Ensuring American artificial intelligence tools become the global operating standard is the central mission of Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz’s new AI Legislative Framework, released on Wednesday alongside his long-awaited SANDBOX ACT.
The AI sandbox bill, which would create a federal AI testing setup within the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, serves as part of the first pillar of Cruz’s new strategy that proposes a broad plan for Congressional legislative priorities surrounding AI.
The strategy is centered around five pillars: unleashing American innovation and long-term growth; protecting free speech in the AI age; preventing a patchwork of burdensome AI regulation; stopping nefarious use of AI against Americans; and defending human value and dignity.
“While this list is not exhaustive, it provides a starting point for discussion with both my colleagues and the administration on legislation that ensures the United States wins the AI race and benefits from this transformative technology,” Cruz said during a Wednesday Senate Commerce hearing.
Within each of these pillars, the strategy also lays out specific action items, such as creating the federal AI regulatory sandbox, protecting Americans against digital scams and fraud, reinvigorating bioethical considerations in federal policy and clarifying federal standards to prevent burdensome state AI regulations. Together, these inform the light-touch AI regulation that Cruz and the Trump administration have supported across the federal policy landscape and seeks to keep industry partners at the center of major regulatory decisions.
Cruz’s SANDBOX Act aims to exemplify that approach, offering exemption waivers for participating AI softwares from existing rules and restrictions that could impede the work done in the sandbox.
Cruz noted that Congress would be tasked with collecting regular reports on how often these rules and restrictions were modified to better understand the future policy needs of American AI operators.
“The SANDBOX Act is the first step,” Cruz said in the press release. “It embraces our nation’s entrepreneurial spirit and gives AI developers the room to create while still mitigating any health or consumer risks. The AI framework and SANDBOX Act ensure AI is defined by American values of defending human dignity, protecting free speech, and encouraging innovation.”
“That becomes the backbone for all of the creative genius that exists in this room, for developing the technologies that are going to allow us to grow our economy here in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said. “Not just for a few years, but really to me, this is a generational change.
AI can be a game-changer in healthcare RCM — but only if it delivers results.
In a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Waystar, leaders report that AI is already proving effective in enhancing efficiency, accuracy, and financial performance across the revenue cycle. Turning potential into performance: AI in revenue cycle management.
Read this study to explore the current state of AI adoption, where AI is delivering impact, and how to unlock true value at scale.
What’s inside :
How — and where — AI is driving meaningful results across revenue cycle operations (including a 36% boost in workforce efficiency)
Why growing trust in AI is accelerating adoption among top healthcare organizations
Where healthcare leaders are planning to expand and refine AI investments
Like many health systems, Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles found itself facing access and administrative challenges — long wait times for patients, time-consuming paperwork for doctors. To address these concerns, they launched an artificial intelligence-powered virtual platform called Cedars-Sinai Connect which, according to a recent study, showed positive results when compared to traditional physician recommendations.
CS Connect, developed in partnership with K-Health and launched in 2023, enables patients to access health care support 24/7 through a mobile app or website. The system uses chat-based symptom intake and patient records to recommend treatments, which physicians review and approve. It can even prompt patients to upload photos of physical symptoms like rashes. This approach streamlines the diagnostic process and frees up physicians to focus less on patient intake and more on care decisions.
A 2025 study found that CS Connect’s recommendations were often rated higher in quality than those from physicians: 77% of AI recommendations were rated as optimal, while 67% of physicians’ decisions were rated optimal. According to Caroline Goldzweig, chief medical officer of Cedars-Sinai Medical Network, the study suggests that CS Connect tends to be more guideline-focused, while physicians can adapt medical guidelines based on the nuance of a patient’s individual case. The study, however, only examined a few medical conditions.
Since its launch, over 42,000 patients have used CS Connect. Cedars-Sinai is currently expanding the tool to include remote monitoring for chronic illnesses and increased integration between virtual and in-person care, aiming to make health care more efficient and personalized.
