Arizona.
- 119-sres-801: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable Lindsey Olin Graham, a Senator from the State of South Carolina.

## Sources
- [119-s-2937 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2937)

## Related
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-s-1816: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1816)
- [119-s-1032: Major Richard Star Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1032)
- [119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former Uni…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-913)
- [119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewel…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-897)
- [119-sres-801: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable Lindsey Olin Graham,…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-801)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2937 (as of 2026-08-11).