[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 132 (Thursday, July 31, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S5105]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3341. Mr. CORNYN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2026 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 in title II, insert the following:

     SEC. 2__. NATIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENSE ARTIFICIAL 
                   INTELLIGENCE INSTITUTE.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense may establish at 
     least one National Security and Defense Artificial 
     Intelligence Institute (referred to in this section as an 
     ``Institute'') at an eligible host institution.
       (b) Institute Described.--A National Security and Defense 
     Artificial Intelligence Institute referred to in subsection 
     (a) is an artificial intelligence research institute that--
       (1) is focused on a cross-cutting challenge or foundational 
     science for artificial intelligence systems in the national 
     security and defense sector;
       (2) establishes partnerships among public and private 
     organizations, including, as appropriate, Federal agencies, 
     institutions of higher education, including community 
     colleges, nonprofit research organizations, Federal 
     laboratories, State, local, and Tribal governments, and 
     industry, including the defense industrial base and startup 
     companies;
       (3) has the potential to create an innovation ecosystem, or 
     enhance existing ecosystems, to translate Institute research 
     into applications and products used to enhance national 
     security and defense capabilities;
       (4) supports interdisciplinary research and development 
     across multiple institutions of higher education and 
     organizations; and
       (5) supports workforce development in artificial 
     intelligence related disciplines in the United States.
       (c) Financial Assistance Authorized.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense may award 
     financial assistance to an eligible host institution, or 
     consortia thereof, to establish and support one or more 
     Institutes.
       (2) Use of funds.--Financial assistance awarded under 
     paragraph (1) may be used by an Institute for--
       (A) managing and making available to researchers 
     accessible, curated, standardized, secure, and privacy 
     protected data sets from the public and private sectors for 
     the purposes of training and testing artificial intelligence 
     systems and for research using artificial intelligence 
     systems with regard to national security and defense;
       (B) developing and managing testbeds for artificial 
     intelligence systems, including sector-specific test beds, 
     designed to enable users to evaluate artificial intelligence 
     systems prior to deployment;
       (C) conducting research and education activities involving 
     artificial intelligence systems to solve challenges with 
     national security implications;
       (D) providing or brokering access to computing resources, 
     networking, and data facilities for artificial intelligence 
     research and development relevant to the Institute's research 
     goals;
       (E) providing technical assistance to users, including 
     software engineering support, for artificial intelligence 
     research and development relevant to the Institute's research 
     goals;
       (F) engaging in outreach and engagement to broaden 
     participation in artificial intelligence research and the 
     artificial intelligence workforce; and
       (G) such other activities as may determined by the 
     Secretary of Defense.
       (3) Duration.--Financial assistance under paragraph (1) 
     shall be awarded for a five-year period, and may be renewed 
     for not more than one additional five-year period.
       (4) Application for financial assistance.--A eligible host 
     institution or consortia thereof seeking financial assistance 
     under paragraph (1) shall submit to the Secretary of Defense 
     an application at such time, in such manner, and containing 
     such information as the Secretary may require.
       (5) Competitive, merit review.--In awarding financial 
     assistance under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense 
     shall use a competitive, merit-based review process.
       (6) Collaboration.--In awarding financial assistance under 
     paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense may collaborate other 
     departments and agencies of the Federal Government with 
     missions that relate to or have the potential to be affected 
     by the national security implications of artificial 
     intelligence systems.
       (7) Limitation.--No financial assistance authorized in this 
     section shall be awarded to an entity outside of the United 
     States. All recipients of financial assistance under this 
     section, including subgrantees, shall be based in the United 
     States and shall meet such other eligibility criteria as may 
     be established by the Secretary of Defense.
       (d) Definition.--In this section, the term ``eligible host 
     institution'' means a senior military college (as defined in 
     section 2111a(f) of title 10, United States Code).
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