Biomedical data center, financial services reporting included in Rounds’ AI bill package

Bills included in a bipartisan package of artificial intelligence legislation announced by Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., this week would create a biomedical data exchange center in the federal government and require reporting by the financial services industry.

The package of five bills ranges from health to the financial services industry to defense, and includes co-sponsorship from Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., who co-chairs the Senate AI Caucus with Rounds and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., among others.

“I fully believe each of these bills helps the United States make strides toward unleashing AI innovation and resulting opportunities, from national defense to health care research to financial services,” Rounds said in a statement. “I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to study AI and implement meaningful, common-sense policies to support its growth and mitigate its risks.”

While the bills were formally introduced earlier this month, the announcement includes bill text and details about each. 

Within that package, The GUIDE AI Act would create a centralized biomedical data exchange center through National Institutes of Health and its National Library of Medicine, as well as the National Science Foundation’s National AI Research Resource. That bill is co-led by Heinrich, who is the sponsor of Senate legislation to codify the NAIRR, a program to democratize access to resources needed for AI research that’s currently in a pilot phase. 

The package also includes the Increasing AI Transparency in Financial Services Act, which would require federal financial regulators to report to Congress on knowledge gaps on artificial intelligence with agencies. That bill is co-led by Heinrich, Schumer and Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind. 

Additionally, the package includes The Consumers LEARN AI Act that would establish a campaign to inform consumers about interacting with AI and is co-led by Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and the Unleashing AI Innovation in Financial Services Act, which is also co-led by Heinrich. That bill would allow officials in financial agencies to experiment with AI tools in “sandboxes” free from the threat of enforcement actions. It was previously announced earlier this month and has a companion in the House as well. 

The legislation comes as the National Defense Authorization Act makes its way through the chamber, providing an opportunity for senators to attempt to get their bills included as an amendment to the must-pass defense bill. 

According to a Rounds spokesperson, a piece of legislation from the package that would require the Secretary of Defense to carry out an AI-enabled software pilot program is currently in the base text of the NDAA that advanced out of the Senate Armed Services Committee in July. 

The senator is also trying to get the others into the NDAA. Currently, just one other bill from the package — the Increasing AI Transparency in Financial Services Act — is cleared as an amendment, the spokesperson said.  

In a statement provided to FedScoop, Heinrich said he was “proud to work with” Rounds on the three bills he co-sponsored. 

“I co-sponsored several of his amendments to this year’s National Defense Authorization Act, as well as the corresponding standalone bills for these amendments, and look forward to ensuring inclusion of this legislation in the final NDAA we pass later this year,” Heinrich said.