Inside Stories

House Panel Approves Key Trahan AI Priorities

Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA-03) this week applauded the approval of key provisions of her and Congressman Jay Obernolte’s (R-CA-23) bipartisan AI discussion draft by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

During Thursday’s markup, the Committee advanced multiple bills that contained priorities in the draft text of the Great American Artificial Intelligence Act (GAAIA) published earlier this month.

“Passage of these bills is a real step forward, and it happened because members of both parties decided the American people can’t afford for Congress to stay on the sidelines of the AI debate. I’m especially proud of the CAISI bill, which will put scientists and security experts at the center of our national response to AI,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “There’s much more to do, including giving CAISI the authority to create the standards we need to know whether a frontier model is safe before it ships, not after something goes wrong. I’ll continue working with members on both sides of the aisle to craft real rules of the road for the companies developing this powerful technology.”

Specifically, the Committee advanced the following provisions of GAAIA with bipartisan support:

H.R. 9363 establishes a Center for AI Security and Innovation (CAISI) under the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to evaluate frontier AI models for national security risks and support voluntary standards. GAAIA Section 102.

H.R. 6461 directs NIST to build a standardized “model card” documentation template and technical guidelines for AI models. GAAIA Section 123.

H.R. 5584 instructs the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create competitive awards to develop K-12 AI literacy curricula, teacher training, and evaluation tools. GAAIA Section 211.

H.R. 5351 adds NSF student scholarships and fellowships in AI in addition to research on the use of AI tools in education. GAAIA Sections 231, 233.

H.R. 2385 establishes the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) to federate compute, data, and tools for U.S.-based researchers. GAAIA Section 423.

H.R. 9334 directs NSF to create interdisciplinary “trustworthy AI” fellowships and a NIST AI workforce framework. GAAIA Sections 221, 231.

GAAIA was released as a discussion draft this month to solicit feedback on provisions targeting frontier AI development, national and cybersecurity threats, workforce challenges, and the incorporation of AI into education systems. The lawmakers are continuing to collect input from stakeholders.

Text of the discussion draft can be accessed HERE.

A section-by-section summary can be accessed HERE.

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