Workforce for AI Trust Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9334 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9334

To amend the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 to
 facilitate the growth of multidisciplinary teams that can advance the
      development and training of safe and trustworthy artificial
             intelligence systems, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 18, 2026

Ms. Lofgren (for herself and Mr. Lucas) introduced the following bill;
 which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 to
 facilitate the growth of multidisciplinary teams that can advance the
      development and training of safe and trustworthy artificial
             intelligence systems, 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 ``Workforce for AI Trust Act''.

SEC. 2. NSF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION; NIST
              ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE GOVERNANCE WORKFORCE.

    (a) Definition.--Section 5002 of the National Artificial
Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 9401; enacted as part of
title LIV of division E of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116-283)) is
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(12) National laboratory.--The term `National Laboratory'
        has the meaning given such term in section 2 of the Energy
        Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801).''.
    (b) Fellowships.--Subsection (e) of section 5401 of the National
Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 9451) is
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in the heading, by striking ``faculty''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new
                subparagraph:
                    ``(D) Interdisciplinary artificial intelligence
                fellowships.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Director of the
                        National Science Foundation may support
                        graduate and postdoctoral research fellowships
                        for students and postdoctoral researchers from
                        across disciplines, including social science
                        disciplines and the humanities, by making
                        awards through eligible institutions of higher
                        education for research and related activities
                        related to the trustworthy design, development,
                        training, deployment, evaluation, and
                        understanding of artificial intelligence.
                            ``(ii) Use of awards.--An institution of
                        higher education that receives an award under
                        clause (i) to support graduate and postdoctoral
                        research fellowships for students and
                        postdoctoral researchers described in such
                        clause shall use such award for any of the
                        following, as the case may be:
                                    ``(I) For graduate fellowships,
                                tuition, education-related fees, and
                                stipends for up to three academic
                                years.
                                    ``(II) For postdoctoral
                                fellowships, salaries, benefits,
                                relocation costs, related conference
                                travels, and research expenses for up
                                to three years.
                                    ``(III) Such other expenses as the
                                Director of the National Science
                                Foundation determines appropriate.
                            ``(iii) Eligibility.--To be eligible to
                        receive an award under clause (i) to support
                        graduate and postdoctoral research fellowships
                        for students and postdoctoral researchers
                        described in such clause, an institution of
                        higher education applying for such an award
                        shall ensure such students and postdoctoral
                        researchers satisfy the following:
                                    ``(I) Are citizens, nationals, or
                                lawful permanent residents of the
                                United States.
                                    ``(II) Demonstrate a commitment to
                                a career in research into fields and
                                research areas that will contribute to
                                the development and deployment of
                                trustworthy artificial intelligence
                                systems, including in areas of
                                security, safety, reliability, or other
                                aspects of artificial intelligence
                                trustworthiness as established by the
                                National Institute of Standards and
                                Technology pursuant to section 22A of
                                the National Institute of Standards and
                                Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278h-1).
                                    ``(III) For graduate fellowships,
                                are--
                                            ``(aa) full-time students
                                        in an eligible program at the
                                        institution of higher
                                        education, as determined by the
                                        Director of the National
                                        Science Foundation; or
                                            ``(bb) students pursuing a
                                        degree on a less than full-time
                                        basis, but not less than half-
                                        time basis, in an eligible
                                        program at the institution of
                                        higher education, as determined
                                        by the Director.
                                    ``(IV) For postdoctoral
                                fellowships, have a doctoral degree in
                                an eligible program, as determined by
                                the Director, have received such degree
                                not earlier than five years before the
                                date that such fellowship begins, and
                                have a postdoctoral appointment at a
                                host institution.
                            ``(iv) Application.--An institution of
                        higher education that seeks an award under
                        clause (i) shall submit to the Director of the
                        National Science Foundation an application at
                        such time, in such manner, and containing such
                        information as the Director may require. At a
                        minimum, the Director shall require such an
                        application to include a description of the
                        following:
                                    ``(I) How the proposed research and
                                activities are designed to contribute
                                to the development and deployment of
                                trustworthy artificial intelligence
                                systems, including ways to design,
                                train, evaluate, and understand such
                                systems.
                                    ``(II) How the students and
                                postdoctoral researchers described in
                                clause (i) who are the subject of such
                                application will be integrated with
                                artificial intelligence researchers at
                                such institution in a role consistent
                                with being a member of an
                                interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary
                                team.
                                    ``(III) How such institution plans
                                to disseminate to the broader
                                artificial intelligence systems
                                research community any research
                                findings, learned best practices, or
                                technical solutions that are the
                                outcome of such an award.
                            ``(vi) Administrative agreements.--
                        Fellowships supported by an award under clause
                        (i) may include temporary artificial
                        intelligence-related positions at Federal or
                        State agencies, National Laboratories, private
                        sector entities, institutions of higher
                        education, the Institute, or other artificial
                        intelligence relevant entities, as determined
                        appropriate by the Director of the National
                        Science Foundation.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(4) Artificial intelligence skills-based training across
        the national science foundation.--The Director of the National
        Science Foundation shall seek to encourage the application of
        artificial intelligence systems to accelerate scientific
        discovery and technology development across all fields of STEM
        supported by the Foundation, including by supporting the
        following:
                    ``(A) Training for undergraduate and graduate
                students and postdoctoral researchers through existing
                technical and skills-based training or certification
                programs, and, as appropriate, by providing for
                additional experiential learning experiences.
                    ``(B) Development and hosting of intra or inter-
                institutional workshops on the application of
                trustworthy artificial intelligence systems to new uses
                in research, development, demonstration, testing,
                dissemination, and evaluation.
                    ``(C) Administrative and award supplements to
                existing research awards to support professional
                development experiences for graduate students and
                postdoctoral researchers who receive a substantial
                portion of the support of such students and researchers
                in connection with such research awards to learn how to
                apply artificial intelligence systems to the research
                of such students and researchers, as determined by the
                Director.''.
    (c) Workshops.--Subsection (d) of section 5401 of the National
Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 9451) is
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) Workshops.--The Director of the National Science
        Foundation may make awards for the development and hosting of
        intra- or inter-institutional workshops to facilitate the
        growth of multidisciplinary teams that can advance the
        development and training of trustworthy artificial intelligence
        systems.''.
    (d) Peer Review Panels.--Section 5401 of the National Artificial
Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 9451) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (h); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the following new
        subsection:
    ``(g) Peer Review Panels.--As practicable and appropriate, the
Director of the National Science Foundation shall ensure any merit
review panel convened to evaluate a proposal related to artificial
intelligence systems research and related activities integrates
perspectives from multiple and diverse research disciplines, including
researchers from social science, technology ethics, normative ethics,
legal, and linguistic disciplines.''.

SEC. 3. NIST ACTIVITIES TO DESCRIBE AND SUPPORT THE ARTIFICIAL
              INTELLIGENCE WORKFORCE.

    (a) Authorities to Support Workforce Frameworks.--Subsection (b) of
section 2 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15
U.S.C. 272) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (12), by striking ``and'' after the
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (13), by striking the period at the end
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(14) to provide industry, government, and research,
        nonprofit, and educational institutions with workforce
        frameworks for critical and emerging technologies and other
        science, technology, engineering, and mathematics domains for
        the purpose of bolstering scientific and technical education,
        training, and workforce development.''.
    (b) NIST Activities to Support the Artificial Intelligence
Governance Workforce.--Section 22A of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278h-1) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (5) as
                paragraphs (4) through (6), respectively; and
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following
                new paragraph:
            ``(3) support education and workforce development
        activities to expand the artificial intelligence workforce,
        including careers related to helping organizations govern, map,
        measure, and manage artificial intelligence related risk,
        including testing, evaluation, verification, and validation of
        artificial intelligence;''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(i) Definition.--In this section, the term `artificial
intelligence' has the meaning given such term in section 5002 of the
National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C.
9401).''.
    (c) Artificial Intelligence Workforce Framework.--
            (1) In general.--Title LIII of the National Artificial
        Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 9441 et seq.) is
        amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 5304. NIST ACTIVITIES TO CATEGORIZE THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
              WORKFORCE.

    ``(a) In General.--The Director of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor,
the Director of the National Science Foundation, the Director of the
Office of Personnel Management, and the heads of other Federal
departments and agencies, as appropriate, shall develop fundamental
reference resources for describing and sharing information regarding
work related to artificial intelligence to address workforce gaps.
    ``(b) Activities.--
            ``(1) In general.--In carrying out subsection (a), the
        Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology
        shall carry out the following:
                    ``(A) Develop and periodically update an artificial
                intelligence workforce framework, which shall include
                the following components:
                            ``(i) A common, consistent lexicon to
                        describe artificial intelligence employment-
                        related activities by work role, competency
                        area, or other categorization, as appropriate.
                            ``(ii) A description of the tasks,
                        knowledge, or skills that are needed to perform
                        artificial intelligence work.
                    ``(B) Support interoperability and avoid
                unnecessary duplication of the such components of such
                framework with components in other workforce
                frameworks, including the National Initiative for
                Cybersecurity Education Cybersecurity Workforce
                Framework or successor framework.
                    ``(C) Develop guidelines regarding how to use the
                artificial intelligence workforce framework under
                subparagraph (A) for different aspects of workforce
                development, education, and training purposes.
                    ``(D) Support external use of such framework,
                including relating to the following:
                            ``(i) The development of technical
                        guidelines and best practices related to the
                        artificial intelligence workforce, or
                        dissemination of existing related guidelines,
                        as appropriate.
                            ``(ii) Outreach and dissemination to
                        artificial intelligence programs at all
                        education levels of such framework to prepare
                        and improve a skilled artificial intelligence
                        workforce for the public and private sectors.
            ``(2) Stakeholder input.--In carrying out this subsection,
        the Director of the National Institute of Standards and
        Technology shall seek input from the following:
                    ``(A) Federal departments and agencies.
                    ``(B) State, local, Tribal, and territorial
                governments.
                    ``(C) Industry.
                    ``(D) Institutions of higher education.
                    ``(E) National Laboratories.
                    ``(F) Labor organizations.
                    ``(G) Non-profit organizations.
    ``(c) Supporting Efforts to Identify and Address Federal Artificial
Intelligence Workforce Gaps.--The Director of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology shall use the artificial intelligence
workforce framework under subsection (b)(1)(A) to provide technical
assistance to the following:
            ``(1) The Director of the National Science Foundation, in
        developing criteria to designate qualified institutions of
        higher education for the Federal AI Scholarship-for-Service
        Program under section 10313(d) of the Research and Development,
        Competition, and Innovation Act (42 U.S.C. 18993(d)).
            ``(2) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management,
        to align the appropriate roles, knowledge, skills, abilities,
        and tasks specified in such framework with the activities
        described in section 105 of the AI in Government Act (title I
        of division U of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021
        (Public Law 116-260)).
    ``(d) Publication.--Not later than one year after the development
of the artificial intelligence workforce framework under subsection
(b)(1)(A), the Director of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and
Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate such framework and
make such framework publicly available on the website of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology.
    ``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Artificial intelligence system.--The term `artificial
        intelligence system' means any data system, software, hardware,
        application, tool, service, or utility that operates in whole
        or in part using artificial intelligence.
            ``(2) Labor organization.--The term `labor organization'
        has the meaning given such term in section 2(5) of the National
        Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 152(5)), except that such term
        shall also include the following:
                    ``(A) Any organization composed of labor
                organizations, such as a labor union federation or a
                State or municipal labor body.
                    ``(B) Any organization which would be included in
                the definition for such term under such section, but
                for the fact that the organization represents
                individuals--
                            ``(i) employed by the United States, any
                        wholly owned Government corporation, any
                        Federal Reserve Bank, or any State or political
                        subdivision thereof;
                            ``(ii) employed by persons subject to the
                        Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 et seq.); or
                            ``(iii) employed as agricultural laborers.
            ``(3) Non-profit organization.--The term `non-profit
        organization' means an organization described in section
        501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from
        tax under section 501(a) of such Code.
            ``(4) Technical standard.--The term `technical standard'
        has the meaning given such term in section 12(d)(5) of the
        National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15
        U.S.C. 272 note).
            ``(5) Workforce framework.--The term `workforce framework'
        means a common taxonomy and lexicon for any given domain that
        includes the building blocks of tasks, knowledge, or skills
        that can be structured to form work roles or competency
        areas.''.
            (2) Clerical amendments.--The tables of contents in section
        2(b) and title LIII of division E of the William M. (Mac)
        Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
        2021 are amended by inserting after the item relating to
        section 5303 the following new item: ``Sec. 5304. NIST
        activities to categorize the artificial intelligence
        workforce.''.
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