[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2575 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2575

  To authorize an AI Center of Excellence within the General Services 
                Administration, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 8, 2019

  Mr. McNerney (for himself and Mr. Meadows) introduced the following 
   bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To authorize an AI Center of Excellence within the General Services 
                Administration, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``AI in Government Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``Administration'' means the General Services 
        Administration;
            (2) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of 
        General Services;
            (3) the term ``agency'' has the meaning given the term in 
        section 3502 of title 44, United States Code;
            (4) the term ``AI CoE'' means the AI Center of Excellence 
        described in section 3;
            (5) the term ``artificial intelligence'' means any method 
        implemented on a computer, including any method that is drawn 
        from machine learning, data science, or statistics, to enable 
        the computer to carry out a task or behavior that would require 
        intelligence if performed by a human;
            (6) the term ``Board'' means the advisory board established 
        under section 5(a);
            (7) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the Office 
        of Management and Budget;
            (8) the term ``institution of higher education'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher Education 
        Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002); and
            (9) the term ``nonprofit organization'' means an 
        organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 
        501(a) of that Code.

SEC. 3. AI CENTER OF EXCELLENCE.

    (a) In General.--There is established within the Administration an 
office to be known as the ``AI Center of Excellence'', which shall--
            (1) advise and promote the efforts of the Federal 
        Government in developing innovative uses of artificial 
        intelligence by the Federal Government to the benefit of the 
        public; and
            (2) improve cohesion and competency in the use of 
        artificial intelligence.
    (b) Duties.--The duties of the AI CoE shall include--
            (1) regularly convening individuals from agencies, 
        industry, Federal laboratories, nonprofit organizations, 
        institutions of higher education, and other entities to discuss 
        recent developments in artificial intelligence, including the 
        dissemination of information regarding programs, pilots, and 
        other initiatives at agencies, as well as recent trends and 
        relevant information on artificial intelligence;
            (2) advising Federal Government acquisition and use of 
        artificial intelligence through technical insight and 
        expertise, as needed;
            (3) assisting agencies in applying the management and use 
        of data in applications of artificial intelligence;
            (4) identifying and disseminating information regarding 
        educational and workforce development opportunities for agency 
        employees relative to artificial intelligence topics, and 
        leading those opportunities, as needed;
            (5) studying economic, policy, legal, and ethical 
        challenges and implications related to the use of artificial 
        intelligence by the Federal Government, including how the 
        privacy, civil liberties, and civil rights of individuals are 
        or will be affected by the use of artificial intelligence by 
        the Federal Government;
            (6) encouraging and assisting joint initiatives with State 
        or local governments, regional organizations, private 
        businesses, institutions of higher education, nonprofit 
        organizations, and Federal laboratories to advance the 
        innovative use of artificial intelligence in government; and
            (7) assisting relevant agencies in developing and 
        maintaining plans for the governance of agency artificial 
        intelligence systems.
    (c) Staff.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator shall provide necessary 
        staff, resources, and administrative support for the AI CoE.
            (2) Temporary or term appointments.--The Administrator may 
        hire temporary or term employees in accordance with part 316 of 
        title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 
        regulation, to serve as AI CoE employees.
            (3) Fellows.--The Administrator may, to the maximum extent 
        practicable, appoint fellows to participate in the AI CoE from 
        nonprofit organizations, think tanks, institutions of higher 
        education, and industry.
            (4) Details.--When appropriate, and to the maximum extent 
        practicable, the Administrator may detail AI CoE employees to 
        agencies on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis in 
        accordance with section 3341 of title 5, United States Code.
    (d) Report to Congress.--The Administrator shall submit to Congress 
an annual report on the AI CoE, which shall include, for the preceding 
year--
            (1) a summary of the activity of the AI CoE, including a 
        description of specific projects worked on in partnership with 
        agencies;
            (2) recommendations on ways in which agencies can better 
        support the development and deployment of artificial 
        intelligence, including initiatives designed to promote 
        knowledge of those technologies among the Federal workforce; 
        and
            (3) an identification of joint initiatives encouraged or 
        assisted under subsection (b)(6).
    (e) Transfer of Functions.--All functions of the Emerging Citizen 
Technology Office of the Administration, including the personnel, 
assets, and obligations of the Emerging Citizen Technology Office, as 
in existence before the date of enactment of this Act, shall be 
transferred to the AI CoE.
    (f) Deeming of Name.--Any reference in law, regulation, document, 
paper, or other record of the United States to the Emerging Citizen 
Technology Office of the Administration shall be deemed a reference to 
the AI CoE.

SEC. 4. AGENCY GOVERNANCE PLANS FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS.

    (a) Guidance.--In order to develop a clear and comprehensive 
understanding of how artificial intelligence can be used to deliver 
benefits to citizens of the United States while mitigating risks, the 
Director, in coordination with the Administrator, the head of any 
relevant agency as determined by the Director, and key stakeholders, 
shall issue a memorandum to the head of each agency that shall--
            (1) inform the development of artificial intelligence 
        governance approaches by those agencies regarding technologies 
        and applications that--
                    (A) are empowered or enabled by the use of 
                artificial intelligence within that agency; and
                    (B) advance the innovative use of artificial 
                intelligence for the benefit of the public while 
                upholding civil liberties, privacy, and civil rights;
            (2) consider ways to reduce barriers to the use of 
        artificial intelligence in order to promote innovative 
        application of those technologies for the benefit of the 
        public, while protecting civil liberties, privacy, and civil 
        rights;
            (3) establish best practices for identifying, assessing, 
        and mitigating any bias on the basis of any classification 
        protected under Federal nondiscrimination laws or other 
        negative unintended consequence stemming from the use of 
        artificial intelligence systems; and
            (4) provide a template of the required contents of the 
        agency Governance Plans described in subsection (b).
    (b) Agency Governance Plans.--Not later than 180 days after the 
date on which the memorandum is issued under subsection (a), the head 
of each agency shall--
            (1) review the applications of artificial intelligence at 
        the agency;
            (2) identify and prioritize applications of artificial 
        intelligence that would significantly benefit the public while 
        upholding civil liberties, privacy, and civil rights; and
            (3) submit to the Director and the Administrator a 
        Governance Plan to achieve consistency with the memorandum.
    (c) Public Availability.--Each agency described in subsection (b) 
shall--
            (1) not later than 1 year after the date on which the head 
        of the agency submits the Governance Plan of the agency under 
        subsection (b), and each year thereafter, update the Governance 
        Plan pursuant to any change in the factors described in (a)(1);
            (2) solicit public feedback during the development of the 
        Governance Plan in the form of public hearings and online 
        submission of comments; and
            (3) make available each Governance Plan centrally available 
        in a machine-readable format at a publicly available online 
        portal on the website of the agency.
    (d) Central Online Governance Plans Portal.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator shall maintain a single 
        public interface online to compile published agency Governance 
        Plans in accordance with subsection (c).
            (2) Submission of links.--The Administrator and the 
        Director shall ensure that agencies can submit links, with 
        appropriate descriptive metadata, to the public Governance 
        Plans for publication and public availability on the interface 
        described in paragraph (1).

SEC. 5. ADVISORY BOARD.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator shall establish an advisory 
board to advise the Administrator on issues that are relevant to the 
mission and duties of the AI CoE and to inform the priorities and 
projects worked on by the AI CoE.
    (b) Composition.--
            (1) Chair.--The Director shall serve as Chair of the Board.
            (2) Other members.--The Board shall be composed of the 
        following members:
                    (A) One designee from each of the following:
                            (i) The Office of Science and Technology 
                        Policy.
                            (ii) The Department of Commerce.
                    (B) Six designees from agencies not listed in 
                subparagraph (A), who shall be designated by the Chair 
                of the Board once every 12 months.
                    (C) Eight members designated by the Chair of the 
                Board once every 6 months, of whom--
                            (i) four shall be representatives of 
                        relevant industries;
                            (ii) two shall be representatives of 
                        institutions of higher education; and
                            (iii) two shall be representatives of 
                        public interest groups representing privacy, 
                        civil liberties, and civil rights issues.
            (3) Qualifications.--Each member of the Board designated 
        under subparagraph (B) or (C) of paragraph (2) shall have 
        demonstrated experience and expertise in the field of 
        artificial intelligence.
    (c) Meetings.--The Board shall meet not less frequently than once 
every 12 months.
    (d) Annual List.--Each year, the Board shall publish on a publicly 
available website a list of areas of improvement within the Federal 
Government that would benefit from additional technical or technical 
policy expertise.
    (e) Compensation.--Members of the Board shall serve on the Board 
without compensation, except that members of the Board may be allowed 
travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates 
authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 
of title 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or regular 
places of business in the performance of services for the Board.
    (f) Duration.--Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 
U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Board.

SEC. 6. UPDATE OF OCCUPATIONAL SERIES FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
and in accordance with chapter 51 of title 5, United States Code, the 
Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall--
            (1) identify key skills and competencies needed for 
        positions related to artificial intelligence; and
            (2) establish an occupational series, or update and improve 
        an existing occupational job series, to include positions the 
        primary duties of which relate to artificial intelligence.

SEC. 7. SUNSET.

    Sections 3 and 5 of this Act shall cease to be effective on the 
date that is 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
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