Nydia Velázquez's Record on AI
A cosponsored superintelligence bill and two recorded House votes on AI-related measures
Nydia Velázquez has formally supported a conditional pause on advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and a superintelligence ban, and she voted yes on two AI-related House bills. She is an original cosponsor of H.R. 10538, the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act of 2026. That bill would pause advanced-AI training and unreleased deployment until a Department of Artificial Intelligence is staffed and safety rules are issued.
Her record also includes a yes vote on the AI for Main Street Act, which would help small businesses evaluate and use AI. It also includes a yes vote on the TAKE IT DOWN Act, which restricts publishing nonconsensual intimate images, including certain AI-made forgeries. The sourced record shows specific restrictions alongside support for AI-use legislation. It does not establish opposition to every form or use of AI.
- Party
- Democratic
- State
- New York
- Office
- U.S. Representative, New York's 7th congressional district, as listed in the [2026 Congressional Directory](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CDIR-2026-02-20/pdf/CDIR-2026-02-20.pdf)
- Age
- 73 as of 2026-11-05 · Source
- Political Leaning
- Congressional Progressive Caucus member (roster checked November 5, 2026).
- Election Status
- Velázquez announced on November 20, 2025, that she will not seek reelection in 2026 and remains in her current term (official statement). The inspected record contains no certified November 2026 result.
Nydia Velázquez's Position on AI
Velázquez's documented AI position consists of specific measures. Her restriction on advanced AI is a bill sponsorship: she is listed as an original cosponsor of H.R. 10538, which was referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on September 24, 2026. No enactment appears in the inspected record.
The pause is conditional. Under the introduced text, advanced-AI training, modification, fine-tuning and unreleased deployment would stop until a Department of Artificial Intelligence is staffed and safety rules are issued, with limited remedial work excepted. A separate prohibition would cover developing, deploying, possessing, funding, importing or transferring superintelligence.
Her supportive votes concern two other measures. She voted yes on the AI for Main Street Act on January 20, 2026, a bill that would help small businesses evaluate and use AI. She also voted yes on the TAKE IT DOWN Act on April 28, 2025, which restricts publishing nonconsensual intimate depictions, including certain AI-made forgeries.
No inspected source contains a personal statement from her opposing AI in general. Her oversight letters target particular uses, including Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) use of Palantir-developed systems and Delta's use of AI in ticket pricing.
Background at a Glance
Velázquez was born in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, on March 28, 1953, and was 73 years old on November 4, 2026, according to the Congressional Directory.
| Item | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Party | Democratic | 2026 Congressional Directory |
| State and district | New York, 7th district | 2026 Congressional Directory |
| Current office | U.S. Representative | 2026 Congressional Directory |
| Date of birth | March 28, 1953, Yabucoa, Puerto Rico | 2026 Congressional Directory |
| Age on November 4, 2026 | 73, calculated from the birth date | 2026 Congressional Directory |
Background and Political Leaning
Velázquez grew up in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, and was the first college graduate in her family, according to her official congressional biography. The directory lists a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Puerto Rico in 1974, followed by a master's degree in political science from New York University in 1976.
Her early career included university teaching and New York City politics. She was a faculty member at the University of Puerto Rico from 1976 to 1981 and an adjunct professor at Hunter College of the City University of New York from 1981 to 1983. In 1983 she was a special assistant to Congressman Ed Towns, and from 1984 to 1986 she served on the New York City Council.
From 1986 to 1989 she was national director of the Migration Division Office in Puerto Rico's Department of Labor and Human Resources. From 1989 to 1992 she directed the Department of Puerto Rican Community Affairs in the United States. The official biography also says she was the first Puerto Rican woman elected to the U.S. House, in 1992.
The sources here do not assign her a finer ideological label. Her Democratic affiliation appears in the directory, but party membership alone does not establish a finer ideology, so this page assigns no label. Her position on AI rests on the bills, votes and letters described on this page.
Statements and Actions on AI
The inspected sources contain no individually spoken quotation from Velázquez on AI. Her oversight actions are joint, and each release below lists her as a participant rather than as the sole author.
- April 16, 2026: Velázquez, Goldman and Wyden led an inquiry into DHS and ICE use of Palantir-developed systems and related facial-recognition and data-surveillance technology, according to the Goldman release.
- August 10, 2026: Velázquez is listed as a signatory to Rep. Casar's OpenAI release and his Anthropic release. Both seek logs and answers about reported model security incidents.
- November 5, 2025: Velázquez is listed as a cosigner of a request from Reps. García and Nadler asking Delta's CEO about AI use in ticket pricing.
Policies Supported and Opposed
The only bill sponsorship in the inspected record is an original cosponsorship of H.R. 10538. Both inspected House votes on AI-related bills are yes votes, and the inspected record contains no policy objection from her to any AI bill.
H.R. 10538 would create a cabinet Department of Artificial Intelligence. It would set the advanced-AI threshold at training compute of 10^25 integer or floating-point operations, adjusted annually. Advanced models would need predeployment approval, and developers would face 24-hour discovery reporting duties, developer charter requirements and penalties of up to 20 years in prison for specified reckless violations.
The bill also protects whistleblowers. The Secretary may waive a 10-year AI-industry employment bar for a non-policymaking individual who provided information about a covered violation. That waiver is discretionary, and it does not grant automatic immunity from every penalty.
H.R. 10538 is only an introduced bill, so these duties are proposed rather than enacted. The AI for Main Street Act would require small business development centers to help businesses evaluate and use AI. Its guidance and training would cover best practices, business operations, data and intellectual property, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance and trust.
Section 3 of the Main Street bill authorizes no additional funding. A yes vote supports the business-assistance bill as a whole. The TAKE IT DOWN Act became Public Law 119-12 on May 19, 2025, after the House passed it 409 to 2 on April 28, 2025. The Senate cleared it by unanimous consent on February 13, 2025, so there is no individual Senate roll call to attribute. Covered platforms must set up a notice and removal process within one year of enactment and remove covered depictions within 48 hours of a valid request.
| Date | Item | Her action | Status and limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 28, 2025 | TAKE IT DOWN Act (S. 146) | Yea on House motion to suspend the rules and pass (Clerk roll 104) | Enacted as Public Law 119-12 on May 19, 2025. Restricts publishing nonconsensual intimate depictions, including certain AI-made forgeries. |
| November 5, 2025 | Delta AI ticket-pricing letter | Cosigner of a joint oversight request | Joint request to Delta's CEO. No finding of unlawful conduct. |
| January 20, 2026 | AI for Main Street Act (H.R. 5764) | Yea on House motion to suspend the rules and pass as amended (Clerk roll 33) | Proposed. Passed House 395 to 14; latest recorded action is referral in the Senate. Not law. |
| April 16, 2026 | DHS and ICE use of Palantir-developed systems | Co-lead of a joint inquiry | Joint request for contracts, datasets and retention policies. Allegations are attributed to their originators. |
| August 10, 2026 | OpenAI and Anthropic security-incident requests | Listed signatory to two joint releases | Joint requests for logs and answers. Not published |
| September 24, 2026 | H.R. 10538, Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act of 2026 | Original cosponsor | Introduced and referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Not law; no roll call in the inspected record. |
Current Office and the 2026 Election
Velázquez announced on November 20, 2025, that she will not seek reelection in 2026, according to her official press release. She remains in her current term as the U.S. Representative for New York's 7th district, so the sourced record shows no office sought in 2026.
The directory is dated February 20, 2026, before the November 2026 election, so it cannot confirm any result. The inspected record contains no certified November 2026 result for this seat and no successor's name. A missing certification record is an evidence limit. It does not show that New York has not certified the result.
Scope and Open Questions
The inspected sources show dated, specific AI actions, but they do not show a complete record of her votes or statements. Only two Clerk roll calls were reviewed, and a yes vote on either bill supports that whole bill without establishing her view of every AI use.
Several facts remain unknown from this record. It does not identify her current committee assignments in the 119th Congress, and it contains no individually spoken AI quotation. It also does not show how H.R. 10538 may have moved after the November 4, 2026 inspection.
The record does not establish a general AI position, so it cannot predict how she will vote on future AI bills. To confirm whether H.R. 10538 has moved since the record was inspected, open the GovInfo bill status record and compare its latest action date with the bill text on Congress.gov.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Nydia Velázquez support AI regulation?
She supports specific AI restrictions. She is an original cosponsor of H.R. 10538, which would impose a conditional pause on advanced AI and prohibit superintelligence, and she voted yes on the TAKE IT DOWN Act. The sourced record does not show opposition to every form or use of AI.
Has H.R. 10538 become law?
No enactment appears in the inspected record. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on September 24, 2026, and the text is the introduced version. Check the GovInfo bill status record for any later action.
Did she vote against any AI bill?
The inspected Clerk records show no nay vote from her on an AI bill. Those records cover two House votes, roll 33 and roll 104, so they do not form a complete voting history.
Has Velázquez made a personal statement about AI?
No individually spoken AI quotation from her appears in the inspected sources. Her recorded AI actions are a bill cosponsorship, two House votes and joint oversight letters, and the letters do not show her individual wording.
Does a yes vote on the AI for Main Street Act mean she backs all AI use?
No. The vote supports the whole bill, which would have small business development centers help businesses evaluate and use AI. The record does not show a position on every AI use, and the bill authorizes no additional funding.