Lawmakers flag financial risks in AI buildout but rule out bailouts

Lawmakers in Washington say the AI infrastructure boom could pose risks to the broader financial system. They also have no plans to increase federal financial support if those risks turn into real problems. The size of the bet The AI infrastructure buildout is projected to require more than $10 trillion in US investment through 2032. That works out to approximately 3.6% of annual US GDP. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is among the lawmakers raising alarms about these rising capital expenditures. An analysis released on September 24, 2026, tied the risks to the complicated debt structures increasingly used to pay for the buildout. Those structures include leases, project finance and special-purpose vehicles, or SPVs. An SPV is essentially a separate legal entity created to hold an asset and its debt. That setup can keep the borrowing off the parent company’s own balance sheet. Oracle, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Alphabet are expected to post combined capex of over $800 billion in 2026. That figure exceeds what those companies currently generate in operating cash flow. Where the debt is hiding The shift toward off-balance-sheet financing changes the calculus. Leverage is rising, and the risk ...