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. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Assuring Safe, Secure, 

5 Ethical, and Stable Systems for AI Act’’ or the ‘‘ASSESS 

6 AI Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. TASK FORCE ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE GOV8 ERNANCE AND OVERSIGHT. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the President shall apVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1356.IS S1356

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1 point a task force to assess the privacy, civil rights, and 

2 civil liberties implications of artificial intelligence (referred 

3 to in this section as the ‘‘AI Task Force’’). 

4 (b) MEMBERSHIP OF AI TASK FORCE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The AI Task Force shall in6 clude— 

7 (A) the Director of the Office of Manage8 ment and Budget or his or her designee; 

9 (B) the Director of the National Institute 

10 of Standards and Technology or his or her des11 ignee; 

12 (C) the Director of the Office of Science 

13 and Technology Policy or his or her designee; 

14 (D) the Assistant Director of the Direc15 torate for Technology, Innovation, and Partner16 ships at the National Science Foundation; 

17 (E) the Secretary of Health and Human 

18 Services or his or her designee; 

19 (F) the Secretary of Transportation or his 

20 or her designee; 

21 (G) the Secretary of Housing and Urban 

22 Development or his or her designee; 

23 (H) the Comptroller General of the United 

24 States or his or her designee; 


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1 (I) the Chairman of the Federal Trade 

2 Commission or his or her designee; 

3 (J) the Chairperson of the Equal Employ4 ment Opportunity Commission or his or her 

5 designee; 

6 (K) the Chair of the Council of Inspectors 

7 General on Integrity and Efficiency or his or 

8 her designee; 

9 (L) the Principal Deputy Assistant Attor10 ney General for the Civil Rights Division of the 

11 Department of Justice or his or her designee; 

12 (M) the chief privacy and civil liberties of13 ficers for the following agencies: 

14 (i) the Department of State; 

15 (ii) the Department of the Treasury; 

16 (iii) the Department of Defense; 

17 (iv) the Department of Justice; 

18 (v) the Department of Health and 

19 Human Services; 

20 (vi) the Department of Homeland Se21 curity; 

22 (vii) the Department of Commerce; 

23 (viii) the Department of Labor; 

24 (ix) the Department of Education; 

25 and 


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1 (x) the Office of the Director of Na2 tional Intelligence; 

3 (N) the Chair of the Privacy and Civil Lib4 erties Oversight Board; 

5 (O) the Chair of the National Artificial In6 telligence Advisory Committee’s Subcommittee 

7 on Artificial Intelligence and Law Enforcement; 

8 (P) any other governmental representative 

9 determined necessary by the President; and 

10 (Q) not fewer than 6, but not more than 

11 10, representatives from civil society, including 

12 organizational leaders with expertise in tech13 nology, privacy, civil liberties, and civil rights, 

14 representatives from industry, and representa15 tives from academia, as appointed by the Presi16 dent. 

17 (2) TASK FORCE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.—The 

18 President shall designate a Chair and Vice Chair of 

19 the AI Task Force from among its members. 

20 (c) DUTIES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The AI Task Force shall— 

22 (A) assess existing policy, regulatory, and 

23 legal gaps for artificial intelligence (referred to 

24 in this section as ‘‘AI’’) applications and associVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1356.IS S1356

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1 ated data, as of the date of enactment of this 

2 Act; and 

3 (B) make recommendations to Congress 

4 and the President for legislative and regulatory 

5 reforms to ensure that uses of artificial intel6 ligence and associated data in Federal Govern7 ment operations comport with freedom of ex8 pression, equal protection, privacy, civil lib9 erties, civil rights, and due process. 

10 (2) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—The assess11 ments and recommendations under paragraph (1) 

12 shall— 

13 (A) address— 

14 (i) the application of Federal anti15 discrimination laws to Federal Government 

16 use of AI; 

17 (ii) the application of Federal dis18 parate impact standards to Federal Gov19 ernment use of AI; 

20 (iii) artificial intelligence validation 

21 and auditing for Federal Government use 

22 of AI; 

23 (iv) artificial intelligence risk and im24 pact assessment reporting regarding Fed25 eral Government use of AI; and 


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1 (v) institutional changes to ensure 

2 sustained assessment and recurring guid3 ance on privacy and civil liberties implica4 tions of artificial intelligence applications, 

5 emerging technologies, and associated 

6 data; 

7 (B) include recommendations regarding— 

8 (i) baseline standards for Federal 

9 Government use of biometric identification 

10 technologies, including facial recognition, 

11 voiceprint, gait recognition, and keyboard 

12 entry technologies; 

13 (ii) proposals to address any gaps in 

14 Federal law, including regulations, with re15 spect to facial recognition technologies in 

16 order to enhance protections of privacy, 

17 civil liberties, and civil rights of individuals 

18 in the United States; 

19 (iii) baseline standards for the protec20 tion and integrity of data in the custody of 

21 the Federal Government; and 

22 (iv) best practices and contractual re23 quirements to strengthen protections for 

24 privacy, information security, fairness, 

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1 countability in artificial intelligence sys2 tems and technologies and associated data 

3 procured by the Federal Government; and 

4 (C) assess— 

5 (i) whether existing and proposed AI 

6 regulations are appropriately balanced 

7 against critical law enforcement and na8 tional security needs; 

9 (ii) ongoing efforts to regulate com10 mercial development and fielding of artifi11 cial intelligence and associated data in 

12 light of privacy, civil liberties, and civil 

13 rights implications, and, as appropriate, 

14 consider and recommend institutional or 

15 organizational changes to facilitate applica16 ble regulation; and 

17 (iii) the utility of establishing a new 

18 organization within the Federal Govern19 ment to provide ongoing governance for 

20 and oversight over the fielding of artificial 

21 intelligence technologies by Federal agen22 cies as technological capabilities evolve over 

23 time, including— 


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1 (I) the review of Federal funds 

2 used for the procurement and develop3 ment of artificial intelligence; and 

4 (II) the enforcement of Federal 

5 law for commercial artificial intel6 ligence products used in government. 

7 (3) ORGANIZATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In 

8 conducting the assessments required under this sub9 section, the AI Task Force shall consider— 

10 (A) the organizational placement, struc11 ture, composition, authorities, and resources 

12 that a new organization would require to pro13 vide ongoing guidance and baseline standards 

14 for— 

15 (i) the Federal Government’s develop16 ment, acquisition, and fielding of artificial 

17 intelligence systems to ensure the systems 

18 comport with privacy, civil liberties, and 

19 civil rights and civil liberties law, including 

20 guardrails for their use; and 

21 (ii) providing transparency to over22 sight entities and the public regarding 

23 Federal Government use of artificial sys24 tems and the performance of those sys25 tems; 


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1 (B) the existing interagency and intra2 agency efforts to address AI oversight; 

3 (C) the need for and scope of national se4 curity carve-outs, and any limitations or protec5 tions that should be built into any such carve6 outs; and 

7 (D) the research, development, and appli8 cation of new technologies to mitigate privacy 

9 and civil liberties risks inherent in artificial in10 telligence systems. 

11 (d) POWERS OF THE TASK FORCE.— 

12 (1) HEARINGS.—The Task Force may, for the 

13 purpose of carrying out this section, hold hearings, 

14 sit and act at times and places, take testimony, and 

15 receive evidence as the AI Task Force considers ap16 propriate. 

17 (2) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any 

18 member of the AI Task Force may, upon authoriza19 tion by the AI Task Force, take any action that the 

20 AI Task Force is authorized to take under this sec21 tion. 

22 (3) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—Subject to ap23 plicable privacy laws and relevant regulations, the AI 

24 Task Force may secure directly from any depart25 ment or agency of the United States information 


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1 and data necessary to enable it to carry out this sec2 tion. Upon written request of the Chair of the AI 

3 Task Force, the head or acting representative of 

4 that department or agency shall furnish the re5 quested information to the AI Task Force not later 

6 than 30 days after receipt of the request. 

7 (e) OPERATING RULES AND PROCEDURE.— 

8 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—The AI Task Force 

9 shall meet not later than 30 days after the date on 

10 which a majority of the members of the AI Task 

11 Force have been appointed. 

12 (2) VOTING.—Each member of the AI Task 

13 Force shall have 1 vote. 

14 (3) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The AI Task Force 

15 shall adopt recommendations only upon a majority 

16 vote. 

17 (4) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

18 the AI Task Force shall constitute a quorum, but a 

19 lesser number of members may hold meetings, gath20 er information, and review draft reports from staff. 

21 (f) STAFF.— 

22 (1) PERSONNEL.—The chairperson of the AI 

23 Task Force may appoint staff to inform, support, 

24 and enable AI Task Force members in the fulfill25 ment of their responsibilities. A staff member may 


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1 not be a local, State, or Federal elected official or 

2 be affiliated with or employed by, such an elected of3 ficial during the duration of the AI Task Force. 

4 (2) DETAILEES.—The head of any Federal de5 partment or agency may detail, on a non-reimburs6 able basis, any of the personnel of that department 

7 or agency to the AI Task Force to assist the AI 

8 Task Force in carrying out its purposes and func9 tions. 

10 (3) SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR MEMBERS AND

11 STAFF.—The appropriate Federal departments or 

12 agencies shall cooperate with the AI Task Force in 

13 expeditiously providing to the AI Task Force mem14 bers and staff appropriate security clearances to the 

15 extent possible pursuant to existing procedures and 

16 requirements, except that no person may be provided 

17 with access to classified information under this sec18 tion without the appropriate security clearances. 

19 (4) EXPERT CONSULTANTS.—As needed, the AI 

20 Task Force may commission intermittent research 

21 or other information from experts and provide sti22 pends for engagement consistent with relevant stat23 utes and regulations. 

24 (g) ASSISTANCE FROM PRIVATE SECTOR.— 


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1 (1) PRIVATE ENGAGEMENT.—The Chair of the 

2 AI Task Force may engage with representatives 

3 from a private sector organization for the purpose of 

4 carrying out the mission of the AI Task Force, and 

5 any such engagement shall not be subject to chapter 

6 10 of title 5, United States Code. 

7 (2) TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT OF PER8 SONNEL.—The Chair of the AI Task Force, with the 

9 agreement of a private sector organization, may ar10 range for the temporary assignment of employees of 

11 the organization to the Task Force in accordance 

12 with paragraphs (1) and (4) of subsection (f). 

13 (3) DURATION.—An assignment under this sub14 section may, at any time and for any reason, be ter15 minated by the Chair or the private sector organiza16 tion concerned and shall be for a total period of not 

17 more than 18 months. 

18 (h) APPLICATION OF ETHICS RULES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employee of a private 

20 sector organization assigned under subsection (g)— 

21 (A) shall be deemed to be a special govern22 ment employee for purposes of Federal law, in23 cluding chapter 11 of title 18, United States 

24 Code, and chapter 135 of title 5, United States 

25 Code; and 


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1 (B) notwithstanding section 202(a) of title 

2 18, United States Code, may be assigned to the 

3 Task Force for a period of not longer than 18 

4 months. 

5 (2) NO FINANCIAL LIABILITY.—Any agreement 

6 subject to this subsection shall require the private 

7 sector organization concerned to be responsible for 

8 all costs associated with the assignment of an em9 ployee under subsection (g). 

10 (i) REPORTING.— 

11 (1) INTERIM REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

12 than 1 year after the establishment of the AI Task 

13 Force, the AI Task Force shall prepare and submit 

14 an interim report to Congress and the President 

15 containing the AI Task Force’s legislative and regu16 latory recommendations. 

17 (2) UPDATES.—The AI Task Force shall pro18 vide periodic updates to the President and to Con19 gress. 

20 (3) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 18 months 

21 after the establishment of the AI Task Force, the AI 

22 Task Force shall prepare and submit a final report 

23 to the President and to Congress containing its as24 sessment on organizational considerations, to include 

25 any recommendations for organizational changes. 


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1 (j) OTHER EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.—At any time 

2 before the submission of the final report under subsection 

3 (i)(3), the AI Task Force may recommend to Congress 

4 the creation of a similar task force focused on another 

5 emerging technology. 

6 (k) SUNSET.—The AI Task Force shall terminate on 

7 the date that is 18 months after the establishment of the 

8 AI Task Force under subsection (a). 

Æ 


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