[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 190 (Thursday, October 28, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7507-S7508]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 4029. Mr. BENNET (for himself and Mr. Sasse) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. 
Reed and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize 
appropriations for fiscal year 2022 for military activities of the 
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense 
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel 
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was 
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. TASK FORCE ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE GOVERNANCE AND 
                   OVERSIGHT.

       (a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act, the President shall appoint a 
     task force to assess the privacy, civil rights, and civil 
     liberties implications of artificial intelligence (referred 
     to in this section as the ``AI Task Force'').
       (b) Membership of Task Force.--
       (1) In general.--The AI Task Force shall include--
       (A) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget or 
     his or her designee;
       (B) the Director of the National Institute of Standards and 
     Technology or his or her designee;
       (C) the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 
     Policy or his or her designee;
       (D) the Deputy Director for Technology at the National 
     Science and Technology Foundation;
       (E) the Secretary of Health and Human Services or his or 
     her designee;
       (F) the Secretary of Transportation or his or her designee;
       (G) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development or his 
     or her designee;
       (H) the Comptroller General of the United States or his or 
     her designee;
       (I) the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission or his or 
     her designee;
       (J) the Chairperson of the Equal Employment Opportunity 
     Commission or his or her designee;
       (K) the Chair of the Council of Inspectors General on 
     Integrity and Efficiency or his or her designee;
       (L) the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the 
     Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice or his or 
     her designee;
       (M) the chief privacy and civil liberties officers for the 
     following agencies:
       (i) the Department of State;
       (ii) the Department of the Treasury;
       (iii) the Department of Defense;
       (iv) the Department of Justice;
       (v) the Department of Health and Human Services;
       (vi) the Department of Homeland Security;
       (vii) the Department of Commerce;
       (viii) the Department of Labor;
       (ix) the Department of Education; and
       (x) the Office of the Director of National Intelligence;
       (N) the Chair of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight 
     Board;
       (O) the Chair of the National Artificial Intelligence 
     Advisory Committee's Subcommittee on Artificial Intelligence 
     and Law Enforcement;
       (P) any other governmental representative determined 
     necessary by the President; and
       (Q) not fewer than 6, but not more than 10, representatives 
     from civil society, including organizational leaders with 
     expertise in technology, privacy, civil liberties, and civil 
     rights, representatives from industry, and representatives 
     from academia, as appointed by the President.
       (2) Task force chair and vice chair.--The President shall 
     designate a Chair and Vice Chair of the AI Task Force from 
     among its members.
       (c) Duties.--The AI Task Force shall carry out the 
     following duties:
       (1) Identifying policy and legal gaps and making 
     recommendations to ensure that uses of artificial 
     intelligence (referred to in this section as ``AI'') and 
     associated data in United States Government operations 
     comport with freedom of expression, equal protection, 
     privacy, and due process.
       (2) Assessing existing policy, regulatory, and legal gaps 
     for current AI applications, and associated data, and making 
     recommendations for--
       (A) legislative and regulatory reforms on the development 
     and fielding of AI and associated data, to include Federal 
     Government use and management of biometric identification 
     technologies, government procurement of commercial AI 
     products, Federal data privacy standards, Federal 
     antidiscrimination laws, Federal disparate impact standards, 
     AI validation and auditing, and AI risk and impact assessment 
     reporting;
       (B) institutional changes to ensure sustained assessment 
     and recurring guidance on privacy and civil liberties 
     implications of AI applications, emerging technologies, and 
     associated data; and
       (C) the utility of a new Federal entity to regulate and 
     provide government-wide oversight of AI use by the Federal 
     Government, including--
       (i) the review of Federal funds used for the procurement 
     and development of AI; and
       (ii) the enforcement of Federal law for commercial AI 
     products used in government.
       (3) Conducting an assessment and making recommendations to 
     Congress and to the President to ensure that the development 
     and fielding of artificial intelligence by the Federal 
     Government provides protections for the privacy, civil 
     liberties, and civil rights of individuals in the United 
     States in a manner that is appropriately balanced against 
     critical law enforcement and national security needs.
       (4) Recommending baseline standards for Federal Government 
     use of biometric identification technologies, including 
     facial recognition, voiceprint, gait recognition, and 
     keyboard entry technologies.
       (5) Recommending baseline standards for the protection and 
     integrity of data in the custody of the Federal Government.
       (6) Recommending proposals to address any gaps in Federal 
     law or regulation with respect to facial recognition 
     technologies in order to enhance protections of privacy, 
     civil liberties, and civil rights of individuals in the 
     United States.
       (7) Recommending best practices and contractual 
     requirements to strengthen protections for privacy, 
     information security, fairness, nondiscrimination, 
     auditability, and accountability in artificial intelligence 
     systems and technologies and associated data procured by the 
     Federal Government.
       (8) Considering updates to and reforms of Government data 
     privacy and retention requirements to address implications to 
     privacy, civil liberties, and civil rights.
       (9) Assessing ongoing efforts to regulate commercial 
     development and fielding of artificial intelligence and 
     associated data in light of privacy, civil liberties, and 
     civil rights implications, and as appropriate, considering 
     and recommending institutional or organizational changes to 
     facilitate applicable regulation.
       (10) Assessing the utility of establishing a new 
     organization within the Federal Government to provide ongoing 
     governance for and oversight over the fielding of artificial 
     intelligence technologies by Federal agencies as 
     technological capabilities evolve over time.
       (d) Organizational Considerations.--In conducting the 
     assessments required by paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection 
     (c), the AI Task Force shall consider--
       (1) the organizational placement, structure, composition, 
     authorities, and resources that a new organization would 
     require to provide ongoing guidance and baseline standards 
     for--
       (A) the Federal Government's development, acquisition, and 
     fielding of artificial intelligence systems to ensure they 
     comport with privacy, civil liberties, and civil rights and 
     civil liberties law, including guardrails for their use; and
       (B) providing transparency to oversight entities and the 
     public regarding the Federal Government's use of artificial 
     systems and the performance of those systems;

[[Page S7508]]

       (2) the existing interagency and intra-agency efforts to 
     address AI oversight;
       (3) the need for and scope of national security carve outs, 
     and any limitations or protections that should be built into 
     any such carve outs; and
       (4) the research, development, and application of new 
     technologies to mitigate privacy and civil liberties risks 
     inherent in artificial intelligence systems.
       (e) Powers of the Task Force.--
       (1) Hearings.--The Task Force may, for the purpose of 
     carrying out this section, hold hearings, sit and act at 
     times and places, take testimony, and receive evidence as the 
     AI Task Force considers appropriate.
       (2) Powers of members and agents.--Any member of the AI 
     Task Force may, upon authorization by the AI Task Force, take 
     any action that the AI Task Force is authorized to take under 
     this section.
       (3) Obtaining official data.--Subject to applicable privacy 
     laws and relevant regulations, the AI Task Force may secure 
     directly from any department or agency of the United States 
     information and data necessary to enable it to carry out this 
     section. Upon written request of the Chair of the AI Task 
     Force, the head or acting representative of that department 
     or agency shall furnish the requested information to the AI 
     Task Force not later than 30 days after receipt of the 
     request.
       (f) Operating Rules and Procedure.--
       (1) Initial meeting.--The AI Task Force shall meet not 
     later than 30 days after the date on which a majority of the 
     members of the AI Task Force have been appointed.
       (2) Voting.--Each member of the AI Task Force shall have 1 
     vote.
       (3) Recommendations.--The AI Task Force shall adopt 
     recommendations only upon a majority vote.
       (4) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the AI Task Force 
     shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may 
     hold meetings, gather information, and review draft reports 
     from staff.
       (g) Staff.--
       (1) Personnel.--The chairperson of the AI Task Force may 
     appoint staff to inform, support, and enable AI Task Force 
     members in the fulfillment of their responsibilities. A staff 
     member may not be a local, State, or Federal elected official 
     or be affiliated with or employed by, such an elected 
     official during the duration of the AI Task Force.
       (2) Detailees.--The head of any Federal department or 
     agency may detail, on a non-reimbursable basis, any of the 
     personnel of that department or agency to the AI Task Force 
     to assist the AI Task Force in carrying out its purposes and 
     functions.
       (3) Security clearances for members and staff.--The 
     appropriate Federal departments or agencies shall cooperate 
     with the AI Task Force in expeditiously providing to the AI 
     Task Force members and staff appropriate security clearances 
     to the extent possible pursuant to existing procedures and 
     requirements, except that no person may be provided with 
     access to classified information under this section without 
     the appropriate security clearances.
       (4) Expert consultants.--As needed, the AI Task Force may 
     commission intermittent research or other information from 
     experts and provide stipends for engagement consistent with 
     relevant statutes and regulations.
       (h) Assistance From Private Sector.--
       (1) Private engagement.--The Chair of the AI Task Force may 
     engage with representatives from a private sector 
     organization for the purpose of carrying out the mission of 
     the AI Task Force, and any such engagement shall not be 
     subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 
     App.).
       (2) Temporary assignment of personnel.--The Chair of the AI 
     Task Force, with the agreement of a private sector 
     organization, may arrange for the temporary assignment of 
     employees of the organization to the Task Force in accordance 
     with paragraphs (1) and (4) of subsection (g).
       (3) Duration.--An assignment under this subsection may, at 
     any time and for any reason, be terminated by the Chair or 
     the private sector organization concerned and shall be for a 
     total period of not more than 18 months.
       (i) Application of Ethics Rules.--An employee of a private 
     sector organization assigned under subsection (h)--
       (1) shall be deemed to be a special government employee for 
     purposes of Federal law, including chapter 11 of title 18, 
     United States Code, and the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 
     (5 U.S.C. App.); and
       (2) notwithstanding section 202(a) of title 18, United 
     States Code, may be assigned to the Task Force for a period 
     of not longer than 18 months.
       (3) No financial liability.--Any agreement subject to this 
     subsection shall require the private sector organization 
     concerned to be responsible for all costs associated with the 
     assignment of an employee under subsection (h).
       (j) Reporting.--
       (1) Interim report to congress.--Not later than 1 year 
     after the establishment of the AI Task Force, the AI Task 
     Force shall prepare and submit an interim report to Congress 
     and the President containing the AI Task Force's legislative 
     and regulatory recommendations.
       (2) Updates.--The AI Task Force shall provide periodic 
     updates to the President and to Congress.
       (3) Final report.--Not later than 18 months after the 
     establishment of the AI Task Force, the AI Task Force shall 
     prepare and submit a final report to the President and to 
     Congress containing its assessment on organizational 
     considerations, to include any recommendations for 
     organizational changes.
       (k) Other Emerging Technologies.--At any time before the 
     submission of the final report under subsection (j)(3), the 
     AI Task Force may recommend to Congress the creation of a 
     similar task force focused on another emerging technology.
       (l) Sunset.--The AI Task Force shall terminate on the date 
     that is 18 months after the establishment of the AI Task 
     Force.
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