II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1356 To establish a task force on organizational structure for artificial intelligence governance and oversight. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 27, 2023 Mr. BENNET introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To establish a task force on organizational structure for artificial intelligence governance and oversight. 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Assuring Safe, Secure, 4 Ethical, and Stable Systems for AI Act’’ or the ‘‘ASSESS 5 AI Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. TASK FORCE ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE GOV- 7 ERNANCE AND OVERSIGHT. 8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 9 the date of enactment of this Act, the President shall ap- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1356.IS S1356 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1356 IS point a task force to assess the privacy, civil rights, and 1 civil liberties implications of artificial intelligence (referred 2 to in this section as the ‘‘AI Task Force’’). 3 (b) MEMBERSHIP OF AI TASK FORCE.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The AI Task Force shall in- 5 clude— 6 (A) the Director of the Office of Manage- 7 ment and Budget or his or her designee; 8 (B) the Director of the National Institute 9 of Standards and Technology or his or her des- 10 ignee; 11 (C) the Director of the Office of Science 12 and Technology Policy or his or her designee; 13 (D) the Assistant Director of the Direc- 14 torate for Technology, Innovation, and Partner- 15 ships at the National Science Foundation; 16 (E) the Secretary of Health and Human 17 Services or his or her designee; 18 (F) the Secretary of Transportation or his 19 or her designee; 20 (G) the Secretary of Housing and Urban 21 Development or his or her designee; 22 (H) the Comptroller General of the United 23 States or his or her designee; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1356.IS S1356 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1356 IS (I) the Chairman of the Federal Trade 1 Commission or his or her designee; 2 (J) the Chairperson of the Equal Employ- 3 ment Opportunity Commission or his or her 4 designee; 5 (K) the Chair of the Council of Inspectors 6 General on Integrity and Efficiency or his or 7 her designee; 8 (L) the Principal Deputy Assistant Attor- 9 ney General for the Civil Rights Division of the 10 Department of Justice or his or her designee; 11 (M) the chief privacy and civil liberties of- 12 ficers for the following agencies: 13 (i) the Department of State; 14 (ii) the Department of the Treasury; 15 (iii) the Department of Defense; 16 (iv) the Department of Justice; 17 (v) the Department of Health and 18 Human Services; 19 (vi) the Department of Homeland Se- 20 curity; 21 (vii) the Department of Commerce; 22 (viii) the Department of Labor; 23 (ix) the Department of Education; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1356.IS S1356 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1356 IS (x) the Office of the Director of Na- 1 tional Intelligence; 2 (N) the Chair of the Privacy and Civil Lib- 3 erties Oversight Board; 4 (O) the Chair of the National Artificial In- 5 telligence Advisory Committee’s Subcommittee 6 on Artificial Intelligence and Law Enforcement; 7 (P) any other governmental representative 8 determined necessary by the President; and 9 (Q) not fewer than 6, but not more than 10 10, representatives from civil society, including 11 organizational leaders with expertise in tech- 12 nology, privacy, civil liberties, and civil rights, 13 representatives from industry, and representa- 14 tives from academia, as appointed by the Presi- 15 dent. 16 (2) TASK FORCE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.—The 17 President shall designate a Chair and Vice Chair of 18 the AI Task Force from among its members. 19 (c) DUTIES.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The AI Task Force shall— 21 (A) assess existing policy, regulatory, and 22 legal gaps for artificial intelligence (referred to 23 in this section as ‘‘AI’’) applications and associ- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1356.IS S1356 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1356 IS ated data, as of the date of enactment of this 1 Act; and 2 (B) make recommendations to Congress 3 and the President for legislative and regulatory 4 reforms to ensure that uses of artificial intel- 5 ligence and associated data in Federal Govern- 6 ment operations comport with freedom of ex- 7 pression, equal protection, privacy, civil lib- 8 erties, civil rights, and due process. 9 (2) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—The assess- 10 ments and recommendations under paragraph (1) 11 shall— 12 (A) address— 13 (i) the application of Federal anti- 14 discrimination laws to Federal Government 15 use of AI; 16 (ii) the application of Federal dis- 17 parate impact standards to Federal Gov- 18 ernment use of AI; 19 (iii) artificial intelligence validation 20 and auditing for Federal Government use 21 of AI; 22 (iv) artificial intelligence risk and im- 23 pact assessment reporting regarding Fed- 24 eral Government use of AI; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1356.IS S1356 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1356 IS (v) institutional changes to ensure 1 sustained assessment and recurring guid- 2 ance on privacy and civil liberties implica- 3 tions of artificial intelligence applications, 4 emerging technologies, and associated 5 data; 6 (B) include recommendations regarding— 7 (i) baseline standards for Federal 8 Government use of biometric identification 9 technologies, including facial recognition, 10 voiceprint, gait recognition, and keyboard 11 entry technologies; 12 (ii) proposals to address any gaps in 13 Federal law, including regulations, with re- 14 spect to facial recognition technologies in 15 order to enhance protections of privacy, 16 civil liberties, and civil rights of individuals 17 in the United States; 18 (iii) baseline standards for the protec- 19 tion and integrity of data in the custody of 20 the Federal Government; and 21 (iv) best practices and contractual re- 22 quirements to strengthen protections for 23 privacy, information security, fairness, 24 nondiscrimination, auditability, and ac- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1356.IS S1356 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1356 IS countability in artificial intelligence sys- 1 tems and technologies and associated data 2 procured by the Federal Government; and 3 (C) assess— 4 (i) whether existing and proposed AI 5 regulations are appropriately balanced 6 against critical law enforcement and na- 7 tional security needs; 8 (ii) ongoing efforts to regulate com- 9 mercial development and fielding of artifi- 10 cial intelligence and associated data in 11 light of privacy, civil liberties, and civil 12 rights implications, and, as appropriate, 13 consider and recommend institutional or 14 organizational changes to facilitate applica- 15 ble regulation; and 16 (iii) the utility of establishing a new 17 organization within the Federal Govern- 18 ment to provide ongoing governance for 19 and oversight over the fielding of artificial 20 intelligence technologies by Federal agen- 21 cies as technological capabilities evolve over 22 time, including— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1356.IS S1356 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1356 IS (I) the review of Federal funds 1 used for the procurement and develop- 2 ment of artificial intelligence; and 3 (II) the enforcement of Federal 4 law for commercial artificial intel- 5 ligence products used in government. 6 (3) ORGANIZATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In 7 conducting the assessments required under this sub- 8 section, the AI Task Force shall consider— 9 (A) the organizational placement, struc- 10 ture, composition, authorities, and resources 11 that a new organization would require to pro- 12 vide ongoing guidance and baseline standards 13 for— 14 (i) the Federal Government’s develop- 15 ment, acquisition, and fielding of artificial 16 intelligence systems to ensure the systems 17 comport with privacy, civil liberties, and 18 civil rights and civil liberties law, including 19 guardrails for their use; and 20 (ii) providing transparency to over- 21 sight entities and the public regarding 22 Federal Government use of artificial sys- 23 tems and the performance of those sys- 24 tems; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1356.IS S1356 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1356 IS (B) the existing interagency and intra- 1 agency efforts to address AI oversight; 2 (C) the need for and scope of national se- 3 curity carve-outs, and any limitations or protec- 4 tions that should be built into any such carve- 5 outs; and 6 (D) the research, development, and appli- 7 cation of new technologies to mitigate privacy 8 and civil liberties risks inherent in artificial in- 9 telligence systems. 10 (d) POWERS OF THE TASK FORCE.— 11 (1) HEARINGS.—The Task Force may, for the 12 purpose of carrying out this section, hold hearings, 13 sit and act at times and places, take testimony, and 14 receive evidence as the AI Task Force considers ap- 15 propriate. 16 (2) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any 17 member of the AI Task Force may, upon authoriza- 18 tion by the AI Task Force, take any action that the 19 AI Task Force is authorized to take under this sec- 20 tion. 21 (3) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—Subject to ap- 22 plicable privacy laws and relevant regulations, the AI 23 Task Force may secure directly from any depart- 24 ment or agency of the United States information 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1356.IS S1356 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1356 IS and data necessary to enable it to carry out this sec- 1 tion. Upon written request of the Chair of the AI 2 Task Force, the head or acting representative of 3 that department or agency shall furnish the re- 4 quested information to the AI Task Force not later 5 than 30 days after receipt of the request. 6 (e) OPERATING RULES AND PROCEDURE.— 7 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—The AI Task Force 8 shall meet not later than 30 days after the date on 9 which a majority of the members of the AI Task 10 Force have been appointed. 11 (2) VOTING.—Each member of the AI Task 12 Force shall have 1 vote. 13 (3) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The AI Task Force 14 shall adopt recommendations only upon a majority 15 vote. 16 (4) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 17 the AI Task Force shall constitute a quorum, but a 18 lesser number of members may hold meetings, gath- 19 er information, and review draft reports from staff. 20 (f) STAFF.— 21 (1) PERSONNEL.—The chairperson of the AI 22 Task Force may appoint staff to inform, support, 23 and enable AI Task Force members in the fulfill- 24 ment of their responsibilities. A staff member may 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1356.IS S1356 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1356 IS not be a local, State, or Federal elected official or 1 be affiliated with or employed by, such an elected of- 2 ficial during the duration of the AI Task Force. 3 (2) DETAILEES.—The head of any Federal de- 4 partment or agency may detail, on a non-reimburs- 5 able basis, any of the personnel of that department 6 or agency to the AI Task Force to assist the AI 7 Task Force in carrying out its purposes and func- 8 tions. 9 (3) SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR MEMBERS AND 10 STAFF.—The appropriate Federal departments or 11 agencies shall cooperate with the AI Task Force in 12 expeditiously providing to the AI Task Force mem- 13 bers and staff appropriate security clearances to the 14 extent possible pursuant to existing procedures and 15 requirements, except that no person may be provided 16 with access to classified information under this sec- 17 tion without the appropriate security clearances. 18 (4) EXPERT CONSULTANTS.—As needed, the AI 19 Task Force may commission intermittent research 20 or other information from experts and provide sti- 21 pends for engagement consistent with relevant stat- 22 utes and regulations. 23 (g) ASSISTANCE FROM PRIVATE SECTOR.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1356.IS S1356 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1356 IS (1) PRIVATE ENGAGEMENT.—The Chair of the 1 AI Task Force may engage with representatives 2 from a private sector organization for the purpose of 3 carrying out the mission of the AI Task Force, and 4 any such engagement shall not be subject to chapter 5 10 of title 5, United States Code. 6 (2) TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT OF PER- 7 SONNEL.—The Chair of the AI Task Force, with the 8 agreement of a private sector organization, may ar- 9 range for the temporary assignment of employees of 10 the organization to the Task Force in accordance 11 with paragraphs (1) and (4) of subsection (f). 12 (3) DURATION.—An assignment under this sub- 13 section may, at any time and for any reason, be ter- 14 minated by the Chair or the private sector organiza- 15 tion concerned and shall be for a total period of not 16 more than 18 months. 17 (h) APPLICATION OF ETHICS RULES.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employee of a private 19 sector organization assigned under subsection (g)— 20 (A) shall be deemed to be a special govern- 21 ment employee for purposes of Federal law, in- 22 cluding chapter 11 of title 18, United States 23 Code, and chapter 135 of title 5, United States 24 Code; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1356.IS S1356 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1356 IS (B) notwithstanding section 202(a) of title 1 18, United States Code, may be assigned to the 2 Task Force for a period of not longer than 18 3 months. 4 (2) NO FINANCIAL LIABILITY.—Any agreement 5 subject to this subsection shall require the private 6 sector organization concerned to be responsible for 7 all costs associated with the assignment of an em- 8 ployee under subsection (g). 9 (i) REPORTING.— 10 (1) INTERIM REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 11 than 1 year after the establishment of the AI Task 12 Force, the AI Task [Text truncated for display. 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