Title: AI Scholarship-for-Service Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
AI Scholarship-for-Service Act
This bill establishes a federal artificial intelligence (AI) scholarship-for-service program to recruit and train AI professionals to lead and support AI in federal, state, local, and tribal governments.
Specifically, the National Science Foundation must establish criteria to designate qualified institutions of higher education (IHEs) as eligible to participate in the program. Such criteria must include (1) measures of an IHE's demonstrated excellence in the education of students in AI; and (2) measures of an IHE's ability to attract and retain a diverse and nontraditional student population in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Further, the program must (1) provide scholarships through qualified IHEs to students who are enrolled in programs of study related to AI, (2) provide scholarship recipients with internship opportunities, (3) prioritize the employment placement of scholarship recipients in executive agencies, (4) identify opportunities to promote multidisciplinary programs of study that integrate basic or advanced AI training with other fields of study, and (5) support education research programs to train AI researchers and practitioners.
Additionally, the post-award employment obligations of a scholarship recipient must include three years of work for an executive agency; Congress; an interstate agency; a state, local, or tribal government; or a government-affiliated nonprofit that is considered to be critical infrastructure. A scholarship recipient who completes less than the required three years of service must repay the scholarship, or the scholarship must be treated as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan that is subject to repayment.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1257 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1257

To establish a Federal artificial intelligence scholarship-for-service 
                                program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 20, 2021

 Mr. Peters (for himself and Mr. Thune) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish a Federal artificial intelligence scholarship-for-service 
                                program.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``AI Scholarship-for-Service Act''.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SCHOLARSHIP-FOR-SERVICE 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Artificial intelligence.--The term ``artificial 
        intelligence'' or ``AI'' has the meaning given the term 
        ``artificial intelligence'' in section 238(g) of the John S. 
        McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 
        (10 U.S.C. 2358 note).
            (2) Executive agency.--The term ``executive agency'' has 
        the meaning given the term ``Executive agency'' in section 105 
        of title 5, United States Code.
            (3) Registered internship.--The term ``registered 
        internship'' means a Federal Registered Internship Program 
        coordinated through the Department of Labor.
    (b) In General.--The Director of the National Science Foundation, 
in coordination with the Director of the Office of Personnel 
Management, the Director of the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology, and the heads of other agencies with appropriate scientific 
knowledge, shall establish a Federal artificial intelligence 
scholarship-for-service program (referred to in this section as the 
``Federal AI Scholarship-for-Service Program'') to recruit and train 
artificial intelligence professionals to lead and support the 
application of artificial intelligence to the missions of Federal, 
State, local, and Tribal governments.
    (c) Qualified Institution of Higher Education.--The Director of the 
National Science Foundation, in coordination with the heads of other 
agencies with appropriate scientific knowledge, shall establish 
criteria to designate qualified institutions of higher education that 
shall be eligible to participate in the Federal AI Scholarship-for-
Service program. Such criteria shall include--
            (1) measures of the institution's demonstrated excellence 
        in the education of students in the field of artificial 
        intelligence; and
            (2) measures of the institution's ability to attract and 
        retain a diverse and non-traditional student population in the 
        fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, 
        which may include the ability to attract women, minorities, and 
        individuals with disabilities.
    (d) Program Description and Components.--The Federal AI 
Scholarship-for-Service Program shall--
            (1) provide scholarships through qualified institutions of 
        higher education to students who are enrolled in programs of 
        study at institutions of higher education leading to degrees or 
        concentrations in or related to the artificial intelligence 
        field;
            (2) provide the scholarship recipients with summer 
        internship opportunities, registered internships, or other 
        meaningful temporary appointments in the Federal workforce 
        focusing on artificial intelligence (referred to in this 
        section as ``AI'') projects or research;
            (3) prioritize the employment placement of scholarship 
        recipients in executive agencies;
            (4) identify opportunities to promote multi-disciplinary 
        programs of study that integrate basic or advanced AI training 
        with other fields of study, including those that address the 
        social, economic, legal, and ethical implications of human 
        interaction with AI systems; and
            (5) support capacity-building education research programs 
        that will enable postsecondary educational institutions to 
        expand their ability to train the next-generation AI workforce, 
        including AI researchers and practitioners.
    (e) Scholarship Amounts.--Each scholarship under subsection (d) 
shall be in an amount that covers the student's tuition and fees at the 
institution for not more than 3 years and provides the student with an 
additional stipend.
    (f) Post-Award Employment Obligations.--Each scholarship recipient, 
as a condition of receiving a scholarship under the program, shall 
enter into an agreement under which the recipient agrees to work for a 
period equal to the length of the scholarship, following receipt of the 
student's degree, in the AI mission of--
            (1) an executive agency;
            (2) Congress, including any agency, entity, office, or 
        commission established in the legislative branch;
            (3) an interstate agency;
            (4) a State, local, or Tribal government, which may include 
        instruction in AI-related skill sets in a public school system; 
        or
            (5) a State, local, or Tribal government-affiliated 
        nonprofit that is considered to be critical infrastructure (as 
        defined in section 1016(e) of the USA Patriot Act (42 U.S.C. 
        5195c(e))).
    (g) Hiring Authority.--
            (1) Appointment in excepted service.--Notwithstanding any 
        provision of chapter 33 of title 5 governing appointments in 
        the competitive service, an executive agency shall appoint in 
        the excepted service an individual who has completed the 
        eligible degree program for which a scholarship was awarded.
            (2) Noncompetitive conversion.--Except as provided in 
        paragraph (4), upon fulfillment of the service term, an 
        employee appointed under paragraph (1) may be converted 
        noncompetitively to term, career-conditional or career 
        appointment.
            (3) Timing of conversion.--An executive agency may 
        noncompetitively convert a term employee appointed under 
        paragraph (2) to a career-conditional or career appointment 
        before the term appointment expires.
            (4) Authority to decline conversion.--An executive agency 
        may decline to make the noncompetitive conversion or 
        appointment under paragraph (2) for cause.
    (h) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a scholarship under 
this section, an individual shall--
            (1) be a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United 
        States;
            (2) demonstrate a commitment to a career in advancing the 
        field of AI;
            (3) be--
                    (A) a full-time student in an eligible degree 
                program at a qualified institution of higher education, 
                as determined by the Director of the National Science 
                Foundation;
                    (B) a student pursuing a degree on a less than 
                full-time basis, but not less than half-time basis; or
                    (C) an AI faculty member on sabbatical to advance 
                knowledge in the field; and
            (4) accept the terms of a scholarship under this section.
    (i) Conditions of Support.--
            (1) In general.--As a condition of receiving a scholarship 
        under this section, a recipient shall agree to provide the 
        qualified institution of higher education with annual 
        verifiable documentation of post-award employment and up-to-
        date contact information.
            (2) Terms.--A scholarship recipient under this section 
        shall be liable to the United States as provided in subsection 
        (k) if the individual--
                    (A) fails to maintain an acceptable level of 
                academic standing at the applicable institution of 
                higher education, as determined by the Director of the 
                National Science Foundation;
                    (B) is dismissed from the applicable institution of 
                higher education for disciplinary reasons;
                    (C) withdraws from the eligible degree program 
                before completing the program;
                    (D) declares that the individual does not intend to 
                fulfill the post-award employment obligation under this 
                section; or
                    (E) fails to fulfill the post-award employment 
                obligation of the individual under this section.
    (j) Monitoring Compliance.--As a condition of participating in the 
program, a qualified institution of higher education shall--
            (1) enter into an agreement with the Director of the 
        National Science Foundation, to monitor the compliance of 
        scholarship recipients with respect to their post-award 
        employment obligations; and
            (2) provide to the Director of the National Science 
        Foundation, on an annual basis, the post-award employment 
        documentation required under subsection (i)(1) for scholarship 
        recipients through the completion of their post-award 
        employment obligations.
    (k) Amount of Repayment.--
            (1) Less than 1 year of service.--If a circumstance 
        described in subsection (i)(2) occurs before the completion of 
        1 year of a post-award employment obligation under this 
        section, the total amount of scholarship awards received by the 
        individual under this section shall--
                    (A) be repaid; or
                    (B) be treated as a loan to be repaid in accordance 
                with subsection (l).
            (2) 1 or more years of service.--If a circumstance 
        described in subparagraph (D) or (E) of subsection (i)(2) 
        occurs after the completion of 1 or more years of a post-award 
        employment obligation under this section, the total amount of 
        scholarship awards received by the individual under this 
        section, reduced by the ratio of the number of years of service 
        completed divided by the number of years of service required, 
        shall--
                    (A) be repaid; or
                    (B) be treated as a loan to be repaid in accordance 
                with subsection (l).
    (l) Repayments.--A loan described in subsection (k) shall--
            (1) be treated as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford 
        Loan under part D of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 
        1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.); and
            (2) be subject to repayment, together with interest thereon 
        accruing from the date of the scholarship award, in accordance 
        with terms and conditions specified by the Director of the 
        National Science Foundation (in consultation with the Secretary 
        of Education).
    (m) Collection of Repayment.--
            (1) In general.--In the event that a scholarship recipient 
        is required to repay the scholarship award under this section, 
        the qualified institution of higher education providing the 
        scholarship shall--
                    (A) determine the repayment amounts and notify the 
                recipient and the Director of the National Science 
                Foundation of the amounts owed; and
                    (B) collect the repayment amounts within a period 
                of time as determined by the Director of the National 
                Science Foundation, or the repayment amounts shall be 
                treated as a loan in accordance with subsection (l).
            (2) Returned to treasury.--Except as provided in paragraph 
        (3), any repayment under this subsection shall be returned to 
        the Treasury of the United States.
            (3) Retain percentage.--A qualified institution of higher 
        education may retain a percentage of any repayment the 
        institution collects under this subsection to defray 
        administrative costs associated with the collection. The 
        Director of the National Science Foundation shall establish a 
        fixed percentage that will apply to all eligible entities, and 
        may update this percentage as needed, in the determination of 
        the Director of the National Science Foundation.
    (n) Exceptions.--The Director of the National Science Foundation 
may provide for the partial or total waiver or suspension of any 
service or payment obligation by an individual under this section 
whenever compliance by the individual with the obligation is impossible 
or would involve extreme hardship to the individual, or if enforcement 
of such obligation with respect to the individual would be 
unconscionable.
    (o) Public Information.--
            (1) Evaluation.--The Director of the National Science 
        Foundation, in coordination with the Director of the Office of 
        Personnel Management, shall annually evaluate and make public, 
        in a manner that protects the personally identifiable 
        information of scholarship recipients, information on the 
        success of recruiting individuals for scholarships under this 
        section and on hiring and retaining those individuals in the 
        public sector AI workforce, including information on--
                    (A) placement rates;
                    (B) where students are placed, including job titles 
                and descriptions;
                    (C) salary ranges for students not released from 
                obligations under this section;
                    (D) how long after graduation students are placed;
                    (E) how long students stay in the positions they 
                enter upon graduation;
                    (F) how many students are released from 
                obligations; and
                    (G) what, if any, remedial training is required.
            (2) Reports.--The Director of the National Science 
        Foundation, in coordination with the Office of Personnel 
        Management, shall submit, not less frequently than once every 3 
        years, to the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
        Committee of the Senate, the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
        and Transportation of the Senate, the Committee on Science, 
        Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives, and the 
        Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of 
        Representatives a report, including the results of the 
        evaluation under paragraph (1) and any recent statistics 
        regarding the size, composition, and educational requirements 
        of the Federal AI workforce.
            (3) Resources.--The Director of the National Science 
        Foundation, in coordination with the Director of the Office of 
        Personnel Management, shall provide consolidated and user-
        friendly online resources for prospective scholarship 
        recipients, including, to the extent practicable--
                    (A) searchable, up-to-date, and accurate 
                information about participating institutions of higher 
                education and job opportunities related to the AI 
                field; and
                    (B) a modernized description of AI careers.
    (p) Refresh.--Not less than once every 2 years, the Director of the 
National Science Foundation, in coordination with the Director of the 
Office of Personnel Management, shall review and update the Federal AI 
Scholarship-for-Service Program to reflect advances in technology.
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