Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
Key Republican lawmakers are calling for greater resources for agencies that would carry out the goals featured in the House AI working group's sprawling policy roadmap.
The big picture: The bipartisan AI Task Force on Tuesday released a report that calls for a focus on enforcing existing laws and regulatory regimes to address AI issues.
- The report comes as Congress readies a continuing resolution that would keep key tech agencies underfunded until lawmakers can finalize FY25 appropriations next year.
At a press conference unveiling the report on Tuesday, co-Chair Jay Obernolte said regulators are already doing the job and Congress needs to provide them with tools and resources.
- "Certainly resources includes monetary resources, but we think that many of these departments have the resources that they need already," Obernolte said.
- Any future Department of Government Efficiency efforts are not necessarily at odds with backing these agencies, Obernolte said, adding that AI can be part of the solution as it has the potential to streamline many government processes.
The AI task force met with President-elect Trump's transition team last week, and will be meeting with his AI czar David Sacks and House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday afternoon, Obernolte said.
- Conversations are ongoing with Johnson to see whether the task force will continue next Congress.
Specific bills weren't ultimately named in the report as disagreements over language popped up and it ended up being counterproductive.
- "We don't think it's important that everyone agrees on every single aspect of AI immediately. We think we've got some runway to be able to work through those issues," Obernolte said.
Between the lines: Some of the legislative proposals out there don't have bipartisan backing. There's general agreement that harms like bias should be mitigated, but disagreements emerge on how exactly to do that.
- Politics are in play, as there was little incentive to get any AI legislation across the finish line ahead of Republicans taking control in the new year.
The report nods to certain legislative approaches, for example:
- The task force says Congress should explore transparency for users affected by decisions made using AI including in the workforce.
- Lawmakers should look at how to accelerate scientific discovery across disciplines with AI.
- Congress should encourage agencies to reduce bureaucracy using AI, and provide them with "sufficient resources" to invest in data management strategies.
- Congress should also examine export control policy, the environmental impact of AI and the need to attract, train, and retain AI talent. the report states.
But it doesn't name the specific bills that have already thought out how to implement such approaches, including:
- Rep. Yvette Clarke's Algorithmic Accountability Act, which would require companies to report impact assessments for bias to the FTC.
- The AI Grand Challenges Act, sponsored by Obernolte and Lieu, which would incentivize researchers, entrepreneurs and innovators to address challenges in specific sectors such as health or national security.
- The AI Incident Reporting and Security Enhancement Act, Rep. Deborah Ross' bill with Obernolte, which would make sure NIST is keeping its databases up to date with the rapid development of AI.
- Sen. Ed Markey's Artificial Intelligence Environmental Impacts Act, which would create a voluntary reporting system for AI players to detail their footprint and require a government study on such impacts.
For attracting talent, Rep. Bill Foster noted during the press conference on Tuesday that he has championed legislation to provide international students with STEM visas, but issues like who has jurisdiction get in the way of "overwhelming bipartisan support."
- "It's a source of frustration every time when we get these end of the year deals going, and we try to sneak it into these big packages without success so far," Foster said.
