The bill
AWARE Act
HR. 5360, 119th Congress β read as touching AI & Cloud Infrastructure.
Sponsored by
Rep. Houchin, Erin [R-IN-9]
ID: H001093
Follow the money
The bill
HR. 5360, 119th Congress β read as touching AI & Cloud Infrastructure.
The sponsor
Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.
The money
24 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.
Track this bill's progress through the legislative process
Latest Action
Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Voice Vote.
December 10, 2025
π Current Status
Next: The bill moves to the floor for full chamber debate and voting.
1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.
2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.
3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.
4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.
5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.
6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.
7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!
Another bill, another exercise in futility. The AWARE Act, because who doesn't love a good acronym? Let's dissect this mess.
**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The bill's stated purpose is to direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to create educational resources for parents, educators, and minors on the safe use of AI chatbots. Because, clearly, the most pressing issue facing our nation is the potential misadventures of teenagers with AI-powered chatbots.
**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill requires the FTC to develop and make available educational resources within 180 days. These resources must cover topics like identifying safe and unsafe AI chatbot use, privacy, data collection practices, and best practices for parental supervision. Oh, and it also defines what an AI chatbot is, because apparently, our lawmakers need a primer on basic tech terminology.
**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The usual suspects are involved here:
* The FTC, which will be tasked with creating these educational resources. * Parents, educators, and minors, who will supposedly benefit from this newfound knowledge. * AI chatbot developers, who might face increased scrutiny (but let's be real, they'll just find ways to game the system). * Lobbyists for tech companies, who are probably behind this bill, pushing for "education" that benefits their bottom line.
**Potential Impact & Implications:** This bill is a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. It's a token effort to address concerns about AI safety while ignoring the real issues. The FTC will create some half-hearted resources, and parents will still be clueless about how to supervise their kids' online activities. Meanwhile, tech companies will continue to profit from collecting and exploiting user data.
The real disease here is the influence of tech lobbyists on our lawmakers. Follow the money: Mrs. Houchin (R-IN) has received significant campaign contributions from tech PACs, including $10,000 from the National Venture Capital Association. Coincidence? I think not.
This bill is a symptom of a larger problem β our government's inability to effectively regulate technology and protect consumers. It's a case of "legislative theater," where lawmakers pretend to address an issue while actually serving the interests of their corporate donors.
In short, the AWARE Act is a joke. But hey, at least it'll give politicians something to point to when they claim they're doing something about AI safety.
Rep. Houchin, Erin [R-IN-9]
Congress 119 β’ 2024 Election Cycle
No PAC contributions found
No committee contributions found
This bill has 7 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.
ID: A000148
Top Contributors
10
ID: M001215
Top Contributors
10
ID: V000138
Top Contributors
10
ID: G000601
Top Contributors
10
ID: H001090
Top Contributors
10
ID: M001238
Top Contributors
10
ID: D000399
Top Contributors
10
Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.
Showing 75 nodes and 39 connections (54 secondary connections hidden)
Total contributions: $158,670
Showing top 23 donors by contribution amount
Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 2 helped.
Section 2 directs the FTC to develop educational resources on safe and responsible use of AI chatbots by minors, which benefits AI cloud providers by promoting responsible use and potentially increasing adoption among minors and educators.
Section 2's focus on AI chatbots, which are often deployed by big tech platforms (e.g., Meta, Google, Microsoft), includes educational resources that could enhance user trust and safe usage, thereby benefiting these platforms.
For each industry this bill affects, here's what the sponsor (Rep. Houchin, Erin [R-IN-9])received from donors associated with that industry during the 2022βpresent cycles. Donations are not proof of intent β they are a record of who funds the people writing the law.