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The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee held a markup hearing on September 11, 2024. Source
On Wednesday, September 11, 2024, the United States House of Representatives Committee on Space, Science, and Technology hosted a full committee markup on nine bills focused on developing and using artificial intelligence (AI) in a safe and trustworthy manner and providing resources to research and standards efforts. The bills included in the markup are as follows (with descriptions drawn from the Committee website):
- H.R. 9197, the Small Business Artificial Intelligence Advancement Act– Favorably reported to the House by voice vote as amended. This bill would require the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop resources for small businesses in utilizing artificial intelligence.
- H.R. 9194, the Nucleic Acid Screening for Biosecurity Act – Favorably reported to the House by voice vote. This bill would amend the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act to support nucleic acid screening.
- H.R. 9211, the LIFT AI Act – Favorably reported to the House by voice vote as amended. This bill is intended to improve educational efforts related to artificial intelligence literacy at the K through 12 level.
- H.R. 9215, the Workforce for AI Trust Act – Favorably reported to the House by voice vote. This bill is intended to facilitate a workforce of trained experts to build trustworthy AI systems.
- H.R. 9402, the NSF AI Education Act of 2024 – Favorably reported to the House by voice vote as amended. This bill would support National Science Foundation education and professional development relating to artificial intelligence.
- H.R. 9403, the Expanding AI Voices Act – Favorably reported to the House by voice vote as amended. This bill would support a broad and diverse interdisciplinary research community for the advancement of AI and AI-powered innovation through partnerships and capacity building at certain institutions of higher education and other institutions to expand AI capacity in populations historically underrepresented in STEM.
- H.R. 5077, the CREATE AI Act – Favorably reported to the House by voice vote as amended. This bill would establish the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR).
- H.R. 9497, the AI Advancement and Reliability Act – Favorably reported to the House by voice vote as amended. This bill would amend the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 to establish a center on artificial intelligence to ensure continued United States leadership in research, development, and evaluation of the robustness, resilience, and safety of artificial intelligence systems.
- H.R. 9466, the AI Development Practices Act – Favorably reported to the House by voice vote. This bill would direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology to catalog and evaluate emerging practices and norms for communicating certain characteristics of artificial intelligence systems, including relating to transparency, robustness, resilience, security, safety, and usability.
What follows is a lightly edited transcript of the markup hearing.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
The Committee on Science, Space and Technology will come to order without objection. The chair is authorized to declare recess of the committee at any time pursuant to Committee Rule 2F and House Rule 11. Any recorded vote will be postponed. Today we meet to consider nine bills. Pursuant to the notice, members are invited to submit opening statements into the record. I now recognize myself for an opening statement. Thank you all for joining us at this markup. We’re here today to consider nine bills on the development and the use of artificial intelligence. As Speaker Johnson said when he launched the bipartisan AI task force earlier this year, our challenge is to encourage innovation, maintain our competitive edge, protect our national security, and ensure safe and trustworthy technology. These bills take valuable steps to expand the use of AI develop a skilled AI workforce, and improve our tools for AI research and development.
They don’t impose regulations and burdensome requirements. Instead, they’re designed to help American businesses and workers to keep us at the cutting edge of global competition. The first bill we’ll consider is HR 9197. The Small Business Artificial Intelligence Advancement Act sponsored by Representatives Collins and Stevens. Small businesses are the engine that drives the American economy. AI has the potential to be a valuable tool for these businesses who can use it to increase efficiency and improve their services. This bill directs NIST to develop resources specifically for small businesses, helping them to better understand and utilize AI systems. Next up, we have HR 9194, the Nucleic Acid Screening for Biosecurity Act, sponsored by Representatives Caraveo and McCormick. The synthetic production of nucleic acids like RNA and DNA has helped us make great strides in healthcare, agricultural production and biofuels development. AI is revolutionizing how we synthesize these molecules, which presents a challenge in how we screen for and manage nucleic acids.
This bill provides best practices and standards for biosecurity measures related to nucleic acids, ensuring our screening tools keep pace with the AI powered developments. The next bill before us is HR 9211, the LIFT AI Act sponsored by representatives Keen and Amo. This is a straightforward bill that authorizes the National Science Foundation to award grants for research on AI literacy to prepare our K through 12 students for careers in AI powered industries. It’s a critical first step in developing our AI workforce. HR 9215 sponsored by Representative, sorry, Ranking Member Lofgren and myself is also designed to expand our AI workforce, the AI workforce, the workforce for AI Trust Act leverages existing programs at the NSF and NIST to help us develop a multidisciplinary workforce that integrates a broad range of skills and backgrounds to advance AI technology. The A HR 9402, the NSF AI Education Act sponsored by Representatives Salinas and Fong also aims to develop our AI workforce.
It does so by supporting scholarships and fellowships for students studying AI and by creating centers of AI excellence at the community colleges and technical schools. Next, we’ll consider HR 9403, which I have co-sponsored with Representative Fauci. The Expanding AI Voices Act encourages the research and development in AI that isn’t confined to the top 100 universities. We know that to stay competitive, we need to draw on the skills of students from every zip code.
This bill will expand opportunities for AI research and helps strengthen our workforce. Our next bill is HR 5077, the Creative AI Act sponsored by representatives Eshoo and McCall. This bill provides legislative authorization for the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource. NAIRR has been operating as a pilot program since January with the goal of connecting researchers to data and resources necessary to conduct AI research. By authorizing the na, we are ensuring that valuable research can continue.
Next we have HR 9497, the AI Advancement and Reliability Act, sponsored by our two AI task force chairs, Representatives Obernolte and Lieu. This bill establishes a center for AI Advancement and Reliability to research AI robustness, resilience and safety. This will help us establish standards and best practices that can ensure global AI development reflects our values. Finally, we’ll consider HR 9466 the AI Development Practices Act sponsored by representatives Baird and Lieu in order to facilitate innovation in AI, we need a standard way of communicating important characteristics of AI systems in the same way that nutrition labels quickly convey standardized information about food, this bill will create a way to share standard information about an AI systems creative process, training data, performance and risks. This will facilitate collaboration and make it easier to understand AI systems. These bipartisan bills provide strong support for advancing ai and I’d like to thank my colleagues for their work on them. I look forward to a productive markup and I now recognize the ranking member for her opening statement.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA):
I thank you Mr. Chairman. We do have many bills to get through today and as they’re all focused on the challenges and opportunities presented by the rapid acceleration of artificial intelligence, ai broadly speaking has the potential to or is already involved in numerous aspects of our lives and the bills we’re considering here today address a range of foundational concerns around the technology from access for small business to workforce to safety, while recognizing the nuance and complexity of each matter. First bill on the roster, the Small Business Artificial Intelligence Advancement Act led by Ms. Collins and Ms. Stevens seeks to help small businesses adopt AI tools that suit their needs. It directs NIST to disseminate resources to help small businesses understand what AI technology is, what use cases may be most relevant to them, and how to mitigate risk as they incorporate AI into their operations. Next bill is the Nucleic Acid Standards for Biosecurity Act introduced by Ms. Carveo and Mr. McCormick. This bill directs NIST to support the development of best practices for nucleic acid screening and it also directs the development of technical standards for screening of these molecules by consortium of interested stakeholders. Moving on to the Literacy and Future Technologies Act or the LIFT Act brought to us by Mr. K and Mr. Amo. This bill authorizes NSF to create AI educational tools, curricula teacher development opportunities for grades K through 12. Next is my bill. You’ve mentioned the workforce for AI Trust Act, which you have co-sponsored with me. Mr. Lucas and I will speak more on that bill when it’s called up.
Then we’ll consider the NSF Artificial Intelligence Education Act sponsored by Mr. Fong and Ms. Salinas. This bill directs NSF to create and maintain AI learning initiatives and workforce training programs, including opportunities for students pursuing a focus in AI education will also establish centers of AI excellence for technical schools on the job training and career long AI education.
Next, the field of AI research requires diverse participation in order to make this technology safe and more fair and equitable in both access and impact. To that end, expanding AI voices through capacity building led by Ms. fci and you Mr. Chairman, will ensure that projects and partnerships in the national AI research ecosystem include historically black colleges and universities, minority serving institutions, tribal colleges and universities. As you’ve noted, we can’t exclude any zip code. The next bill on the roster is creating resources for every American to experiment with Artificial Intelligence Act of 2003 or the create Act, which was introduced by my friend and colleague from California, Ms. Eshoo and her bipartisan co-chairs on the House AI caucus. I’ll speak more on that one. It’s called up The Advancement and Reliability Act of 2024 is a bill that I’m co-sponsoring, so I’ll speak on that later.
And the AI Development Practices Act directs NIST to describe methods for effective governance and to create or disseminate voluntary guidance for best practices around the development, assessment and release of AI systems. This bill is led by the co-chairs of the bipartisan house artificial intelligence task force, Mr. Obernolte and Mr. Lieu of California. These are all good bills and I would note for all of us on the committee that we have worked hard Mr. Chairman to reach bipartisan consensus on each one of these bills and on each of the amendments that will be offered. So I would note for those who wish to speak on the bills and the amendments that you have five minutes, but you don’t have to use all five minutes. Short statements and support will be appreciated since we have a very large number of bills to go through today and I think we will also be able to voice vote most of these bills so that we can complete our work in a timely fashion. And with that, Mr Chairman, I will yield back
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
General lady yields back pursuant to notice. I now call up HR 9194 sorry, I actually call up HR 9197, the Small Business Artificial Intelligence Advancement Act, and the clerk will report the bill
Clerk:
HR 9197 to require the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop resources for small businesses in utilizing artificial intelligence and for other purposes.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Without objection, the bill is considered as read and open for amendment at any point. I now recognize the gentleman from Georgia, Mr. Collins, to speak on the underlying bill.
Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA):
Thank you Mr. Chairman, and thank you for bringing up my bill during this markup. It is my charge to make sure small businesses are not left behind as technologies continue to advance at a rapid pace. And it’s no secret that artificial intelligence has the potential to be the most innovative digital technology of our time. Americans are leading the way in AI and with the investing of 335 billion in private funds over the last 10 years, the private sector understands that this is the technology of the future. However, artificial intelligence needs to be shared broadly in the fruits of this new digital revolution need to be utilized by the entire American people.
That’s why I introduced HR 9197, the Small Business AI Advancement Act with my colleague Ms. Stevens. This legislation directs the National Institute of Standard and Technology to develop voluntary resources to educate small businesses of best practices and methodology when integrating AI systems into their businesses. Small businesses often lack the resources to develop or utilize AI independently putting them at a disadvantage when compared to large corporations. Through this act, the federal government can democratize the access to cutting edge technology, ensuring that small businesses can improve their operations, make data-driven decisions and stay competitive and in increasingly digital economy. I want to thank my colleague from Michigan, Ms. Stevens for co-sponsoring this bill and working in a bipartisan fashion to guide it through markup. Today I urge my colleagues to support this important and necessary legislation and I yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Gentlemen yields back. Does any other member wish to speak on the underlying bill? The gentle lady from Michigan is recognized.
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI):
Thank you Mr. Chair. I used to move to strike the last word on HR 9197, the small business AI Advancement Act with my colleague, the subcommittee chairman for research and Technology. Mr. Collins, this bill does a few things and does them quite well. We know that small businesses are absolutely the lifeblood of our American economy and certainly from the vantage point in Michigan speaking to the 900,000 small businesses that exist in my state and are growing even coming out of the pandemic since 2021. And so we know that the federal government should do what it needs to support small businesses and support the utilization of safe, secure AI in trustworthy ways to make sure that consumers and workers on Main Street are competitive. And we have a successful model as Mr. Collins pointed to look at when discussing how the federal government can help with small business cybersecurity, the cornerstone program at NIST.
And this program provides technological training and guidance to small businesses to allow them to help understand risks and how to mitigate them. And so utilizing this widely successful model, the legislation before US directs N to establish and disseminate guidance for how small businesses can adopt AI tools and risk management practices by promoting basic understanding, identification and adoption of proper use cases of ai. This legislation is intended to mitigate many of the barriers faced by small businesses of America and it also gives us an opportunity to support the businesses that are leveraging right now AI technologies.
And I’m always excited by the prospect of NIST serving as a convener to support small business growth and the utilization of new technologies. So thank you again to Chairman Collins and to Chairman Lucas and ranking member Lofgren for bringing up this critical legislation. Today I urge everyone to support HR 9197 and they yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
General lady yields back. Does any other member wish to speak on their underlying bill? Seeing none. If there’s no further discussion on the underlying bill, we shall proceed with amendments in the order listed on the roster. The only amendment on the roster for this bill is offered by the gentleman from Ohio. Ms. Sykes, the clerk will report Sykes Amendment number 69.
Clerk:
Sykes Amendment number 69, amendment to HR 9197 offered by Ms. Sykes of Ohio.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Without objection, amendments considered as read and the gentle woman from Ohio is recognized to explain the amendment.
Rep. Emilia Sykes (D-OH):
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I first want to thank my colleagues, Representatives Stevens and Collins, for introducing such an important bill aimed to create and identify resources to help small businesses understand and adopt AI technologies. And thank you Mr. Chair and ranking member Lofgren for bringing it to the committee today. My amendment, if accepted, will enhance the efforts of Representative Stevens and Collins by extending the directive to include NIST Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program. The Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program or MEP is an important program administered by NIST that is critical to the state of Ohio and small and medium manufacturing companies. In fact, small and medium manufacturing companies represent 90% of the job growth in high paying fields in our state. MEP is across the country, help manage networks of regional partners that provide training and technical assistance to the manufacturers and small businesses that are the economic engines of our state.
There are six MEP regional partners in Ohio to support statewide assistance in Northeast Ohio’s. MEP is called Magnet or the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network Supporting businesses in my district, Ohio’s 13th, as we are all still trying to figure out the capabilities of AI and what it means. There is real opportunity for businesses to boost efficiency and productivity using AI tools and this amendment will help ensure that MEPS have the adequate support to provide training and services for the understanding and adoption of artificial intelligence technologies and manufacturing practices for again, small and medium sized businesses across the country, particularly in Ohio’s 13th where manufacturing is so very important in the Midwest and beyond. Mr. Chairman, I’m hoping we can show up for our small and medium sized manufacturers through the expanded support of our MEPS as it pertains to AI resources. So I encourage my colleagues to support this amendment and I yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
General lady yields back.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA):
Mr. Chairman, I want to thank Ms. Sykes for her good amendment, which highlights how crucial it will be that the country’s small and medium-sized manufacturers can adopt AI tools into their processes. NIST Manufacturing extension partnership program has a critical role to play in this space. They support the amendment and urge my colleagues to do the same in yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
General lady yields. Does any other member wish to be recognized on the amendment hearing? No others? The question is on agreeing to the Sykes amendment number 69. All in favor signify by saying aye. Aye.
All those opposed say nay. The ayes appear to aye have it. The ayes appear to aye have it. The ayes do indeed have it. The amendment is agreed to. There were no other amendments pre-filed for this bill. Does any member wish to offer an amendment at this time? Hearing none. I move the committee on science space and technology report HR 91 97 as amended to the house with the recommendation the bill be approved. All those in favor signify by saying Aye. Aye. Aye. All those opposed? All those opposed nay. The ayes appear to have it. The A’s appear to have it. The ayes do indeed have it. The bill is ordered reported favorably pursuant to notice. I now call up HR 9194, the nucleic acid Standards for Biosecurity Act. The clerk will report the bill.
Clerk:
HR 9194 to amend the research and development Competition and Innovation Act to support nucleic acid screening and for other purposes.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Without objection, the bill is considered as read and open for amendment. At this point, I now recognize the gentle woman from Colorado, Ms. Carveo to speak on the underlying bill.
Rep. Yadira Caraveo (D-CO):
Thank you Chairman Lucas for holding today’s markup and I want to start off by acknowledging the monumental contributions of US biotechnology companies in advancing our scientific and medical industries. For instance, biotechnology companies routinely produce nucleic acids such as DNA for use in life science and medical research. Nucleic acid synthesis has allowed researchers to better understand DNA sequences and to engineer these for medical treatments.
As we have learned from our federal investments in research, the properties encoded by such sequences can vary greatly. They can encode properties that give us our most effective medications and treatments, but they may also encode properties which can have detrimental consequences on American security. Although significant work has been done to develop international standards related to screening nucleic acid sequences of concern, more US led efforts are needed to develop and implement such protocols. Given the complex nature of nucleic acids and the growing use of AI empowered designer tools, we must focus on developing screening standards and best practices that can minimize risks while also preserving the societal benefits that this research brings to our economic and national security.
This challenge will only continue to grow as AI systems improve their capabilities to design complex sequences. That is why I am proud to have introduced the nucleic acid Standards for Biosecurity Act, which authorizes the director of NIST to carry out measurement research related to nucleic acid screening. Specifically it directs NIST to support the development of best practices and technical standards through convening a consortium of experienced stakeholders.
Finally, it contains reporting requirements to Congress summarizing the results of the consortium and authorizes funds to carry out these activities. As a doctor, I know the benefits that the convergence of AI and biotechnology can provide to advance medical innovation for Coloradans and Americans nationwide. It is important to preserve this innovation and give researchers and medical practitioners the tools they need to advance medical care safely and responsibly. I’d like to close by thanking my colleague and fellow physician Congressman McCormick for working with me to introduce this crucial legislation. I’d also like to thank Chairman Lucas for bringing it before the full committee today ranking member Lofgren for her support and I am proud to partner with my colleagues in a bipartisan manner to empower ness to carry out this vital and important work. I would urge my colleagues to support this bill and I yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Gentle lady yields back. Does anyone else seek to be recognized to speak on the underlying bill? I think the gentle from Georgia, Mr. McCormick does and is recognized for five minutes.
Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA):
Thank you Chairman Lucas, I’m proud to collaborate with Congresswoman Caraveo on this important piece of legislation. As a physician and member of the bipartisan task force on artificial intelligence, I’m a firm believer that we must embrace new technologies while developing standards and best practices to prevent threats of any kind. It’s crucial to our country safety that we fight against possible biological threats coming from the basic building blocks of life, nucleic acids. As artificial intelligence advances and accessibility grows, so do the risks.
The development of voluntary standards and best practices is necessary to continue this rapid pace of scientific discovery. While considering key implications for biosecurity, the nucleic acid screening for Biosecurity Act will authorize a consortium that includes representatives from industry institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations and customers to develop consensuses around the best practices and standards. This legislation will provide guidelines by approving the creation of voluntary consensus driven technological standards and operational guidelines that are valuable to both industry professionals and customers. Most importantly, this legislation will give the industry the tools to mitigate potential risks without compromising biotechnology innovation and American biotechnology leadership. Thank you Congressman Caraveo for your partnership. I urge my colleagues to support this crucial piece of legislation to preserve our national security while ensuring that American research and innovation can thrive.
Thank you. And with that I yield.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Gentlemen yields back this any other member wish to speak on the underlying bill there being no pre-filed amendments to this bill. Does any member wish to offer an amendment at this time? Hearing none. I move the committee on science space and technology report HR 91 94 to the house of the recommendation that the bill be approved. All those in favor signify by saying Aye. All those opposed nay. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do indeed have it. The bill is ordered reported favorably pursuant to notice I now call up HR ninety two eleven, the LIFT AI Act. The clerk will report the bill.
Clerk:
HR 9211 to improve educational efforts related to artificial intelligence literacy at the K through 12 level and for other purposes.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Without objection, the bill is considered as read and open for amendment. At this point I now recognize the gentleman from New Jersey. Mr. Kean to speak on the underlying bill.
Rep. Tom Kean (R-NJ):
Thank you Mr. Chairman. I have introduced HR 9211 the Literacy in Future Technologies Artificial Intelligence Act with my colleague Representative Ammo. This common sense Bill addresses the pressing need to prepare our nation’s educators and students for an AI enabled future. The LIFT AI Act would authorize the National Science Foundation to award research grants for the development of AI literacy curriculum to ensure K through 12 students and educators have the resources and skills necessary to navigate and to succeed in a rapidly evolving technological landscape. Artificial intelligence is already transforming industries, reshaping economies, and influencing nearly every aspect of life. It has become a powerful tool with immense potential to drive progress to harness the full potential of ai where we must ensure that the next generation of Americans understand how to properly interact with this technology. By authorizing the National Science Foundation to fund research in this area, we are ensuring that the best educational practices, tools, and methodologies are developed and implemented across schools nationwide.
The stakes are high. As AI continues to advance, so too must our educational tools. If we fail to act, we risk leaving behind generation unprepared for the opportunities and challenges that AI will bring. Early childhood understanding of AI will have a positive spillover effects in everyday life, work productivity and even social interactions. A proficient understanding of AI will also help mitigate negative impact of this technology, particularly in the AI generated content space. As our adversaries gain access to AI technologies for surveillance weaponization and economic competition, it is imperative that we promote American leadership through AI literate public. Again, I thank representative ammo for co-leading this legislation and I encourage my colleagues to support this vital piece of legislation. I yield back the remainder of my time. Mr. Chairman.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Gentleman yields back. Does any other member wish to be recognized to speak on the bill? I believe the gentleman from Rhode Island. Mr. Amo is recognized.
Rep. Gabe Amo (D-RI):
Thank you. Thank you Chairman Lucas and ranking member Lofgren for holding today’s markup. I urge my colleagues to support the bipartisan HR 9211, the Literacy and Future Technologies Artificial Intelligence or LIFT AI Act. I’m proud to co-lead this critical legislation with New Jersey representative Tom Kean. As we know AI is not far off in the future. It’s here. It’s now it’s having an impact on our school systems and educators. Just last month I hosted a round table at Smithfield High School in my district on their first day back from summer break. Smithfield’s enrollment is just shy of 750 students, but it was clear that both students and educators are using AI inside and outside the classroom. In our community. We have to teach students, even young students, how to effectively and responsibly use it so we can harness the power of artificial intelligence for good. You shouldn’t have to wait until college or your first job to learn about artificial intelligence.
Delaying this digital education can prevent you from entering those spaces in the first place. I’m proud to co-lead the LIFT AI Act to direct the National Science Foundation or NSF to support research and development activities related to AI literacy. Our bill would encourage the creation of an AI literacy curriculum focused on core competencies and abilities and authorize the development of related evaluation tools, professional development courses, and hands-on learning tools. Moreover, our bill would authorize the NSF to engage state and local agencies, principles, educators, and other school leaders to help develop best practices and enhance artificial intelligence literacy around this country. I’m proud to work in a bipartisan manner here and we need that sort of focus, that sort of dedication to ensure that we invest in and expand artificial intelligence, literacy and education in the classroom. Our LIFT AI act would make sure the next generation of students have the skills necessary to responsibly use this technology regardless of the career they decide to pursue. So I urge my colleagues to support this bill and I yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Gentleman yields back. If there is no further discussion on the underlying bill, we’ll proceed with amendments. The only amendment on the roster for this bill is offered by the gentlewoman from Oregon. Ms. Bonamici, the clerk will report Bonamici amendment number 112.
Clerk:
Bonamici 112. Amendment to HR 92 11 offered by Ms. Bonamici of Oregon.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Without objection, the amendment is considered as read and the gentle one from Oregon is recognized to explain the amendment.
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR):
Thank you Mr. Chairman. And thank you also to ranking member Lofgren and especially thank you to Representative Kean and Representative Amo for their leadership on this important bill. Artificial intelligence systems have tremendous potential to transform the economy by optimizing tasks, solving global problems. But AI also poses significant risks through among other things, its ability to amplify bias and data collection and lead to unfair treatment of particular groups. Users must be able to interpret outputs to avoid spreading misinformation or deepfakes and should be equipped to protect their digital privacy. A well-rounded education that adequately prepares an AI ready workforce must address issues of responsible and ethical AI use. So my straightforward amendment would allow the National Science Foundation to make awards to K-12 school leaders to engage in professional development that focuses on understanding and mitigating potential bias in AI enabled systems. Learning about ethical concerns related to AI and sharing digital privacy strategies. Professional development in AI that’s focused on bias, ethics and privacy will be beneficial not only to help educators adapt to teaching in an AI enabled context, but also to equip students to learn about and benefit from the positive and ethical uses of AI while raising awareness about the need to address bias and protect privacy.
So I encourage all of my colleagues to support this common sense amendment and I yield back the balance of my time.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Gentle lady yields back the balance of her time. Does any other member wish to be recognized to speak on the amendment?
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA):
Mr. Chairman, I want to thank Representative Bonamici for this amendment. For students to become literate in artificial intelligence systems, we need to teach them to how to responsibly use AI. And this amendment does so by empowering educators and administrators to more responsibly deploy AI systems in a classroom. It’s a thoughtful amendment. I support it and I urge everyone else to do the same and yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Gentle lady yields back. Anyone else seek to be recognized hearing no others? The question is agreeing to the Bonamici amendment. Number 112. All in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes appear to have it. They do indeed have it and the amendment is agreed to. There were no other amendments pre-filed for this bill. Does any member wish to offer an amendment at this time? Hearing none. I move that the committee on science space and Technology report HR 9211 as amended to the house with a recommendation The bill be approved. All in favor signify by saying Aye. All those opposed nay. The ayes appear to have it, the appear to have it. They do indeed have it. The bill is ordered reported favorably pursuant to notice I now call up HR in ninety two fifteen the workforce for AI Trust Act. The clerk will report the bill.
Clerk:
HR 9215 to facilitate the growth of multidisciplinary and diverse teams that can advance the development and training of safe and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems and for other purposes.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Without objection, the bill is considered as read and open for amendment. Any point I now recognize the ranking member to speak on the underlying bill.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA):
Thank you Mr. Chairman. I’m proud to introduce this bill, the workforce for AI Trust Act and I want to thank you Mr. Chairman for working with me to introduce this important legislation. AI opens the door to untold benefits for society and I’m truly excited about its potential. However, AI can also contribute to tangible harm and risk today including with respect to misinformation and discrimination. Ethical challenges are embedded within many elements of developing AI technologies. For example, bias present in the training data can introduce or reinforce such bias in the AI system trained on that data even if unintentionally. And if an engineer doesn’t catch the bias in the development stage, it can cause harm when the AI system is deployed. Meaningful governance of AI systems will be critical to promoting societal benefits while minimizing potential harms. However, currently our workforce lacks a sufficient cadre of experts who can apply these insights technically during AI system development and deployment.
We need these workers now and we’ll need them even more when we have developed the standards and regulations needed to govern AI systems. This bill authorizes activities to promote a diverse multidisciplinary workforce that can advance the development and training of trustworthy AI systems. It does so by leveraging existing programs and activities at NSF and nist. At NSF, the bill creates interdisciplinary fellowships that integrate social science and humanities researchers with AI researchers to advance the science and practice of responsible AI development. It further expands activities to promote AI skills-based training across STEM fields, including by directing NSF supported workshops, curricula development and experimental learning experiences and other activities at nist. It supports the AI risk management workforce by authorizing the development of standards and guidance for career development, education, training activities and professional certifications related to AI risk management.
Thank you again, chairman Lucas, for your partnership on this bill that can help move us towards realizing the potential of responsible ai. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and I yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Gentle lady yields back. I recognize myself. Providing opportunities for education training is important to building a diverse multidisciplinary workforce to develop trustworthy AI systems. While AI has incredible potential impact society, positively public trust in these systems is undermined by the potential harms of implementing these systems. This bill will support the development of the necessary workforce with the appropriate skills to train and evaluate AI system within technical research environments, thereby building public trust in these systems. I thank the ranking member Ms. Lofgren for her leadership on this legislation and I urge my colleagues to support the bill. Does any other member wish to speak on the underlying bill?
There were no other amendments pre-filed for this bill. Does any member wish to offer an amendment at this time and the ranking member and I would take careful note if you did. Hearing none, I move that the committee on science space and technology report HR 9215 to the house with a recommendation that the bill be approved. All those in favor signify by saying aye.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA):
Aye. Aye.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
All opposed nay. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes appear to have it. They do indeed have it and the bill is ordered reported favorably pursuant to notice. I now call up HR ninety four oh two, the NSF AI Education Act of 2024. The clerk will report the bill.
Clerk:
HR 9402 to support National Science Foundation education and professional development relating to artificial intelligence and for other purposes.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Without objection, the bill is considered as read and open for amendment. I now recognize the gentleman from California, Mr. Fong, to speak on the underlying bill.
Rep. Vince Fong (R-CA):
Thank you Mr. Chairman. As AI continues to reshape the landscape of work and education, it’s critical that we equip our workforce with the skills necessary to thrive in an AI driven world. HR 9402, the NSF AI Education Act would enhance AI education and professional development programs across our communities without authorizing any new funds. Specifically, this bill would authorize the National Science Foundation to award scholarships and fellowships for undergraduate and graduate students to study ai especially in the areas of agriculture, advanced manufacturing and education. This means students at universities in my district, like Fresno State and Cal State Bakersfield and throughout the nation could have their tuitions and stipends paid for. This is especially important for rural and underserved communities, which must be engaged and involved as AI develops. In addition, this bill would establish up to eight centers of AI excellence at community colleges and technical schools to develop best practices for AI education and research.
These centers of excellence would provide educators with actionable strategies to include AI in their curricula, provide hands-on research opportunities and identify paths for students to do AI related jobs. And lastly, this bill with authorized NSF to make awards to institutions of higher education and nonprofits to develop frameworks for K through 12 teachers to integrate AI into their classrooms. It’s critical that we give K through 12 teachers the tools they need to prepare America’s young minds for the future of work. I’d like to thank Congresswoman Salinas for co-leading this bill. Her support underscores the bipartisan importance of AI education. Together we recognize that this bill would enhance America’s leadership in AI by cultivating the next generation of innovators, educators, and professionals. Thank you Mr. Chairman and I yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Gentlemen yields back. Does any other member wish to speak on the underlying bill? The gentle lady from Oregon’s recognized to speak on her bill that she is co-sponsor.
Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-OR):
Thank you Chair Lucas and ranking member Lofgren for holding today’s important bipartisan markup. The pace of congressional action often fails to keep up with the rapid technological developments in fields like ai. So I’m grateful for the opportunity to move forward today with these common sense bills to help Americans benefit from this transformative technology. I want to thank Congressman Fong for your partnership on the NSF AI Education Act. Our legislation will help create a robust talent pipeline ensuring workers are prepared to capitalize on and contribute to the incredible economic opportunities stemming from advancements in ai. This bill supports scholarships and fellowships for students learning and researching artificial intelligence. It also increases access to professional development programs for students and educators so that learning can occur inside and outside the classroom. Finally, it supports the development of teaching models, tools, and resources for use of AI in education.
Together these build an ecosystem for teaching AI responsibly effectively and with career relevant skills so that we can continue to train the world’s brightest in ai. Critically, our bill focuses these efforts on community and technical colleges. The National Science Foundation will establish up to eight centers of AI excellence. These public-private partnerships will integrate AI into teaching, learning, and community engagement to enhance educational outcomes and drive workforce development. In my district. This will position schools like Cheeta Community College and Oregon Tech to train more Oregonians of all backgrounds for good jobs in Oregon Silicon Forest. Putting these institutions front and center will make AI careers much more accessible to Americans from diverse backgrounds, whether they come from rural areas or economically disadvantaged backgrounds, or simply choose to build new skills to pursue a new career path later in life. Thank you again, representative Fong for working with me and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. I yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Representative Salinas yields back. Are there any others wishing to speak on the underlying, if there’s no further discussion on the underlying bill, we’ll proceed with the amendments in the order listed on the roster. The first amendment on the rosters offered by the gentleman, Pennsylvania, Ms. Lee, the clerk will report Lee Amendment number 90.
Clerk:
Lee 90 amendment to HR 9402 offered by Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Without objection, the amendment is considered as read.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA):
Mr. Chairman, I believe Ms. Foushee is actually going to offer this on behalf of Ms. Lee.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Absolutely. Without objection, the immense orders read and the gentle lady from North Carolina is recognized to explain the amendment.
Rep. Val Foushee (D-NC):
Thank you Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to join my friend and colleague Congresswoman Summer Lee in co-sponsoring this amendment, which I’m proudly offering today on her behalf to HR 9402, the NSF AI Education Act. And I would also like to thank representatives Fung and Salinas for introducing this important legislation that will help to bolster our nation’s STEM and AI workforce needs. This amendment adds HBCUs and minority serving institutions as organizations that the NSF were prioritize in its education outreach efforts for students, scholarships and fellowships in ai. In addition to tribal colleges and universities for rural and rural serving institutions, I am proud to represent a diverse district that includes rural and urban outstanding community colleges, a research oriented HBCU and rural class R-1 universities.
We have talked a lot in this committee about the missing millions of women and historically underrepresented populations in the STEM workforce. This amendment signifies our commitment to these critical efforts and will enhance and build upon some good work that is already being done at NSF to help ensure that these institutions who are historically underrepresented in STEM and who normally would not submit an application are provided with opportunities for additional resources and outreach. Thank you again to Congresswoman Summer Lee for offering this amendment together and for your leadership to help improve the diversity of our STEM workforce. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. And Mr. Chair, I yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
General lady yields back. Does any other member wish to be recognized to speak on the amendment? The ranking member’s recognized.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA):
Mr. Chairman, I’ll just briefly thank you for this amendment. I represent a district that is called the salad bowl of America. I think something like more than 90% of the lettuce consumed in the United States has grown in my district and the people in my district. People going to Hartnell College and others should not be left behind when it comes to AI opportunities. This is a really important amendment and I thank both Ms. Lee and Ms. Foushee for offering it in yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
General lady yields back. Does any other member wish to be recognized to speak on the amendment hearing No others? The question is on agreeing the Lee Amendment number 90. All in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All opposed nay. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes appear to have it. They do indeed have it and the amendment is agreed to. The next amendment on the roster is offered by the gentlewoman from Oregon. Ms. Bonamici, the clerk will report Bonamici amendment number one 13
Clerk:
Bonamici 113 amendment to HR 9402 offered by Ms. Bonamici of Oregon.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Without objection, the amendment is considered as read and the gentlewoman from Oregon is recognized to explain the amendment.
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR):
Thank you Chairman Lucas and ranking member Lofgren. Thank you to Congressman Fong and my fellow Oregonian Congresswoman Salinas for your leadership on this important bill. And thank you to Representative Kane for joining me in this amendment. Artificial intelligence has applications in nearly every aspect of daily life. Students, educators, parents, workers in all industries are now being affected by the transformative potential of ai. With more use cases and systems continually being developed as students begin to interact with or continue to interact. For some of them with AI systems in the classroom and in their own lives, it’s important to provide engaging opportunities that foster critical thinking. This bipartisan amendment would allow the National Science Foundation to increase opportunities for students to engage in hands-on AI learning through competitions and hackathons. These immersive and collaborative opportunities will enrich student AI learning, inviting them to propose AI driven solutions to emerging challenges in healthcare, climate change, transportation, cybersecurity and more. And importantly, these opportunities can inspire students to pursue career pathways they might otherwise overlook. We see similar results when we do the app challenge here in Congress.
These engaging hands-on opportunities really make a difference. And these opportunities can also empower students to leverage emerging technology like AI to work collaboratively on industry specific problems, preparing them to succeed in the future workforce and to better understand how AI is transforming every sector of the economy. So I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bipartisan amendment and I yield back the balance of my time.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
The general lady yields back the balance of her time. Does the ranking member wish to be recognized?
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA):
I just want to thank the representative Bonamici for this amendment. I think this will stimulate growth as she’s described. It’s a good amendment. I urge its adoption.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
The general lady yields back. Does any other member wish to be recognized? Speak on the amendment hearing no others. The question is on agreeing to the bon of each amendment. Number one 13. All in favor signify by saying aye. All opposed nay. The ayes appear to have it. The A appear to have it. The ayes do indeed have it and the amendment is agreed to. There were no other amendments pre-filed for this bill. Does any member wish to offer an amendment at this time? Hearing none. I move that the committee on science space and Technology report HR 9402 as amended to the house with the recommendation the bill be approved. All those in favor signify by saying Aye. All those opposed nay. The ayes appear to have it. The A appear to have it. The ayes do indeed have it and the bill is ordered reported favor Pursuant to notice I call up HR ninety four oh three, the Expanding AI Voices Act. The clerk will report the bill
Clerk:
HR 9403 to support a broad and diverse interdisciplinary research community for the advancement of artificial intelligence and AI powered innovation through partnerships and capacity building at certain institutions of higher education and other institutions to expand AI capacity and populations historically underrepresented in STEM and for other purposes.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Without objection, the bill is considered as read and open for amendment. At this point, I now recognize the gentleman from North Carolina, Ms. Foushee, to speak on the underlying bill.
Rep. Val Foushee (D-NC):
Thank you Mr. Chairman and Rankin Member Lofgren. I am excited to offer HR 9403 the Expanding AI Voices Act. And I would also like to thank you Mr. Chairman, for joining me in introducing this important legislation. Artificial intelligence holds tremendous promise to improve our quality of life. But as with many technologies, there is significant risk that the benefits will extend primarily to communities who are a part of its development, raising the possibility that AI could reinforce existing structural, economic, social, and demographic disparities. To build a 21st century economy, we need a diverse 21st century workforce. Equipped with the devices, infrastructure, digital literacy, and technical skills to succeed. Colleges and universities, including HBCUs, minority serving and rural serving institutions will be key to fostering this workforce. As part of North Carolina’s fourth district, I am proud to represent North Carolina Central University, a public HBCU that is home to a program called the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence and Equity Research or LAIER.
LAIER is designing, building and evaluating artificial intelligence and human computer interaction technology to be aligned with values of civil rights and inclusion. The build before today would help achieve this goal by building upon expand ai, a capacity building program at the National Science Foundation for research and education communities to participate in artificial intelligence research and development. By establishing partnerships among HBCUs, MSI and rural serving institutions, federal laboratories and the private sector, we can start to address biases in AI by leveraging underrepresented communities who experience the biases in these technologies firsthand. Furthermore, we can tap into the extraordinary talent at these institutions and truly bring our best and brightest minds to work on these technologies. Thank you again, Mr. Chairman, for joining me on this bill. And I urge my colleagues to support its passage.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Gentle lady yields back. I recognize myself now. AI holds remarkable promise to revolutionize nearly every aspect of our lives from healthcare to education. But as with many transformative technologies, the advantage of AI could primarily benefit communities already involved in the development. If left unchecked, AI could exasperate existing disparities leaving behind underserved and under-resourced communities and institutions. That’s why I’m co-sponsoring HR 9403, the expanding AI Voices through Capacity Building Act with my colleague Ms. Foushee. This legislation empowers the National Science Expand AI program to broaden participation in STEM by encouraging under-resourced institutions to effectively participate in artificial intelligence research.
To accomplish this, it assists universities with faculty recruitment, provides access to computing, networking and data facilities and helps foster public private collaboration between federal agencies, industry, and academia. It ensures the future of AI will be shaped by Americans from every zip code. I want to thank my colleague from North Carolina, Ms. Foushee, for leading this bill and working in a bipartisan way to craft this markup. Today I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and join me in helping prepare tomorrow’s AI workforce. Does any other member wish to speak on the underlying bill? If there’s no further discussion on the underlying bill, we’ll proceed with amendments in the order listed on the roster. The only amendment on the roster for this bill is offered by the gentleman from Illinois. Mr. Casten, the clerk will report cast an amendment number 148.
Clerk:
Casten 148 amendment to HR 9403 offered by Mr. Casten of Illinois.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Without objection, the amendment is considered as read and the gentleman, Illinois is recognized to explain the amendment.
Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL):
Thank you Chairman Lucas. Thank you. Ranking member Lofgren for holding today’s markup. So as we push out on the frontier of AI research and technology, it’s critical that we understand who gets access to this technology, who’s creating the technology, who’s it being created for, who is impacted by the technology? And I really support the underlying bill for supporting and diverse AI research community to expand the National Science Foundation’s expand AI program, increase the participation and diversity of those involved in AI research, education and workforce development.
The expansion that you all have crafted will ensure that the National Science Foundation can leverage partnerships with historically black colleges and universities, minority serving institutions and tribal colleges and universities. My amendment simply builds on this by adding labor organizations to the groups who will partner in that AI research. I don’t think any of us can predict exactly where AI is going to evolve, but I think we can all agree that it promises to dramatically change the future of work. And so it’s critical that we have worker representation within this program. I’d ask my colleagues to support this amendment to consider our workers in AI development. And again, want to thank Representative Foushee and Chairman Lucas for your work on this important legislation. I yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Does any other member gentlemen yields back? Does any other member wish to be recognized? Speak on the amendment hearing. No others. The question is on agreeing. Sorry. I recognize the gentle lady of North Carolina.
Rep. Val Foushee (D-NC):
Thank you Mr. Chairman. I move to strike the last word. I would just like to briefly thank Representative Casten for his amendment that will help ensure the voices of workers and labor organizations are included in our efforts to bolster our nation’s AI workforce. These perspectives are critical as we advance our national strategy on ai and I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. Ms. Chairman, I asked for unanimous consent to enter into the record a letter from the computing Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institutions in support of this bill and I yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Seeing no objections. So ordered and gentle lady yields back. Does any other member wish to be recognized to speak on the amendment hearing No others? The question is on agreeing to the cast an amendment number 148. All in favor signify by saying aye. All those opposed nay. The A’s appear to have it, the A appear to have it. They do indeed have it. The amendment is agreed to. There were no other amendments pre-filed for this bill. Does any member wish to offer an amendment at this time? Hearing none. I move that the committee on science space and Technology report HR 9403 as amended to the house with the recommendation the bill be approved. All those in favor signify by saying aye. All those opposed signify by saying nay. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes appear to have it. They do indeed have it and the bill is reported favorably. I now call up HR 5077, the Create AI Act. The clerk will report the bill
Clerk:
HR 5077 to establish the national artificial intelligence research resource and for other purposes.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Well that objection, the bill is considered is read and open for amendment any time. Does any
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA):
She’s speaking on the, you’ll speak on these.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Gentle lady’s recognize to speak.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA):
We have to have to offer the amendment.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Does any member wish to speak on the underlying bill? I have no further consideration. Underlying bill. We’ll proceed with amendments that listed in the roster. The first amendment. The first amendment on the roster for this bill is an amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by the ranking member. The clerk will report the Lofgren amendment number 41.
Clerk:
Lofgren 41 amendment in the nature of a substitute to HR 5077 offered by Ms. Lofgren of California.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Without objection, the amendment is considered as read and the gentle lady from California is recognized to explain the amendment.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA):
Thank you Mr. Chairman. I’m pleased to offer this bipartisan amendment in the nature of a substitute for the create act. I want to thank my colleague and my friend, representative Anna Eshoo, who is a thought leader on AI issues in Congress for leading this important bill. In addition to the original co-sponsors who serve as the co-chairs of the House AI caucus, this bill has an additional 61 bipartisan co-sponsors, including many members of this committee. I think that speaks to the bill’s importance and I’d like to thank you Mr. Chairman and your staff for working with us to bring this bill before the committee. One of the major challenges to advancing AI research is the lack of access to AI tools and the resources that power them Today. Most of these resources exist in industry and specifically in a handful of large companies. To truly achieve the promise of AI for societal benefit and to develop effective guardrails against harm, talented and passionate researchers, startups and students from across the nation will need access to the kind of computational and data resources that are currently available to only a few.
This legislation will authorize and fund a national AI research resource or n to democratize access to AI tools. The air concept is already being developed and refined through a pilot program launched by NSF, but this bill provides the authority NSF needs to successfully scale up the N while also building in guardrails a full scale interagency implementation of the N would improve access for AI resources and help create the talent across the country that is needed for the US to continue to lead the world in ai. My amendment in the nature of a substitute makes several clarifications throughout the bill to provide additional flexibility to NSF as it implements the program. The amendment would also ensure the program better fits into existing interagency structures. Further, it adds language to encourage the NSF Director to seek partnerships with non-federal entities and to engage in outreach to promote the use of these resources among populations historically on unrepresented in stem or underrepresented. I’m proud of this amendment and the transparent, bipartisan and deliberative process that continues to make this legislation even better. I want to thank my colleagues for their partnership in this effort and I urge you to support the amendment. And before I yield back, I would like to ask unanimous consent to put into the record a statement by the bill sponsor, representative Anna Eshoo on her bill,
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Seeing no objection. So ordered.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA):
And I yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Gentle lady yields back. I recognize myself to express my appreciation to both the primary authors for their great work here and on the ranking members’ efforts to shepherd this through the committee. Does any other member wish to be recognized? Speak on the amendment. Since this is an event, the gentleman in California, Mr. Obernolte is recognized.
Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA):
Well, thank you Mr. Chair. It is an honor to speak in support of this bill that I’ve helped to co-lead with my colleagues, Congresswoman Eshoo, Congresswoman Lofgren, yourself, Mr. Chairman and Congressman Ted Lieu. We have a rich history in this country of having cutting edge research done in our academic institutions. And that includes the field of artificial intelligence. But we have a looming problem in that process with AI because the latest version of chat GPT required over a hundred million dollars in resource to train. And it’s estimated that the next generation of frontier AI models will require over a billion dollars of resource to train. So we are at risk of academic institutions not having access to the amount of resource required to participate in cutting edge AI research. And that would be a terrible tragedy because this rich history in our country of cutting edge research being done in academia has occurred for a good reason.
We respect the tradition of transparency of open publication when research occurs in academic settings and also the process of peer review where other institutions review the research done by their colleagues and comment on its veracity. So we need to make sure that this continues to occur and this bill will fix that problem by establishing a national AI research resource to provide resources to those academic institutions. I think this is something that is vital in our attempt to keep that kind of research being done in academic institutions. And I’m very gratified that so many of my colleagues has recognized the need for this. I urge the adoption of the amendments and the underlying bill. I yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Gentlemen yields back since this is an amendment in the nature of a substitute, we’ll move on to other amendments and the next amendment offered is offered by the gentleman Oregon. Ms. Bonamici, the clerk will read Bonamici 111, Amendment 111, I should say.
Clerk:
Bonamici amendment 111, amendment to the amendment and the nature of a substitute to HR 5077 offered by Ms. Bonamici of Oregon.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Without objection, the amendment is considered as read and the gentlewoman from Oregon is recognized to explain the amendment.
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR):
Thank you Chairman Lucas and ranking member Lofgren. And thank you of course to Representative Eshoo and Representative McCall for leading the important bill. Along with of course, the bipartisan co-chairs of the AI task force on which I’m honored to serve representatives Obernolte and Lieu. And I am one of the co-sponsors as well of the underlying CREATE AI Act, which would authorize the National Science Foundation to expand and oversee the National AI Research Resource, or NAIRR. This needed bill would establish administrative bodies, including a steering committee and non-governmental entity to facilitate oversight and management of computational and data resources for AI research. It’s desperately needed as we heard, and I really do think, again, the co-sponsors of the underlying bill and just want to recognize Representative Su for her years of work on these issues. And I know we will all miss her.
The bill will also critically strengthen research security set standards for training data and model sharing support scientific integrity. This simple amendment to the amendment in the nature of a substitute will make non-substantive technical corrections to the Create AI Act. The office of science and Technology policy requested these language adjustments so nears operations management and data sharing will be conducted smoothly. So I do encourage all of my colleagues to support the amendment to the amendment and of course the amendment and underlying bill and I yield back the balance of my time.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
General lady yields back ranking member wishes to be recognized.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA):
Yes, I just want to say that I support this amendment. The OSTP suggestions are incorporated. I yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
General lady yields back. Does any other member wish to be recognized on the amendment hearing? No others? The question is on agreeing the Bonamici amendment number 111. All in favor signify by saying aye. All those opposed nay. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes appear to have it. They do indeed have it and the amendment is agreed to. There were no other amendments pre-filed for this bill. Does any member wish to offer an amendment at this time? Hearing none. There will be a vote on the amendment in the nature of a substitute as amended. Those in favor signify by saying Aye. Those opposed nay. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes appear to have it. They do indeed have it and the amendment is adopted. I now move that the Committee on science and Space and Technology report HR 50 77 as amended to the house with a recommendation the bill be approved. All those in favor signify by saying Aye. All those opposed nay. The ayes appear to have it. They appear to have it. They do indeed have it and the bill is ordered reported favorably. I now call up HR ninety four ninety seven, the AI Advancement and Reliability Act. The clerk will report the bill.
Clerk:
HR 9497 to amend the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 to establish a center of on artificial intelligence to ensure continued United States leadership and research development and evaluation of the robustness, resilience and safety.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Of that objection. The bill is considered as read and open for amendment. This time I recognize that I now recognize the gentleman California Mr. Obernolte to speak on the underlying bill.
Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA):
Oh, thank you very much Mr. Chairman. It is an honor to speak in support of my bill HR 9497, the Artificial Intelligent Advancement Center Act. It is critical as we embark on this new era of AI powered commerce that the United States remains the world leader in the establishment of testing and evaluation standards for that ai. This bill accomplishes that by establishing a new center for AI advancement and reliability with the mission of creating those standards and creating benchmarks for the evaluations of advanced AI systems. Critically, the standards that will be advanced by the center are both voluntary and consensus based and the actions of the center will be informed by the input of a large consortium of stakeholders, which I think is critical to the work that the center will be doing. I’d like to thank my bipartisan colleagues for your support of this act as well as all of the staff working on this act. And I urge the committee to approve this bill and to advance it to the house I yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Gentlemen, yield back. The ranking members recognized to speak on the underlying bill.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA):
I thank you Mr. Chair and I want to thank Representative Obernolte and Representative Lieu as well as you Mr. Chairman for your leadership and partnership on this important bill. We’re all really excited about the potential benefits of ai. However, AI is also contributing to tangible safety risks today. We’ve already seen it create hazards on the roads and there are also medium and long-term risks to our economic and national security. Improving the reliability of advanced AI systems will be key to ensuring that they can be deployed in safety critical missions. Unfortunately, the science that underpins AI safety is in its infancy. We lack the technical solutions including standards, benchmarks, and evaluations to meaningfully understand the marginal risks of AI systems. To create meaningful governance and ensure safety, we need to be able to measure the risks and reliability of these systems. HR 94 97 prioritizes these scientific challenges by authorizing the National Institute of Standards and Technology to create an entity that will advance AI safety science and study the security and safety challenges associated, especially with advanced AI systems, including their potential for misuse overall. I believe this is a strong bill that will help tackle a key issue. There are still some disagreements we must address in this bill as it moves forward in the legislative process.
The bill significantly underfunds the activities we are authorizing at nist. This is an agency that is already struggling with severe resource constraints even as its expertise and productive relationship with the private sector are needed more than ever to help solve lofty societal challenges with ai. Both these AI safety challenges and those more sociotechnical in nature. I’m also disappointed frankly that the AI Safety Institute is being renamed. That’s already being stood up by the Biden administration And while this change may seem to be cosmetic and the mission of the AI Safety Institute would not change the name change could create new confusion domestically and internationally that really seems unnecessary. Mr. Chairman, I hope we can continue to work together to address these issues as the bill moves forward. However, having registered these issues, I strongly support the policy advanced by this bill. I urge everyone here to support it. I will vote for it and I yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Gentle lady yields back the chair notes we always work together. Does any other member wish to speak on the underlying bill? If there’s no further discussion on the underlying bill, we’ll proceed with the amendments in order listed on the roster. The first amendment on the roster is offered by the gentleman Illinois. Mr. Casten, the clerk will report Casten amendment number 149.
Clerk:
Casten 149 amendment to HR 9497 offered by Mr. Casten of Illinois.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Without objection, the amendment is considered as read in the gentleman Illinois is recognized to explain the amendment.
Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL):
So for the second time today, thank you Chair Lucas. Thank you ranking member Lofgren for holding today’s markup. The National Institute of Standards and Technologies and the US AI Safety Institute are doing really, really important work to better understand the possible harmful consequences of AI use. And this bill advances that by authorizing the creation of a center for AI advancement and reliability, the center will support NIST in projects addressing AI robustness, resilience and safety. A bill that is intended to ensure the safety of AI technology really needs to also include impacts to workers and workplace environments. It’s imperative that AI developers and deployers work with the labor organizations who’ve been advancing worker safety for over a century. My amendment simply adds labor organizations as collaborators to the AI Safety Institute and the AI Safety Institute consortium. I note that unions such as the AFL-CIO are already a part of the consortium. I’d ask my colleagues to support this amendment to ensure that the science of AI safety is one that takes all voices into account. And I thank my colleagues for their work on this important legislation and I yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Gentlemen yields back. Does any other member wish to be recognized? Speak on the amendment. Hearing none the question is on agreeing to the cast an amendment number 149. All in favor signify by saying aye. All those opposed signify by saying nay. The a’s appear to have it, the ayes appear to have it. They do indeed have it and the amendment is agreed to. The next amendment is offered by the gentleman from Michigan. Ms. Stevens, the clerk will report the Stevens amendment number 67.
Clerk:
Stevens 67 amendment to HR 9497 offered by Ms. Stevens of Michigan.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Without objection, the amendment is considered as read and the gentleman of Michigan is recognized to explain the amendment.
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI):
Well thank you Mr. Chairman and I am introducing this amendment because as we have recognized before on this committee and in other conversations that AI legislation is privacy legislation and the two are inseparable. So if we think of artificial intelligence as a recipe with three essential ingredients, a logarithms, computational power and data, just like in cooking, if you leave out the third part of the recipe, you’re not going to get a good result. And by that logic you can’t build effective AI without high quality data from the start. So data privacy is just absolutely the backbone of it all and this includes protecting personal data such as health records, geolocation and financial information. We hear this over and over and over again from stakeholders who are inspired and motivated by the harnessing potential of artificial intelligence but also recognizing if we are not going to do it right, if we don’t have privacy.
So we must ensure the privacy of proprietary data and promote secure data sharing practices in open ecosystem, open source AI economies. And we as the United States of America, we want to be the leader in this, right? We want it to be our privacy standards and our privacy technologies. We can test, evaluate, validate and even red team AI models indefinitely. But none of that will matter if we don’t start with high quality private data. Data is again the foundation of our AI economy and without a strong and private foundation, this groundbreaking technology could potentially just be built on sinking sand and very much will be if we don’t include privacy. So simple amendment adds privacy and confidentiality to the key areas of focus, ensuring that the next generation of AI systems rests on a solid foundation of secure data and sound data practices. I really want to commend the task force leader of the artificial intelligence working group, Mr. Obernolte and his counterpart Mr. Lieu, for their legislation. And I am very humbled and proud to introduce this amendment of which I encourage all of my colleagues to support. And with that I yield back the remainder of my time.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Gentle lady yields back, the ranking member seeks to be recognized.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA):
I just want to thank Representative Stevens for this thoughtful amendment. One of the major technical challenges with some generative AI systems is they can leak data including sensitive data. This is a privacy and confidentiality challenge that is addressed by this amendment and as she has mentioned, the underlying bill is great. We’re grateful to Mr. Obernolte and to Mr. Lieu and this makes it even better. So I urge its adoption and yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
General lady yields back. Does any other member wish to be recognized to speak on the amendment? Hearing none, the question is on agreeing the Stevens amendment number 67 All in favor signify by saying aye. All those opposed signify by saying nay. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes appear to have it. They do indeed have it and the amendment is agreed to. The final amendment on the roster is offered by the gentlewoman from Michigan. Ms. Stevens, the clerk will report Stevens amendment number 68.
Clerk:
Stevens Amendment 68, amendment to HR 9497.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Without objection, the amendment is considered as read and the gentle one from Michigan is recognized to explain the amendment.
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI):
Thank you Mr. Chair. I understand that we are in many ways compelled by political constraints and sometimes actions that surround the committee but aren’t directly involved with the committee activity. But we need to be clear here across the globe countries, our counterparts, open democratic free market countries, our allies are making sizable investments in their AI safety institutes. So for instance, the UK has just put in over a hundred million dollars into its institute. Canada has just pledged $50 million following the recent AI Seoul Summit in Seoul, Korea. We’re seeing even more countries step up. Australia, Singapore, South Korea and several other EU nations are all gearing up to announce significant investments in their own AI safety institutes. We are talking about tens and tens and tens of millions of dollars if not upwards of hundreds of millions of dollars or more being poured into this crucial area.
And we know that this is just really pennies on the dollar and we’re so proud here in the United States of America, of our capital markets, of our free market principles where the private sector has stepped in. We know that Microsoft made a sizable investment and open AI alongside Sam Altman who is now declared that he’s in the plight to raise trillions of dollars, some of which this area will be related to the safety institutes. So this is not just though an American story alone and it’s dangers here. And so in fiscal year 2024, Congress as we know allocated just $10 million to the AI Safety Institute. We got to be real here. That’s not enough and it’s not cutting it as a leader of the free world and as the committee that oversaw and played such a critical role in the science part of the Chips and Science Act just last term.
And while the base bill highlights this base bill highlights many critical tasks for the AI Safety Institute. We’re missing the mark by authorizing just another $10 million and we’re setting ourselves up to not succeed, to not be as successful as we’d want to be. And we’ve got to be honest about that. So since the 1960s, the United States has led the charge in AI innovation thanks to continued investment. But now that leadership is just kind hanging on, it’s just moving forward If we refuse to do the right funding and tragically the low amount puts a lot of what American researchers have worked for at risk and everything that has made us this premier global hub for AI innovation. We got to ask ourselves why stop now we’re so proud of this bipartisan bill. We’re not an appropriating committee, we’re an authorizing committee, which is why I’m introducing this amendment.
We’re on the verge of watching just again the next big breakthrough on AI international standard settings that could easily just shift abroad if we’re not investing, the rules of the road won’t be set here. And so we’re risking a lot of what we have done and that’s the future we want. We know we’re competing with China, we know we’re ahead right now. Let’s not take things for granted. And so I don’t want to accept that future and I don’t want to claim that this is an important step when we are just not matching it with the funding that we need. And so I fully believe the authorizations that are written in this bill are too low. And after very thoughtful discussions with the leader of this committee, our chair and our raking memory and not to disrupt the critical agenda, okay, I’m going to withdraw the amendment. But the point had to be made and I appreciate the allocation of time. I’m only at the four minute mark. I respect what the ranking member said and I’ll be yielding back the remainder. Thank you.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Gentle lady yields back. I recognize myself and I’d like to thank my colleague from Michigan for withdrawing her amendment this time. The authorization, this bill is in line with FY 20 four’s appropriation for the AI Safety Institute, which is the predecessor of the Center for AI Advancement and Reliability liability created in this bill. The legislation authorized is the center at $10 million per year, which I think is more than enough to do its work at the present time. In fact, in FY 2024 NIST spent 5 million in total on all of its AI work. The center is only a fraction of the work nest is doing on AI and we’re authorizing this at double in this total AI spending removing the authorization entirely amounts to handing over a blank check and I don’t think that would be responsible given all the work we need to do. But I’m happy to discuss the appropriate level of funding going forward. But for now, I appreciate the representative decision not to amend the underlying amendment and I yield back and I recognize the ranking member.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA):
I thank you Mr. Chairman and I want to thank Representative Stevens for raising this issue with her amendment. Now withdrawn. As I said in my statement on this bill earlier, I worry about underfunding these important activities. NIST does a great job that is recognized across the government and really in the private sector as well. But they are severely resource constrained. We’re tasking them with additional jobs to do some of the nation’s toughest technical challenges and we need to make sure that they have the resources to perform. The United Kingdom is putting 10 times the resources into its AI Safety Institute than what this bill plans to authorize for our United States counterpart. Now I understand Ms. Chairman that we will continue to work together to make sure that this issue is addressed. I appreciate the bipartisan nature of this committee and the fact that we always are talking and working together in the best interest of our country and I look forward to doing that with you. And with that Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Absolutey. Ranking member there were no other amendments pre-filed for this bill. Does any member wish to offer an amendment at this time? Hearing none, I move the committee on science space and technology report, HR 94 97 as amended to the house with a recommendation the bill be approved. All those in favor signify by saying aye. All those opposed by signifying nay. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes appear to have it. They do indeed have it and the bill is ordered reported favorably. And for those of you who tracked this stuff last bill, pursuant to notice, I now call up HR 9466, the AI Development Practices Act. The clerk will report the bill.
Clerk:
HR 9466 to direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology to catalog and evaluate emerging practices and norms for communicating certain characteristics of artificial intelligence systems including related to transparency, robustness, resilience, security, safety and usability. And for other purposes.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Without objection, the bill is considered as read and open for amendment. I now recognize the gentleman from Indiana, Dr. Baird, to speak on the underlying bill.
Rep. Jim Baird (R-IN):
Thank you Mr. Chairman and ranking member. If we hope to do further research and development in the AI technology then I think we also need appropriate guidelines for its development. So that’s why I introduced the AI Development Practices Act. So that the National Institute of Standards and Technology NIST can study and publish voluntary guidelines that will bring transparency and understanding to the practices used by industry and academia. In developing artificial intelligence this year has shown us the explosive rate at which AI can develop. As such, like many other revolutionary technologies, we are locked in a race with the Chinese Communist Party to develop this leading edge technology. Therefore my bill will direct NIST to assess, study, and publish policy recommendations to Congress on the best methods for developing artificial intelligence.
This voluntary framework will bring together public and private partners to evaluate the current risk to our national security, to our economy and the fundamental liberties that AI can pose. If this technology is not properly developed, this bill will not appropriate any new funding to nist nor will it give NIST any regulatory powers whatsoever. It simply tasks them with studying the standards of AI development and any guidelines they publish will be entirely voluntary with no force of law behind them, NIST work to publish a voluntary set of standards for AI will continue their strong tradition of keeping American industry competitive with the rest of the world. I look forward to the committee’s favorable report. And with that I yield back.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
Gentlemen, yields back. The chair now recognizes the ranking member.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA):
Thank you Mr. Chairman. And I want to thank Congressman Baird for this important piece of legislation that is co-sponsored by our colleague and former committee member Ted Liu, who co-chairs the AI task force with Mr. Mr. Bert is correct. This is not a regulatory measure at this point. This is standard development and it is an essential step forward if we are to move forward on AI legislation. It’s unfortunate that some in state legislators are rushing ahead without the kind of thoughtful approach that this bill will provide in nist. This is not regulatory, but at some point I think all of us realize there may be a need for some regulation that is going to need to be informed by the expertise of NIST and the information that will be developed pursuant to this bill. So I am a great fan of the bill. It’s a very important step. I want to commend Mr. Baird as well as Mr. Lieu for it and urge its adoption. And I would just note that we started this morning at 10 with nine bills and 10 amendments and it’s now 11:30 and we have accomplished a lot, but we did it quite efficiently and I yield back. Mr. Chairman.
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK):
The ranking member yields back and the ranking member is entirely correct. Does any other member wish to speak on the underlying bill? There were no pre-filed amendments to this bill. Does any member wish to offer an amendment at this time? Hearing none. I move that the committee on science space and technology report HR 9466 to the House on the recommendation that the bill be approved. All those in favor signify by saying aye. All those opposed nay. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes appear to have it. They do indeed have it. And the bill is ordered reported favorably without objection.
I ask the staff to be authorized to make any necessary technical and conforming changes to these bills without objection. So ordered members have two calendar days to submit supplemental minority and additional views on these measures with no further business before the committee. The committee stands adjourned.