OpenAI's Chris Lehane says the company can support the FRONTIER Act verification requirement
Global affairs lead at OpenAI briefing reporters
“specifically talked about how we think about IVO and made clear that we can support that”
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Politico report timestamped 9:37 AM ET on September 15, 2026. States this is the first time OpenAI has backed a specific federal mandate for third-party safety assessors. The FRONTIER Act is sponsored by Reps. Jay Obernolte and Lori Trahan.
Before the quotation
Lehane described a Monday meeting on Capitol Hill with one of the bill's sponsors. OpenAI had endorsed a related California measure the previous week and Altman had pledged to embed third-party evaluators voluntarily.
After the quotation
Lehane added that it was important for the sponsors to hear the position directly from OpenAI. Politico reports this is the first time OpenAI has backed a specific federal third-party assessor mandate.
How this statement is classified
Case context: Should Washington impose stronger safeguards on frontier AI?
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case proposition is that Washington should impose stronger safeguards on frontier AI. Lehane commits OpenAI to supporting a specific federal mandate requiring outside evaluators, which supports the proposition.
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Should Washington impose stronger safeguards on frontier AI?
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