Artificial Intelligence for the Armed Forces Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3965 To accelerate the application of artificial intelligence in the Department of Defense and to strengthen the workforce that pertains to artificial intel- ligence, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 16, 2020 Mr. HEINRICH (for himself and Mr. PORTMAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To accelerate the application of artificial intelligence in the Department of Defense and to strengthen the workforce that pertains to artificial intelligence, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Artificial Intelligence for the Armed Forces Act of 5 2020’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 this Act is as follows: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:18 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3965.IS S3965 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3965 IS Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LEADERSHIP Sec. 101. Organizational placement of Director of the Joint Artificial Intel- ligence Center. Sec. 102. Grade of Director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center. TITLE II—STRENGTHENING THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WORKFORCE Sec. 201. Increasing human resource team literacy in artificial intelligence. Sec. 202. Guidance and direction on use of direct hiring processes for artificial intelligence professionals and other data science and software development personnel. Sec. 203. Waiver of qualification standards for General Schedule positions in artificial intelligence. Sec. 204. Modifying the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Test to address computational thinking. TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF DE- 1 FENSE ARTIFICIAL INTELLI- 2 GENCE LEADERSHIP 3 SEC. 101. ORGANIZATIONAL PLACEMENT OF DIRECTOR OF 4 THE JOINT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CEN- 5 TER. 6 (a) AUTHORITY.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense 8 shall exercise authority and direction over the Joint 9 Artificial Intelligence Center. 10 (2) LIMITATION ON DELEGATION.—The author- 11 ity of the Secretary under this section may not be 12 delegated below the level of the Deputy Secretary of 13 Defense. 14 (b) DIRECT REPORTING TO SECRETARY OF DE- 15 FENSE.—The Director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence 16 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:18 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3965.IS S3965 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3965 IS Center shall report directly to the Secretary or the Deputy 1 Secretary on matters relating to artificial intelligence pol- 2 icy, priorities, practices, and resourcing. 3 SEC. 102. GRADE OF DIRECTOR OF THE JOINT ARTIFICIAL 4 INTELLIGENCE CENTER. 5 An officer appointed to serve as Director of the Joint 6 Artificial Intelligence Center shall, while so serving, have 7 the grade of lieutenant general in the Army, Air Force, 8 or Marine Corps or vice admiral in the Navy. 9 TITLE II—STRENGTHENING THE 10 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 11 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 12 WORKFORCE 13 SEC. 201. INCREASING HUMAN RESOURCE TEAM LITERACY 14 IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. 15 (a) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.— 16 (1) TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION PROGRAM 17 REQUIRED.—Not later than one year after the date 18 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of De- 19 fense shall develop a training and certification pro- 20 gram on software development, data science, and ar- 21 tificial intelligence that is tailored to the needs of 22 the covered human resources workforce. 23 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The course required by 24 paragraph (1) shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:18 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3965.IS S3965 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3965 IS (A) provide a generalist’s introduction to 1 software development and business processes, 2 data management practices relating to machine 3 learning, deep learning, artificial intelligence, 4 and artificial intelligence workforce roles; and 5 (B) address hiring options and processes 6 available for software developers, data sci- 7 entists, and artificial intelligence professionals, 8 including direct hiring authorities, excepted 9 service authorities, the Intergovernmental Per- 10 sonnel Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4701 et seq.), 11 and authorities for hiring special government 12 employees and highly qualified experts. 13 (3) OBJECTIVE.—It shall be the objective of the 14 Department of Defense to provide the training 15 course developed pursuant to paragraph (1) to the 16 covered human resources workforce in such a man- 17 ner that— 18 (A) in the first year, 20 percent of the 19 workforce is certified as having successfully 20 completed the course; and 21 (B) in each year thereafter, an additional 22 10 percent of the workforce is certified, until 23 the Department achieves and maintains a sta- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:18 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3965.IS S3965 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3965 IS tus in which 80 percent of the covered human 1 resources workforce is so certified. 2 (b) OTHER NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCIES.—The 3 Secretary of Defense shall work with the Attorney Gen- 4 eral, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of 5 National Intelligence, or the head of any element of the 6 intelligence community to offer the training and certifi- 7 cation program developed pursuant to subsection (a) to 8 employees of other national security agencies and to en- 9 courage the heads of such agencies to achieve a level of 10 certification comparable to the objectives established for 11 the Department of Defense. 12 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 13 (1) The term ‘‘covered human resources work- 14 force’’ means human resources professionals, hiring 15 managers, and recruiters who are or will be respon- 16 sible for hiring software developers, data scientists, 17 or artificial intelligence professionals. 18 (2) The term ‘‘intelligence community’’ has the 19 meaning given such term in section 3 of the Na- 20 tional Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003). 21 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 22 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Defense 23 to carry out subsection (a) $2,500,000 for fiscal year 24 2021. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:18 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3965.IS S3965 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3965 IS SEC. 202. GUIDANCE AND DIRECTION ON USE OF DIRECT 1 HIRING PROCESSES FOR ARTIFICIAL INTEL- 2 LIGENCE PROFESSIONALS AND OTHER DATA 3 SCIENCE AND SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT 4 PERSONNEL. 5 (a) GUIDANCE REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 6 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 7 of Defense shall issue guidance to the secretaries of the 8 military departments and the heads of the defense compo- 9 nents on improved use of the direct hiring processes for 10 artificial intelligence professionals and other data science 11 and software development personnel. 12 (b) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of the guidance re- 13 quired by subsection (a) shall be to ensure that organiza- 14 tional leaders assume greater responsibility for the results 15 of civilian hiring of artificial intelligence professionals and 16 other data science and software development personnel. 17 (c) CONTENTS OF GUIDANCE.—At a minimum, the 18 guidance required by subsection (a) shall— 19 (1) instruct human resources professionals and 20 hiring authorities to utilize direct hiring authorities 21 (including excepted service authorities) for the hiring 22 of artificial intelligence professionals and other data 23 science and software development personnel, to the 24 maximum extent practicable; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:18 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3965.IS S3965 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3965 IS (2) instruct hiring authorities, when using di- 1 rect hiring authorities, to prioritize utilization of 2 panels of subject matter experts over human re- 3 sources professionals to assess applicant qualifica- 4 tions and determine which applicants are best quali- 5 fied for a position; 6 (3) authorize and encourage the use of 7 ePortfolio reviews to provide insight into the pre- 8 vious work of applicants as a tangible demonstration 9 of capabilities and contribute to the assessment of 10 applicant qualifications by subject matter experts; 11 (4) authorize the secretaries of the military de- 12 partments and the heads of the defense components 13 to waive qualification standards for General Sched- 14 ule positions established by the Office of Personnel 15 Management that would unnecessarily restrict the 16 judgment of the subject matter experts as to the 17 best qualified applicants, to the extent permitted by 18 law; and 19 (5) authorize and encourage the use of referral 20 bonuses for recruitment and hiring of highly quali- 21 fied artificial intelligence professionals and other 22 data science and software development personnel in 23 accordance with volume 451 of Department of De- 24 fense Instruction 1400.25, or successor instruction. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:18 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3965.IS S3965 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3965 IS (d) REPORT.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 2 after the date on which the guidance is issued under 3 subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the con- 4 gressional defense committees a report on the guid- 5 ance issued pursuant to subsection (a). 6 (2) CONTENTS.—At a minimum, the report 7 submitted under paragraph (1) shall address— 8 (A) the objectives of the guidance and the 9 manner in which the guidance seeks to achieve 10 those objectives; and 11 (B) the effect of the guidance on the hiring 12 process for artificial intelligence professionals 13 and other data science and software develop- 14 ment personnel, including the effect on— 15 (i) hiring time; 16 (ii) the use of direct hiring authority; 17 (iii) the use of subject matter experts; 18 and 19 (iv) the quality of new hires, as as- 20 sessed by hiring managers and organiza- 21 tional leaders. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:18 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3965.IS S3965 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3965 IS SEC. 203. WAIVER OF QUALIFICATION STANDARDS FOR 1 GENERAL SCHEDULE POSITIONS IN ARTIFI- 2 CIAL INTELLIGENCE. 3 (a) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.—Notwithstanding 4 any other provision of law, an officer with a grade of major 5 general or greater in the Army, Air Force, or Marine 6 Corps or rear admiral or greater in the Navy and a civilian 7 employed by the Department of Defense in a position of 8 equivalent authority may waive any General Schedule 9 qualification standard established by the Director of the 10 Office of Personnel Management in the case of any appli- 11 cant for a position in artificial intelligence in the Depart- 12 ment of Defense who is determined by a hiring manager, 13 in consultation with subject matter experts, to be the best 14 qualified candidate for the position. 15 (b) OTHER NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCIES.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 17 Personnel Management shall establish a process by 18 which the Attorney General, the Secretary of Home- 19 land Security, the Secretary of State, the Secretary 20 of Commerce, the Director of National Intelligence, 21 and the head of any element of the intelligence com- 22 munity (as defined in section 3 of the National Se- 23 curity Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003)) may request 24 an exception to any General Schedule qualification 25 standard in any case in which the agency head de- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:18 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3965.IS S3965 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3965 IS termines that national security needs would best be 1 met by hiring managers making an independent 2 judgment about qualifications and pay grades for a 3 position in artificial intelligence with the advice of 4 subject matter experts. 5 (2) SCOPE.—The process required by para- 6 graph (1) shall provide for requests to be made for 7 individual billets, for position descriptions, or for 8 categories of individual billets or position descrip- 9 tions at the discretion of the agency head. 10 (3) LIMITATION.—The authority under this 11 subsection may be used for the hiring of not more 12 than 100 individuals. 13 SEC. 204. MODIFYING THE ARMED SERVICES VOCATIONAL 14 APTITUDE BATTERY TEST TO ADDRESS COM- 15 PUTATIONAL THINKING. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 17 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 18 shall modify the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Bat- 19 tery test to add a new subtest addressing computational 20 thinking skills relevant to military applications, including 21 problem decomposition, abstraction, pattern recognition, 22 analytical ability, the identification of variables involved 23 in data representation, and the ability to create algorithms 24 and solution expressions. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:18 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3965.IS S3965 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3965 IS (b) USE.—The Secretary shall use the results of the 1 subtest added under subsection (a) in the same manner 2 as the results of existing subtests to place personnel in 3 career fields and to identify candidates for further train- 4 ing. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:18 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3965.IS S3965 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS