Press Releases

Today, Representatives Suzan DelBene (WA-01) and August Pfluger (TX-11) and Senators Marsha Blackburn (TN) and Mark Warner (VA) introduced the United States Leadership in Immersive Technology Act, legislation that would establish an advisory panel tasked with creating a national immersive technology strategy.

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), collectively known as immersive technology (XR), allow us to blend the digital and physical worlds into one integrated experience. From automatically generated closed captions of live conversations for the hearing impaired to creating personalized, hands-on training modules for students, the benefits of XR are limitless.

Despite being home to some of the world’s largest XR content and hardware producers, the U.S. lags behind other countries in applying them to commercial and personal use. Already, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and China have strategies that allow them to embrace immersive technologies. The U.S. is relinquishing its role on the international stage to guide the creation of XR standards without a strategy.   

“As technology evolves, we must stay ahead in the XR field to remain competitive on the global stage,” said DelBene, who serves as Co-chair of the Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality Caucus. “This legislation is a crucial step toward ensuring we protect our interests and establish ourselves as leaders in shaping national standards.”

“Immersive technology is a critical tool that allows users to blend the digital and physical worlds and is utilized by thousands of Americans, businesses, and even our military to enhance simulation and training capabilities. While the capabilities are seemingly endless, the U.S. continues to fall behind in our investment and development of this technology. In contrast, our adversaries, such as the CCP, continue to advance their investments in it aggressively. This poses a serious threat to our national security, which is why I am proud to support this commonsense legislation to safeguard the United States and re-establish our position as a global leader in this emerging technology by creating a national immersive technology strategy,” said Pfluger.

“We need to stay two steps ahead of our adversaries when it comes to applying immersive technology in American industries and stimulating economic growth,” said Blackburn. “Our United States Leadership in Immersive Technology Act would make certain we can compete with adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party and safeguard national security as virtual reality and augmented reality become more prevalent on the world stage.”  

“As the use of immersive technology continues to rapidly rise, it’s essential that we do not get left behind. I’m proud to introduce this legislation that will help to create a national strategy surrounding XR to ensure that the United States remains competitive globally in this crucial industry,” said Warner.

“The Trump administration has made it clear that American technology leadership is a top priority, and the XR industry is poised for immense growth. This bill is an important step towards achieving that goal," said Liz Hyman, CEO, XR Association. “XR is being rapidly adopted to tackle challenges in various sectors including workforce training, healthcare, education and agency operations. We are excited by the efforts of this Congress to recognize XR’s potential as a tool to increase efficiency and meet challenges across a broad range of issues.”

The United States Leadership in Immersive Technology Act is endorsed by Google, Meta, HTC, Sony, University of Wyoming, ReframeXR, Qualcomm, NC East Alliance, Transfr, Mynd, Immersive, MediView, Lakeside Metaverse, CareerViewXR, Chocolate Milk & Donuts, XR Association, and the George Washington University’s Digital Trade and Data Governance Hub.

A copy of the bill can be found here.