[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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