[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 120 (Thursday, July 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2492-S2493]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 296. Mr. BENNET submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2024 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 end of subtitle G of title X, insert the following:
SEC. ___. TASK FORCE ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE GOVERNANCE
AND OVERSIGHT.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date
of 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 AI 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 Assistant Director of the Directorate for
Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships at the National
Science 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
[[Page S2493]]
Chair of the AI Task Force from among its members.
(c) Duties.--
(1) In general.--The AI Task Force shall--
(A) assess existing policy, regulatory, and legal gaps for
artificial intelligence (referred to in this section as
``AI'') applications and associated data, as of the date of
enactment of this Act; and
(B) make recommendations to Congress and the President for
legislative and regulatory reforms to ensure that uses of
artificial intelligence and associated data in Federal
Government operations comport with freedom of expression,
equal protection, privacy, civil liberties, civil rights, and
due process.
(2) Specific requirements.--The assessments and
recommendations under paragraph (1) shall--
(A) address--
(i) the application of Federal antidiscrimination laws to
Federal Government use of AI;
(ii) the application of Federal disparate impact standards
to Federal Government use of AI;
(iii) artificial intelligence validation and auditing for
Federal Government use of AI;
(iv) artificial intelligence risk and impact assessment
reporting regarding Federal Government use of AI; and
(v) institutional changes to ensure sustained assessment
and recurring guidance on privacy and civil liberties
implications of artificial intelligence applications,
emerging technologies, and associated data;
(B) include recommendations regarding--
(i) baseline standards for Federal Government use of
biometric identification technologies, including facial
recognition, voiceprint, gait recognition, and keyboard entry
technologies;
(ii) proposals to address any gaps in Federal law,
including regulations, with respect to facial recognition
technologies in order to enhance protections of privacy,
civil liberties, and civil rights of individuals in the
United States;
(iii) baseline standards for the protection and integrity
of data in the custody of the Federal Government; and
(iv) 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; and
(C) assess--
(i) whether existing and proposed AI regulations are
appropriately balanced against critical law enforcement and
national security needs;
(ii) 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, consider and recommend
institutional or organizational changes to facilitate
applicable regulation; and
(iii) 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, including--
(I) the review of Federal funds used for the procurement
and development of artificial intelligence; and
(II) the enforcement of Federal law for commercial
artificial intelligence products used in government.
(3) Organizational considerations.--In conducting the
assessments required under this subsection, the AI Task Force
shall consider--
(A) the organizational placement, structure, composition,
authorities, and resources that a new organization would
require to provide ongoing guidance and baseline standards
for--
(i) the Federal Government's development, acquisition, and
fielding of artificial intelligence systems to ensure the
systems comport with privacy, civil liberties, and civil
rights and civil liberties law, including guardrails for
their use; and
(ii) providing transparency to oversight entities and the
public regarding Federal Government use of artificial systems
and the performance of those systems;
(B) the existing interagency and intra-agency efforts to
address AI oversight;
(C) 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
(D) the research, development, and application of new
technologies to mitigate privacy and civil liberties risks
inherent in artificial intelligence systems.
(d) 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.
(e) 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.
(f) 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.
(g) 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 chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code.
(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 (f).
(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.
(h) Application of Ethics Rules.--
(1) In general.--An employee of a private sector
organization assigned under subsection (g)--
(A) shall be deemed to be a special government employee for
purposes of Federal law, including chapter 11 of title 18,
United States Code, and chapter 135 of title 5, United States
Code; and
(B) 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.
(2) 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 (g).
(i) 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.
(j) Other Emerging Technologies.--At any time before the
submission of the final report under subsection (i)(3), the
AI Task Force may recommend to Congress the creation of a
similar task force focused on another emerging technology.
(k) Sunset.--The AI Task Force shall terminate on the date
that is 18 months after the establishment of the AI Task
Force under subsection (a).
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