Law & Policy
What did Congressional leaders tell OPTECH about AI, broadband, and regulatory reality via hologram? Here’s a full breakdown.
By: Valerie M. Sargent, Broadband Communities
At a time when political discourse often feels fractured, a few presentations I saw in November at OPTECH 2025 offered a reminder that bipartisan collaboration is possible, and it was refreshing to see that it is helping to shape the future of technology policy for the rental housing industry.
Across two high-level policy conversations, members of Congress joined rental housing industry leaders from the Real Estate Technology and Transformation Center (RETTC) and the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) to discuss artificial intelligence, data privacy, broadband access, and regulatory reform. Together, these conversations underscored a central message for housing providers and technology partners alike: engagement matters, and the decisions being made now will define how innovation is deployed across rental housing for years to come.
Why advocacy and bipartisanship matter
Of course, there is an important role that organizations like RETTC and NMHC play in educating lawmakers across party lines. Rental housing is increasingly impacted by technology driven policy decisions that often originate far outside traditional housing committees or discussions.
As policymakers confront complex issues such as AI governance, data privacy, tax policy, and broadband deployment, the industry’s advocacy strategy led by RETTC and NMHC is focused on credibility, continuity, and real-world education for lawmakers who navigate fast moving technological change. We were able to see that maintaining these long-standing bipartisan relationships helps the industry explain how innovation actually functions on the ground and why overly rigid or fragmented regulation can unintentionally increase costs and limit housing supply. Advocacy matters, and regulatory outcomes are shaped by those who consistently show up with informed perspectives.
Senator Shelley Moore Capito on practical progress
Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) joined OPTECH via hologram, offering insight from her leadership roles on the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and the Senate Commerce Committees, which helps shape infrastructure, broadband, and technology policy.
Capito emphasized that affordability is deeply tied to regulatory efficiency. She explained that delays in permitting and duplicative oversight drive up costs long before a community ever opens its doors. On artificial intelligence, her focus was balance. “We want to harness the good that AI can bring while making sure there are protections in place that people can trust,” she said. “That balance is critical if we want innovation to actually help communities rather than complicate them.”
Her remarks reflected a pragmatic approach that resonated, reminding us that innovation and accountability are not opposing forces when policy is shaped with industry input.
A bipartisan blueprint for AI governance
That theme carried into a second discussion featuring Representatives Jay Obernolte (R-CA) and Ted Lieu (D-CA), co-chairs of the House Bipartisan Task Force on Artificial Intelligence. Their work has resulted in a comprehensive federal report outlining more than 60 recommendations for AI governance.
What made the task force distinctive was not just its scope, but its structure. Equal representation from both parties with no traditional chair or ranking hierarchy combined with a unanimous agreement requirement for all recommendations, which signaled a deliberate effort to move beyond partisan lines.
Obernolte summarized the philosophy succinctly. “In the United States, we regulate outcomes, not tools,” he said. “Rather than writing one sweeping law to govern all AI, the task force recommended empowering existing regulators such as housing, labor, and consumer protection agencies to oversee how AI is used within their specific domains.”
How sector-based regulation matters
For rental housing professionals, this type of approach has important implications. Using this type of sector-based regulation means that AI used for resident screening, leasing operations, or property management would be governed by those agencies already familiar with housing law and fair housing requirements. Instead of a single federal AI authority applying broad rules to every industry, regulators would focus on how AI affects real world outcomes in their area of expertise.
This structure is designed to prevent unintended consequences, such as discouraging innovation that improves efficiency or resident experience, while still addressing risks like bias, misuse of data, or lack of transparency.
Congressman Lieu emphasized the importance of this balance, particularly when it comes to consumer trust. “AI can help increase efficiency and expand access, including in housing,” he said. “But guardrails are necessary when AI decisions affect people’s lives. That is where thoughtful, bipartisan policy matters most.”
Data privacy and the cost of fragmentation
Both of these lawmakers were candid about the challenges posed by the growing patchwork of state level AI and data privacy laws. With dozens of states advancing their own frameworks, compliance complexity is becoming a real barrier, especially for smaller housing providers and technology startups.
Lieu warned that without a national standard, innovation risks becoming concentrated among only the largest players. Obernolte echoed that concern, noting that regulatory uncertainty can delay investment and/or deployment of tools that could benefit residents.
A new federal question on the horizon
Since these conversations, the policy landscape has evolved further. President Donald Trump’s newly released AI initiative calls for eliminating state laws that obstruct a cohesive national AI strategy. This development raises a critical question for rental housing leaders: how will federal preemption interact with the bipartisan, sector-based approach Congress has been developing?
The discussions at OPTECH suggested that lawmakers are aware of this tension. While there is broad agreement that a fragmented regulatory environment is unsustainable, there is equal consensus that national policy must be informed by industry realities and preserve flexibility for innovation.
The takeaway for rental housing
I walked away thinking the future of AI policy in housing will not be written by one party or one institution alone. It will be shaped through ongoing bipartisan collaboration between policymakers and industry leaders who understand both the promise and the responsibility that come with emerging technology.
For the multifamily industry, this moment represents not just a regulatory challenge, but an opportunity to help define how innovation serves residents, communities, and long-term affordability.
Valerie M. Sargent is a multifamily speaker, trainer and executive consultant, and is the multifamily news correspondent for Broadband Communities. Learn more by visiting her website.
