[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2714 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2714

 To establish the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 27, 2023

   Mr. Heinrich (for himself, Mr. Young, Mr. Booker, and Mr. Rounds) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
           Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource, 
                        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 ``Creating Resources for Every 
American To Experiment with Artificial Intelligence Act of 2023'' or 
the ``CREATE AI Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Cutting-edge artificial intelligence research relies on 
        access to computational resources and large datasets.
            (2) Access to the computational resources and datasets 
        necessary for artificial intelligence research and development 
        is often limited to very large technology companies.
            (3) The lack of access to computational and data resources 
        has resulted in insufficient diversity in the artificial 
        intelligence research and development community.
            (4) Engaging the full and diverse talent of the United 
        States is critical for maintaining United States leadership in 
        artificial intelligence and ensuring that artificial 
        intelligence is developed in a manner that benefits all people 
        of the United States.
            (5) The National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource 
        Task Force, authorized under section 5106 of the National 
        Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 9401 
        et seq.), recommended the establishment of a National 
        Artificial Intelligence Research Resource in a report entitled 
        ``Strengthening and Democratizing the U.S. Artificial 
        Intelligence Innovation Ecosystem: An Implementation Plan for a 
        National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource'', issued on 
        January 24, 2023.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESEARCH RESOURCE.

    (a) NAIRR Steering Subcommittee.--Section 5103 of the William M. 
(Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2021 (15 U.S.C. 9413) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
    ``(e) NAIRR Steering Subcommittee.--
            ``(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the terms `NAIRR', 
        `National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource', 
        `Operating Entity', `Program Management Office', and `resources 
        of the NAIRR' have the meanings given the terms in section 
        5601.
            ``(2) Establishment.--There is established within the 
        Interagency Committee a Steering Subcommittee for the National 
        Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (referred to in this 
        section as the `NAIRR Steering Subcommittee').
            ``(3) Chair and assistant chairs.--The NAIRR Steering 
        Subcommittee shall be chaired by the Director of the Office of 
        Science and Technology Policy. The Director of the Office of 
        Science and Technology Policy may establish assistant chairs of 
        the NAIRR Steering Subcommittee based on members of the NAIRR 
        Steering Subcommittee rotating into the assistant chair 
        positions on a predetermined schedule.
            ``(4) Membership.--The Director of the Office of Science 
        and Technology Policy shall select members of the Interagency 
        Committee to serve on the NAIRR Steering Subcommittee that the 
        Director determines--
                    ``(A) have substantial expertise;
                    ``(B) have substantially funded or conducted 
                artificial intelligence research and development; or
                    ``(C) have some other significant relationship with 
                the NAIRR.
            ``(5) Changes to nairr steering subcommittee composition.--
        Not less frequently than once a year, the Director of the 
        Office of Science and Technology Policy shall review the 
        composition of the NAIRR Steering Subcommittee and update such 
        composition, which may include adding or removing members from 
        the NAIRR Steering Subcommittee, if necessary.
            ``(6) Subcommittees and working groups.--The NAIRR Steering 
        Subcommittee may establish subcommittees, working groups, or 
        other permanent or temporary bodies of certain members of the 
        NAIRR Steering Subcommittee.
            ``(7) Duties.--The NAIRR Steering Subcommittee shall--
                    ``(A) coordinate with the National Science 
                Foundation and the Program Management Office to--
                            ``(i) oversee and approve the operating 
                        plan for the NAIRR;
                            ``(ii) request the budget for the NAIRR;
                            ``(iii) develop and release a request for 
                        proposals to solicit bids for the Operating 
                        Entity, including establishing the terms and 
                        conditions and functions of the Operating 
                        Entity; and
                            ``(iv) develop and release funding 
                        opportunities for resources of the NAIRR;
                    ``(B) work with the Program Management Office to 
                establish criteria for the Operating Entity, review 
                candidates, and select an entity to act as the 
                Operating Entity;
                    ``(C) identify resources that could be federated, 
                participate in resource provider selection and funding, 
                and provide direction to the Operating Entity about 
                resource allocation and how those resources should be 
                made accessible via the NAIRR;
                    ``(D) define key performance indicators for the 
                NAIRR, in conjunction with the Program Management 
                Office and any relevant Advisory Committees established 
                under section 5602(c);
                    ``(E) evaluate NAIRR performance against the key 
                performance indicators defined under subparagraph (D) 
                on a periodic basis and not less frequently than once 
                every year;
                    ``(F) develop an annual report, transmitted to the 
                Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy 
                and publicly released, on the progress of the National 
                Artificial Intelligence Research Resource that 
                includes--
                            ``(i) a summary of the results of the 
                        evaluation conducted under subparagraph (E); 
                        and
                            ``(ii) any recommendations for changes to 
                        the NAIRR; and
                    ``(G) oversee a periodic independent assessment of 
                the NAIRR.
            ``(8) Provision of resources of the nairr.--Each agency 
        comprising the NAIRR Steering Subcommittee is authorized to 
        provide the Operating Entity with resources of the NAIRR or 
        funding for resources of the NAIRR.''.
    (b) In General.--The National Artificial Intelligence Initiative 
Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 9401 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:

    ``TITLE LVI--NATIONAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESEARCH RESOURCE

``Sec. 5601. Definitions.
``Sec. 5602. Establishment; governance.
``Sec. 5603. Resources of the NAIRR.
``Sec. 5604. NAIRR processes and procedures.

``SEC. 5601. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this title:
            ``(1) Advisory committee.--The term `Advisory Committee' 
        means any Advisory Committee established under section 5602(c).
            ``(2) AI testbed.--The term `AI testbed' means a testbed 
        described in section 22A(g) of the National Institute of 
        Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278h-1(g)).
            ``(3) Executive agency.--The term `Executive agency' has 
        the meaning given such term in section 105 of title 5, United 
        States Code.
            ``(4) National artificial intelligence research resource; 
        nairr.--The terms `National Artificial Intelligence Research 
        Resource' and `NAIRR' have the meaning given the term `National 
        Artificial Intelligence Research Resource' in section 5106(g).
            ``(5) Operating entity.--The term `Operating Entity' means 
        the Operating Entity selected by the Program Management Office 
        as described in section 5602(b)(3)(A).
            ``(6) Program management office.--The term `Program 
        Management Office' means the Program Management Office 
        established under section 5602(b).
            ``(7) Resource of the nairr.--The term `resource of the 
        NAIRR' means a resource described in section 5603(b).
            ``(8) NAIRR steering subcommittee.--The term `NAIRR 
        Steering Subcommittee' means the NAIRR Steering Subcommittee 
        established under section 5103(e).
            ``(9) STEM.--The term `STEM' means science, technology, 
        engineering, and mathematics, including computer science.

``SEC. 5602. ESTABLISHMENT; GOVERNANCE.

    ``(a) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of the Creating Resources for Every American To Experiment 
with Artificial Intelligence Act of 2023, the Director of the National 
Science Foundation, in coordination with the NAIRR Steering 
Subcommittee, shall establish the National Artificial Intelligence 
Research Resource to--
            ``(1) spur innovation and advance the development of safe, 
        reliable, and trustworthy artificial intelligence research and 
        development;
            ``(2) improve access to artificial intelligence resources 
        for researchers and students of artificial intelligence, 
        including groups historically underrepresented in STEM;
            ``(3) improve capacity for artificial intelligence research 
        in the United States; and
            ``(4) support the testing, benchmarking, and evaluation of 
        artificial intelligence systems developed and deployed in the 
        United States.
    ``(b) Program Management Office.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--The Director of the National Science 
        Foundation shall establish within the National Science 
        Foundation a Program Management Office to oversee the day-to-
        day functions of the NAIRR and shall appoint an individual to 
        head the Program Management Office.
            ``(2) Staff.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The head of the Program 
                Management Office may identify staff and direct all 
                employees of the Program Management Office, in 
                accordance with the applicable provisions of title 5, 
                United States Code.
                    ``(B) Representation and requirements.--The staff 
                of the Program Management Office--
                            ``(i) may include representation from other 
                        Federal agencies providing support for NAIRR 
                        resources; and
                            ``(ii) shall include not less than 3 full-
                        time employees.
            ``(3) Duties.--The duties of the Program Management Office 
        shall include--
                    ``(A) in coordination with the NAIRR Steering 
                Subcommittee and any relevant Advisory Committee as 
                appropriate--
                            ``(i) developing the funding opportunity 
                        and soliciting bids for the Operating Entity, 
                        which will be responsible for operation of the 
                        National Artificial Intelligence Research 
                        Resource;
                            ``(ii) selecting, through a competitive and 
                        transparent process, a nongovernmental 
                        organization, which may be an independent legal 
                        entity or a consortium of 1 or more partners 
                        (which may include federally funded research 
                        and development centers), to be designated the 
                        Operating Entity;
                            ``(iii) overseeing compliance with the 
                        contractual obligations of the Operating 
                        Entity;
                            ``(iv) establishing evaluation criteria for 
                        the NAIRR;
                            ``(v) overseeing asset allocation and 
                        utilization;
                            ``(vi) identifying an external independent 
                        evaluation entity;
                            ``(vii) assessing the performance of the 
                        Operating Entity on not less than an annual 
                        basis and, if such performance is 
                        unsatisfactory, ending the agreement with such 
                        Operating Entity and selecting a new Operating 
                        Entity in accordance with clause (ii);
                            ``(viii) developing multi-agency funding 
                        opportunities for the selection of NAIRR 
                        resources; and
                            ``(ix) coordinating resource contributions 
                        from participating Federal agencies; and
                    ``(B) delegating, with appropriate oversight, 
                operational tasks to the Operating Entity, including--
                            ``(i) coordinating the provisioning of 
                        resources of the NAIRR;
                            ``(ii) maintaining a portal and associated 
                        services for users to access resources of the 
                        NAIRR;
                            ``(iii) developing policies and procedures 
                        for the NAIRR;
                            ``(iv) hiring and managing a staff 
                        (including experts in cyber infrastructure 
                        management, data science, research design, 
                        privacy, ethics, civil rights and civil 
                        liberties, and legal and policy matters) to 
                        support the operations of the NAIRR;
                            ``(v) continually modernizing NAIRR 
                        infrastructure;
                            ``(vi) recommending key performance 
                        indicators for the NAIRR, in coordination with 
                        the NAIRR Steering Subcommittee and any 
                        relevant Advisory Committee;
                            ``(vii) publishing publicly available 
                        annual reports reviewing the performance of the 
                        NAIRR, the resources of the NAIRR, and the 
                        NAIRR governance structures;
                            ``(viii) establishing and administering 
                        training to new users on accessing a resource 
                        of the NAIRR, research design, and issues 
                        related to privacy, ethics, civil rights and 
                        civil liberties, safety, and trustworthiness of 
                        artificial intelligence systems;
                            ``(ix) facilitating connections to AI 
                        testbeds; and
                            ``(x) making resources of the NAIRR 
                        available to other Federal agencies, and to 
                        Congress, for the purpose of educating Federal 
                        Government officials and employees about 
                        artificial intelligence.
    ``(c) Advisory Committees.--The head of the Program Management 
Office, acting through the Director of the Operating Entity, shall 
establish Advisory Committees to provide advice to the Operating Entity 
and the Program Management Office. Any such Advisory Committees shall 
be comprised of members from government agencies, the private sector, 
academia, and public interest groups. Chapter 10 of title 5, United 
States Code, shall not apply to any such Advisory Committee.

``SEC. 5603. RESOURCES OF THE NAIRR.

    ``(a) In General.--The head of the Program Management Office, 
acting through the Director of the Operating Entity and in coordination 
with the NAIRR Steering Subcommittee and any relevant Advisory 
Committee, shall--
            ``(1) coordinate and provision resources of the NAIRR;
            ``(2) establish processes to manage the procurement of new 
        resources of the NAIRR, and intake of in-kind contribution of 
        resources of the NAIRR, from Federal agencies or other 
        entities;
            ``(3) establish policies on and review resources of the 
        NAIRR for concerns related to ethics, privacy, civil rights, 
        and civil liberties;
            ``(4) retire resources of the NAIRR no longer available or 
        needed; and
            ``(5) publicly report a summary of categories of available 
        resources of the NAIRR, categories of sources of such resources 
        of the NAIRR, and issues related to resources of the NAIRR.
    ``(b) Resources of the NAIRR.--The NAIRR shall offer resources that 
include, at a minimum, all of the following, subject to the 
availability of appropriations:
            ``(1) A mix of computational resources, including--
                    ``(A) on-premises, cloud-based, hybrid, and 
                emergent resources;
                    ``(B) public cloud providers providing access to 
                popular computational and storage services for NAIRR 
                users;
                    ``(C) an open source software environment for the 
                NAIRR; and
                    ``(D) an application programming interface 
                providing structured access to artificial intelligence 
                models.
            ``(2) Data, including by--
                    ``(A)(i) in coordination with the National 
                Institute of Standards and Technology and consistent 
                with the guidance of the National Science and 
                Technology Council titled `Desirable Characteristics of 
                Data Repositories for Federally Funded Data,' dated May 
                2022, or any successor document, publishing 
                interoperability standards for data repositories based 
                on the data sharing and documentation standards and 
                guidelines produced under section 22A of the National 
                Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 
                278h-1); and
                    ``(ii) selecting and developing, through a 
                competitive bidding process, data repositories to be 
                available to NAIRR users;
                    ``(B) establishing acceptable criteria for datasets 
                used as resources of the NAIRR;
                    ``(C) identifying and providing access to existing 
                curated datasets of value and interest to the NAIRR 
                user community;
                    ``(D) establishing an artificial intelligence open 
                data commons to facilitate community sharing and 
                curation of data, code, and models; and
                    ``(E) coordinating with the Interagency Council on 
                Statistical Policy to explore options to make Federal 
                statistical data available to NAIRR users, including 
                through the standard application process established 
                under section 3583(a) of title 44, United States Code.
            ``(3) Educational tools and services, including by--
                    ``(A) facilitating and curating educational and 
                training materials;
                    ``(B) providing technical training and user 
                support; and
                    ``(C) providing outreach and programming for groups 
                historically underrepresented in STEM.
            ``(4) AI testbeds, including by--
                    ``(A) in coordination with the National Institute 
                of Standards and Technology, facilitating access to 
                artificial intelligence testbeds through which 
                researchers can measure, benchmark, test, or evaluate 
                engineering or algorithmic developments; and
                    ``(B) developing a comprehensive catalog of open AI 
                testbeds.

``SEC. 5604. NAIRR PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES.

    ``(a) User Eligibility.--
            ``(1) Eligible users.--Subject to paragraph (3), the 
        following users shall be eligible for access to the NAIRR:
                    ``(A) A researcher, educator, or student based in 
                the United States that is affiliated with an entity 
                described in paragraph (2).
                    ``(B) An employee of an entity described in clause 
                (iii) or (iv) of paragraph (2)(B) with a demonstrable 
                mission-need.
            ``(2) Entities described.--An entity described in this 
        paragraph is an entity that--
                    ``(A) is based in the United States; and
                    ``(B) is one of the following:
                            ``(i) An institution of higher education.
                            ``(ii) A nonprofit institution (as such 
                        term is defined in section 4 of the Stevenson-
                        Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 
                        U.S.C. 3703)).
                            ``(iii) An Executive agency.
                            ``(iv) A federally funded research and 
                        development center.
                            ``(v) A small business concern (as such 
                        term is defined in section 3 of the Small 
                        Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632), notwithstanding 
                        section 121.103 of title 13, Code of Federal 
                        Regulations) that has received funding from an 
                        Executive agency, including through the Small 
                        Business Innovation Research Program or the 
                        Small Business Technology Transfer Program (as 
                        described in section 9 of the Small Business 
                        Act (15 U.S.C. 638)).
                            ``(vi) A category of entity that the 
                        Director of the National Science Foundation and 
                        the Director of the Office of Science and 
                        Technology Policy, after consultation with the 
                        NAIRR Steering Subcommittee and any relevant 
                        Advisory Committee, determine shall be 
                        eligible.
                            ``(vii) A consortium composed of entities 
                        described in clauses (i) through (vi).
            ``(3) Excluded entities.--
                    ``(A) In general.--No individual is authorized to 
                be an eligible user under paragraph (1) if the 
                individual is employed by a foreign country that is 
                listed in section 4872(d)(2) of title 10, United States 
                Code, or is otherwise authorized by such country to act 
                for or on its behalf.
                    ``(B) Enforcement.--The Director of the National 
                Science Foundation shall ensure that individuals 
                authorized as eligible users meet the requirements of 
                subparagraph (A).
    ``(b) Privacy, Ethics, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Safety, 
and Trustworthiness.--
            ``(1) In general.--
                    ``(A) Requirements.--The head of the Program 
                Management Office, acting through the Director of the 
                Operating Entity and in consultation with any relevant 
                Advisory Committee, shall establish requirements, a 
                review process for applications, and a process for 
                auditing resources of the NAIRR and research conducted 
                using resources of the NAIRR on matters related to 
                privacy, ethics, civil rights and civil liberties, 
                safety, security, and trustworthiness of artificial 
                intelligence systems developed using resources of the 
                NAIRR.
                    ``(B) Federal statistical data.--Any auditing 
                process required under subparagraph (A) for Federal 
                statistical data included in a resource of the NAIRR 
                shall be completed by the head of a designated 
                statistical agency (as defined in section 3576(e) of 
                title 44, United States Code), in coordination with the 
                Chief Statistician of the United States, consistent 
                with relevant law.
            ``(2) Consistency.--The head of the Program Management 
        Office shall ensure the requirements and processes described in 
        paragraph (1) are consistent with the policies of the Office of 
        Management and Budget policy and relevant policies of other 
        Executive agencies. The head of the Program Management Office 
        shall coordinate with the Senior Agency Official for Privacy 
        and the General Counsel of the National Science Foundation in 
        ensuring compliance with applicable privacy law and policy and 
        Federal laws and regulations.
            ``(3) Availability.--The head of the Program Management 
        Office, acting through the Director of the Operating Entity, 
        shall--
                    ``(A) when determining access to computational 
                resources of the NAIRR, take into consideration the 
                extent to which the access relates to privacy, ethics, 
                civil rights and civil liberties, safety, security, 
                risk mitigation, and trustworthiness of artificial 
                intelligence systems, or other topics that demonstrate 
                that a project is in the public interest;
                    ``(B) ensure that a significant percentage of the 
                annual allotment of computational resources of the 
                NAIRR is provided to projects whose primary focus is 
                related to any of the topics described in subparagraph 
                (A); and
                    ``(C) to the extent that demand for access to 
                computational resources of the NAIRR exceeds 
                availability, consider, on a priority basis, projects 
                focusing on any of the topics described in subparagraph 
                (A) when ranking applications for such access.
    ``(c) Scientific Integrity.--
            ``(1) In general.--The head of the Program Management 
        Office, acting through the Director of the Operating Entity and 
        in consultation with any relevant Advisory Committee, shall 
        develop guidance for--
                    ``(A) addressing concerns related to matters of 
                scientific integrity, including matters related to the 
                effects or impacts of research and potential research 
                enabled by the NAIRR; and
                    ``(B) mechanisms for an employee of the Operating 
                Entity, an employee of the Program Management Office, a 
                member of the NAIRR Steering Subcommittee or an 
                Advisory Committee, a researcher or student affiliated 
                with a NAIRR user described in subsection (a)(1), an 
                employee of a provider of a resource of the NAIRR, an 
                employee of a NAIRR funding agency, or a member of the 
                public to report violations of the guidance developed 
                under this paragraph, including by confidential and 
                anonymous means.
            ``(2) Consistency with government policies on scientific 
        integrity.--The guidance developed under paragraph (1)(A) shall 
        be published in a publicly accessible location on the website 
        of the NAIRR. Such policies shall, to the degree practicable, 
        be consistent with--
                    ``(A) the Presidential memorandum entitled 
                `Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific 
                Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking', dated 
                January 27, 2021, or successor document; and
                    ``(B) reports produced pursuant to such 
                Presidential memorandum (including the reports entitled 
                `Protecting the Integrity of Government Science', dated 
                January 2022, and `A Framework for Federal Scientific 
                Integrity Policy and Practice', dated January 2023, 
                published by the National Science and Technology 
                Council, or successor documents).
    ``(d) System Security and User Access Controls.--The head of the 
Program Management Office, acting through the Director of the Operating 
Entity and in consultation with the NAIRR Steering Subcommittee, the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Director of the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Director of the 
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency--
            ``(1) shall establish minimum security requirements for all 
        persons interacting with the NAIRR, consistent with the most 
        recent version of the Cybersecurity Framework, or successor 
        document, maintained by the National Institute of Standards and 
        Technology; and
            ``(2) may establish tiers of security requirements and user 
        access controls beyond the minimum requirements relative to 
        security risks.
    ``(e) Fee Schedule.--The head of the Program Management Office, 
acting through the Director of the Operating Entity, may establish a 
fee schedule for access to the NAIRR. The Operating Entity may only 
charge fees in such fee schedule. Such fee schedule--
            ``(1) may differ by type of eligible user and type of 
        affiliated entity described in subsection (a);
            ``(2) shall include a free tier of access based on 
        appropriated funds and anticipated costs and demand;
            ``(3) may include cost-based charges for eligible users to 
        purchase resources of the NAIRR beyond the resources included 
        in a free or subsidized tier; and
            ``(4) shall ensure that the primary purpose of the NAIRR is 
        to support research.
    ``(f) Research Security.--The head of the Program Management 
Office, acting through the Director of the Operating Entity and in 
consultation with the NAIRR Steering Subcommittee and the Director of 
the Office of Science and Technology Policy, shall--
            ``(1) ensure conformance with the requirements of National 
        Security Presidential Memorandum-33 (relating to supported 
        research and development national policy), issued January 2021, 
        and its implementation guidance on research security and 
        research integrity, or any successor policy document or 
        guidance, by establishing NAIRR operating principles that 
        emphasize the research integrity principles of openness, 
        reciprocity, and transparency; and
            ``(2) designate a member of the leadership team for the 
        Operating Entity as a research security point of contact with 
        responsibility for overseeing conformance with the National 
        Security Presidential Memorandum-33 and its implementation 
        guidance, or any successor policy document or guidance.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--The table of contents in section 2(b) 
of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act 
for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116-283; 134 Stat. 3388) is amended by 
inserting after the items relating to title LV the following:

    ``TITLE LVI--NATIONAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESEARCH RESOURCE

``Sec. 5601. Definitions.
``Sec. 5602. Establishment; governance.
``Sec. 5603. Resources of the NAIRR.
``Sec. 5604. NAIRR processes and procedures.''.
                                 <all>