II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4700 

To establish a Center for Artificial Intelligence of the National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 

Mr. GARDNER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To establish a Center for Artificial Intelligence of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. CENTER FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE OF 

4 THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC 

5 ADMINISTRATION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Na7 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (in this 

8 Act referred to as the ‘‘Administrator’’) shall establish a 

9 center, to be known as the ‘‘Center for Artificial Intel10 ligence’’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Center’’). 


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1 (b) CENTER GOALS.—The goals of the Center shall 

2 be— 

3 (1) to coordinate and facilitate scientific and 

4 technological efforts relating to artificial intelligence 

5 across the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad6 ministration; and 

7 (2) to expand external partnerships and build 

8 workforce proficiency to effectively transition artifi9 cial intelligence research and applications to oper10 ations. 

11 (c) COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM.—Through the Cen12 ter, the Administrator shall implement a comprehensive 

13 program to improve the use of artificial intelligence sys14 tems across the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad15 ministration in support of the mission of the Administra16 tion. 

17 (d) CENTER PRIORITIES.—The priorities of the Cen18 ter shall be— 

19 (1) to coordinate and facilitate artificial intel20 ligence research and innovation, tools, systems, and 

21 capabilities across the National Oceanic and Atmos22 pheric Administration; 

23 (2) to establish data standards and develop and 

24 maintain a central repository for agency-wide artifi25 cial intelligence applications; 


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1 (3) to accelerate the transition of artificial in2 telligence research to applications in support of the 

3 mission of the Administration; 

4 (4) to develop and conduct training for the 

5 workforce of the Administration related to artificial 

6 intelligence research and application of artificial in7 telligence for the Administration; 

8 (5) to facilitate partnerships between the Ad9 ministration and other public sector organizations, 

10 private sector organizations, and institutions of 

11 higher education for research, personnel exchange, 

12 and workforce development with respect to artificial 

13 intelligence systems; and 

14 (6) to make data of the Administration acces15 sible, available, and ready for artificial intelligence 

16 applications. 

17 (e) STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.—In carrying out 

18 the activities authorized under this Act, the Administrator 

19 shall— 

20 (1) collaborate with a diverse set of stake21 holders including private sector entities and institu22 tions of higher education; 

23 (2) leverage the collective body of research on 

24 artificial intelligence and machine learning; and 


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1 (3) engage with relevant Federal agencies, re2 search communities, and potential users of data and 

3 methods made available through the Center. 

4 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

5 authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to 

6 carry out this Act $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2021. 

Æ 


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