To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to seek to enter into an agreement with a federally funded research and development center for the conduct of an independent evaluation of artificial intelligence systems in use by the Veterans Health Administration, and for other purposes.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9862 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9862

 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to seek to enter into an
 agreement with a federally funded research and development center for
  the conduct of an independent evaluation of artificial intelligence
  systems in use by the Veterans Health Administration, and for other
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 22, 2026

  Mr. Murphy introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to seek to enter into an
 agreement with a federally funded research and development center for
  the conduct of an independent evaluation of artificial intelligence
  systems in use by the Veterans Health Administration, 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 ``Responsible Artificial Intelligence
for Veterans Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. INDEPENDENT EVALUATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS USED
              BY VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) Independent Evaluation.--Not later than 90 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
seek to enter into an agreement with a federally funded research and
development center for the conduct of an independent evaluation of
artificial intelligence systems deployed, in pilot, or in active
development, for clinical use within the Veterans Health
Administration. An evaluation conducted pursuant to such an agreement
shall prioritize not fewer than five artificial intelligence systems
that are deployed at scale or that present an elevated clinical,
operational, or patient safety risk.
    (b) Matters for Evaluation.--An independent evaluation carried out
under subsection (a) shall address each of the following with respect
to the artificial intelligence systems evaluated:
            (1) The integration and operational readiness of the
        systems, including--
                    (A) the adequacy of technological infrastructure
                supporting deployment and scalability;
                    (B) the interoperability of the systems with
                electronic health records, medical devices, pharmacy
                systems, and other relevant platforms; and
                    (C) the effect of the system on clinical workflows,
                staffing models, and operational processes.
            (2) The governance, monitoring, and accountability of the
        systems, including--
                    (A) the clarity of responsibility for system
                outputs, errors, and adverse outcomes;
                    (B) policies governing consent, data use, secondary
                use, and veteran data protections;
                    (C) lifecycle management processes, including model
                updates, retraining, and version control;
                    (D) oversight mechanisms, internal controls, and
                audit structures; and
                    (E) compliance with applicable Federal privacy,
                cybersecurity, and health information laws.
            (3) The performance and model integrity of the systems,
        including--
                    (A) quantitative performance metrics, including
                accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity, as applicable;
                    (B) the presence of disparate performance across
                demographic groups and the mitigation of bias;
                    (C) reliability, repeatability, and reproducibility
                across facilities and veteran populations;
                    (D) robustness to data variability and
                generalizability beyond training environments; and
                    (E) transparency, explainability, and
                interpretability of model outputs sufficient to permit
                clinical oversight.
            (4) The safety and human oversight of the systems,
        including--
                    (A) the risk of patient harm, including failure
                modes and escalation pathways;
                    (B) safeguards ensuring that the artificial
                intelligence system functions as a clinical decision-
                support tool and does not supplant clinical judgment;
                and
                    (C) whether clinicians retain the authority and
                technical ability to override or contest system
                outputs.
            (5) The veteran-centric design and adoption of the systems,
        including--
                    (A) alignment of the system with the needs,
                accessibility requirements, and preferences of
                veterans;
                    (B) usability within clinical workflows;
                    (C) the availability of training resources and
                implementation support for clinical staff; and
                    (D) the degree of clinician and veteran trust in
                system outputs.
            (6) The cost and resource stewardship of the systems,
        including--
                    (A) acquisition, deployment, sustainment, and cloud
                or compute costs;
                    (B) evidence of cost-effectiveness or cost-utility
                relative to clinical outcomes; and
                    (C) resource implications for staffing,
                administrative burden, and system maintenance.
            (7) The transparency and documentation of the systems,
        including--
                    (A) whether system logic, data sources, training
                inputs, and decision pathways are sufficiently
                documented and auditable; and
                    (B) whether such documentation is available for
                oversight review.
            (8) The scalability and effect of the systems, including--
                    (A) the clinical effectiveness of each system in
                real-world practice, including its performance across
                diverse veteran populations and care settings;
                    (B) whether each system improves clinical
                efficiency, including reductions in administrative
                burden, wait times, or duplicative services;
                    (C) the clinical utility of each system in
                supporting medical decision making and improving
                veteran care outcomes; and
                    (D) where applicable, the environmental effect of
                deployment at scale, including energy consumption and
                sustainability implications.
    (c) Risk-Based Selection Criteria.--In selecting systems for
evaluation pursuant to an agreement entered into under subsection (a),
the federally funded research and development center shall prioritize
artificial intelligence systems that--
            (1) influence diagnosis, treatment decisions, triage,
        eligibility determinations, or benefits adjudication;
            (2) are deployed across multiple medical centers or impact
        a significant veteran population;
            (3) are deployed at scale across facilities, programs, or
        beneficiary populations such that errors, bias, or system
        failure could reasonably affect a significant number of
        veterans;
            (4) use predictive analytics, large language models,
        imaging analysis, or automated clinical decision-support tools;
        or
            (5) present material cybersecurity, privacy, or patient-
        safety risks.
    (d) Access to Information.--The Secretary shall ensure that a
federally funded research and development center that enters into an
agreement under subsection (a) is provided with access to relevant
Department of Veterans Affairs information without delay and in a
manner sufficient to permit completion of the evaluation within the
timeframe required under subsection (e). Such information shall
include, with respect to artificial intelligence systems used by the
Veterans Health Administration--
            (1) relevant contracts, technical documentation, validation
        studies, and model cards;
            (2) performance data and audit logs;
            (3) incident reports and corrective action plans; and
            (4) policies governing artificial intelligence governance,
        data use, and risk management.
    (e) Reporting Requirements.--
            (1) Report on findings of evaluation.--
                    (A) In general.--An agreement entered into under
                subsection (a) shall specify that, not later than the
                date that is one year after the date of the agreement,
                a federally funded research and development center
                agrees to submit to the Secretary and to the Committees
                on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives
                and the Senate a report that includes each of the
                following:
                            (i) Findings for each evaluated system.
                            (ii) Identification of material risks to
                        patient safety, data security, equity, or
                        clinical integrity.
                            (iii) Recommendations for corrective
                        action, governance improvements, or suspension
                        of deployment where warranted.
                            (iv) Identification of systemic gaps in the
                        artificial intelligence governance framework of
                        the Department.
                    (B) Form.--The report required by subparagraph (A)
                shall be submitted in unclassified and unredacted form,
                but may include a classified annex.
            (2) Corrective action plan; department accountability.--Not
        later than 120 days after receipt of a report under paragraph
        (1), the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans'
        Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report
        that includes--
                    (A) a response of the Secretary addressing each
                finding and recommendation contained the report; and
                    (B) a corrective action plan that includes--
                            (i) an identification of specific actions
                        the Department will take to address each
                        finding;
                            (ii) an assignment of responsibility to
                        appropriate Department officials;
                            (iii) measurable milestones and deadlines
                        for implementation; and
                            (iv) an identification of any risk that the
                        Secretary determines will remain unmitigated
                        and the justification for such determination.
            (3) Comptroller general review.--Not later than 180 days
        after submission of the corrective action plan under paragraph
        (2), the Comptroller General of the United States shall--
                    (A) conduct a review of--
                            (i) the independent evaluation carried out
                        pursuant to subsection (a); and
                            (ii) the corrective action plan submitted
                        under paragraph (2) and the initial efforts of
                        the Secretary to carry out the plan; and
                    (B) provide to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs
                of the House of Representatives and the Senate a
                briefing on the review that includes any
                recommendations of the Comptroller General for
                improvement.
            (4) Committee access and transparency.--The Secretary shall
        provide to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of
        Representatives and the Senate--
                    (A) the full independent evaluation produced
                pursuant to subsection (a), including all supporting
                analyses and technical appendices; and
                    (B) any subsequent implementation updates to the
                corrective action plan submitted under paragraph (2),
                without redaction, except for information that is
                classified or otherwise protected by law.
    (f) Use of Existing Funds.--The Secretary shall carry out this
section using amounts otherwise authorized and appropriated to the
Department. No additional amounts are authorized to be appropriated to
carry out this section.
    (g) Artificial Intelligence Defined.--In this section, the term
``artificial intelligence'' has the meaning given that term in section
5002(3) of the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020
(division E of Public Law 116-283; 134 Stat. 4523; 15 U.S.C. 9401
note).
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